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Title: Tolerance Theater
Location:
Global
Categories: Human Rights
Status:
In Progress
Timeline:
Ongoing
Description:
Statement of need:
The low level of civil society in Russia has been influenced by many factors and has deep historical and cultural roots. Recent events – terrorists attacks in Moscow and mass hostage-taking in Beslan – have shocked Russian society and led to political anomie and aggression against people of Caucasian descent. It can be argued that both have roots in aggressive and intolerant attitudes still prevalent in Russian society. Intolerance in Russia has taken many shapes and forms: religious, cultural, sexual, ethnic and racial. Intolerance in Russia has contributed to growth in youth extremism, fundamentalism, Russian nationalist and racist organizations, hate speech in Russian mass media, and xenophobic and homophobic attitudes and fears in Russian society. We believe that the high rate of intolerance in Russia should be addressed not only by official bodies, but also within the society itself from the bottom up. Unfortunately, there are very few programs in civic education and volunteerism nowadays for high school and university students in Russia. Young people usually don’t have space for self-actualization, communication and healthy interaction, or opportunities to interact with a variety of social or economic groups. As a result, they become subject to radical and extremist influences and are susceptible to intolerant attitudes and behaviors. Thus, this project will help to reduce intolerance, foster grass roots initiatives, develop civil society and engage youth in civic action in Russia. Russia’s civil society has real potential, which must be further strengthened and channeled. It is for this reason that we look forward to seeing this initiative develop and await with enthusiasm its many positive outcomes.
Description:
This initiative is carried out by a group of US Department of State exchange programs alumni under the auspices of American Councils for International Education. Our project consists of several stages:
1.Translation into Russian and publication of “The Laramie Project” play by Moises Kaufman.
The play chronicles the life of the town of Laramie in the year after the murder of 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, using eight actors to embody more than sixty different people in their own words- from rural ranchers to university professors. The result is a complex portrayal that dispels the simplistic media stereotypes and explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which humanity is capable. We are going to supplement the translation of the text of the play with methodological exercises and recommendations on working with student and amateur theatrical groups.The play and the methodological appendix will be further distributed among student and high school theatrical groups and various NGOs and individuals working on human rights and civic education issues in CIS countries.
2. Staging the play
The play having been translated, it will be staged by a group of Eurasia Undergraduate Exchange Program and FLEX alumni. TEA/PiE and JFDP alumni will provide assistance with organizing performances in their academic institutions and will help us develop the discussion questions and follow-up trainings.We choose this form of presenting human rights values to wide publics, because Theatreentertains, educates and engages diverse audiences. Theater can be a powerful catalyst for dealing with complicated ideas, because it has more in common with the daily news and present moment, the atmosphere of the times and the temperature in the room, than television, film or any other medium that uses the human dilemma as its subject and the human being as its messenger. “Who are we?” is the great question in theatre, and at the heart of The Laramie Project”. (J.R. Sullivan)
3. Rehearsing and performing the play
During the rehearsals we are going to cooperate with professional actors and theater directors, such as Gennadiy Kirillov (Moscow State Theatrical University graduate ( GITIS), director of theatrical student studio in Ryazan State University), Grigoriy Amnuel ( Film director, State Duma secretary) and others.We are going to perform the play in different settings and for different audiences, ranging from high school students in Moscow to international audiences world wide. A number of organizations have already expressed their interest in the project and agreed to provide us with the venue for performing the play such as Moscow Democracy and Publicity Foundation, Tochka Underground club, Ryazan State University and others.
4. Play as a means of civic education / follow up trainings
After performing the play each time we will be addressing the audience with questions on tolerance, xenophobia, multiculturalism, etc. Besides, we plan to split the audience into small groups and each member of the acting staff is going to be a moderator conducting training on tolerance for a small group. We’ll be distributing among the spectators a “performance and discussion” module, which will comprise an introduction to the goals and methods of the module, the script, discussion questions and guidelines on the follow-up trainings.
5. Filming the play
We also plan to film the play and follow up trainings. The filmed materials will be further distributed among various audiences for usage in civic education and human rights projects. Additionally, several organizations have already agreed to post the electronic version of the filmed play on their websites (e.g. Taking It Global (Canada), Global Symposium (India), Eurasia Undergraduate Alumni website).
Objectives:
· To promote civic education
· To mobilize youth to participate in Russia- Caucasus conflicts regulation
· To reduce intolerance and xenophobia
· To reduce the rate of hate speech
· To promote multicultural understanding and interethnic communication
· To foster youth civic initiatives
· To introduce best American democratic traditions to east European wide publics
Needs:
If someone wants to invite us to perform the play and conduct the trainings, we need only reimbursement for travel.
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