AtticRep is heading to INDIA

AtticRep is heading to India this June for a collaboration with our sister city in Chennai, India. Chennai is one of eight sister cities established through San Antonio's Economic Development Foundation that bridge cultural gaps and ignite international economic development in the arts, education, business development, sports, leadership, research, technology, etc. Click here for more information on the City Sister Program in San Antonio.

For years, AtticRep has presented the Forum Theatre Project,  based on the work of Augusto Boal and his "theatre of the oppressed." Boal believed that theatre had a powerful effect on social change. He structured forum theatre to break down the wall between actors on stage and the audience, who he called "spect-actors". Using a loose structure in which a character is being oppressed, the audience is invited to stop the action and take over the role of the actor. Each "spect-actor" has the power to stop the oppression and change the outcome. The more "spect-actors" who get involved, the greater their ability to effect the outcome. Forum theatre is a powerful theatrical tool to encourage the average citizen to get involved in eliciting social change. AtticRep has presented Forum Theatre projects on homelessness, marriage equality and (with an altered formula in 2012), Breast Cancer.

Roberto Prestigiacomo (Producing Artistic Director) and Rick Frederick (Managing Director) leave San Antonio for Chennai, India on June 30th. Fourteen theatre artists from the Chennai theatre company  Crea Shakthi will begin attending workshops with AtticRep to prepare for the forum theatre piece. These artists will then conduct interviews in their community on the topic they have selected: Skin Tone. In India, fair skin is considered more attractive; people with fair skin are revered while people with darker skin often feel discriminated against. Click HERE for a documentary on the topic of skin tone in India. This topic will be explored by AtticRep and the theatre artists of Crea-Shakthai over several weeks. A storyline will be developed based on the interviews and workshops. Finally, the piece will be performed at Spaces  for an audience from the local community.

Please stay tuned for updates on the journey as AtticRep heads to India.