Developing Street Theater on Human Rights in a Multilingual Country: An introspective article

Authors

  • Dana Rufolo Theater Research Institute of Europe, Luxembourg

Keywords:

street theater, mime, amateur actors, Amnesty International, human rights

Abstract

This article looks at different approaches to staging Street Theater about Human Rights in a multilingual environment. Theater on the streets intended to convince passers-by to stop and watch a short skit needs to attract with visual and theatrical techniques, but since Human Rights are conceptual, the actors need to get their message across using words audience members can mull over. How can a maximum number of passers-by be reached in an urban environment where there are three, even four, national languages? Research is ongoing.

Author Biography

Dana Rufolo, Theater Research Institute of Europe, Luxembourg

DANA RUFOLO is the founding director of Theater Research Institute of Europe (TRIE, asbl) located in Luxembourg, Europe. She presently writes theatre criticism for Plays International & Europe online, the successor to the theatre magazine that she edited until 2022 and which supplied subscribers worldwide - above all, American universities.

Rufolo is a playwright and a narrative poet who has had two works performed: I am Viola da Gamba of the Singing Building with two actresses and original gamba music composed by Philippe Partridge, and presently JOYN: A Marriage Made in Megaheaven which premiered at the state theater of Konstanz, Germany on 3 December 2022 with three actors and four dancers choreographed by Martin Anderson. Her next dramatic narrative poetry project will be a sitespecific performance piece involving San Francisco, New York, and Seoul.

Besides engaging in Street Theater, Rufolo enjoys giving workshops on the art of contemporary theatre and performance criticism that teach participants how to write critiques themselves. She uses her training as an Art Therapist specialized in Drama Therapy (DESS from Paris V and Luxembourg University) to engage in theatre-based peace and conflict resolution projects.

Downloads

Published

2023-04-24

How to Cite

Rufolo, D. (2023). Developing Street Theater on Human Rights in a Multilingual Country: An introspective article. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai - Dramatica, 68(1), 115–124. Retrieved from http://dramatica.ro/index.php/j/article/view/274