THE ETHICS OF PARTICIPATORY THEATRE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

A FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING

FRANCES RIFKIN
2010

SUPPORTED BY A

PALATINE DEVELOPMENT AWARD

CONTENTS

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

3 4 9 13

1. G ENESISOF P ROJECT : H ISTORICAL C ONTEXTSAND C HALLENGES

2. A IMS , M ETHODOLOGYAND S UMMARYOF O UTCOMES

3. A N E THICAL F RAMEWORKFOR P ARTICIPATORY T HEATRE

A PPENDIX 1. E THICSOF P ARTICIPATORY T HEATRE : A L ITERATURE R EVIEW BY D R E LIZABETH H ARE

29 37

A PPENDIX 2. T HE W ORKSHOP M ETHODOLOGY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Specialthankstomycollaboratorswhohavecruciallysupportedmeinsustaininganddevelopingtheresearch andwritingprocess: Stella Barnes of Oval House Theatre who has offered mentoring, workshop development and contributionstothecoreprinciples Elizabeth Hare of the Open University, who authored the literature review and provided advice throughouttheproject BillMcDonnelloftheUniversityofSheffieldwhohasprovidedacademicsupportandmentoring,and haseditedthefinalversion

Iamgratefulforthegenerosityofideas,experienceandtimeofferedby: AliCampbell,QueenMary,UniversityofLondon DavidGrant,QueensUniversity,Belfast MattHargrave,NorthumbriaUniversity KayHepplewhite,YorkStJohnUniversity JennyHughes,UniversityofManchester AdrianJackson,CardboardCitizens MatthewJennings,UniversityofUlster ChrisJohnston,Rideout GerryLing,Lawnmowers SallyMackey,CentralSchoolofSpeechandDrama SueMayo,MagicMeandfreelance CaoimheMcAvinchey,QueenMary,UniversityofLondon MiriamMurtin,PALATINE HelenNicholson,RoyalHolloway,UniversityofLondon DavidPearson,PALATINE NickRowe,YorkStJohnUniversity KerrieSchaefer,UniversityofExeter AmandaStuartFisher,CentralSchoolofSpeechandDrama JamesThompson,UniversityofManchester

Thankstostudentsinthefollowinginstitutions,fortheircontributionstoworkshops: Goldsmiths,UniversityofLondon RoyalHolloway,UniversityofLondon UniversityofExeter UniversityofManchester QueensUniversityBelfast NorthumbriaUniversity YorkStJohnUniversity

FrancesRifkin,London,2010

1.GENESISOFPROJECT:HISTORICALCONTEXTSANDCHALLENGES
INTRODUCTION
This research is a response to a perceived absence of consensus on an ethical approach to the teaching, learning and professional practice of Participatory or Applied Theatre. This does not imply an absence of ethical practice in Higher Education; on the contrary, the research revealed widespread thinking about and commitmenttoethicalpracticeamongstteachersandlearners. Theresearchersconcernhasratherbeentoidentifyareasbothofconsensusandofdebateinordertocreate a structure within which the ethics of this rapidly expanding, diverse, and increasingly professional practice might be theoretically and practically implemented. Recognizing that there are many points of entry into practice, participation and commissioning, the report juxtaposes frames of reference ranging between the political, the civic, and the ethical in order to offer a field of practices in which some agreement on ethical mightcomfortablyemerge. Theresearchhasbeenbaseduponanactionresearchmethodology.Itsaimwasnottoteach,imposeortesta setofaprioriethicalvalues,buttoenableadialoguewithcollaboratorsontheissueofpracticeethicsinPT. Inotherwords,todiscoverwhatvalueswereoperative,whetherexplicitorimplicit,toidentifygaps,andto attemptaprovisionalcodification. The aim was to produce a set of ethical guidelines for use in the HE curriculum, in teaching. In Higher Educationtheguidelineswillraisevocationalawarenessforstudentsandintheworldofemploymentsupport professionalismforpractitioners.

PARTICIPATORYTHEATREADEFINITION
In this study the term Participatory Theatre (PT) is used to cover practices referred to variously as Applied TheatreorDrama,CommunityTheatre,WorkshopTheatre,RolePlayetc.Thepracticerangesbetweenwork withaperformancefocustoprocessbasedworkaimedatpersonalgroupand/orsocialdevelopment.Ittakes placeinawidevarietyofemployment,political,socialandcommunitysettingsandpractitionerscomefroma varietyofbackgrounds.Practitionersmaybeprofessionaltheatreperformersanddirectors,dedicatedtrained facilitators, or professionals from other backgrounds e.g. social work or education. Participatory theatre is internationallyassociatedwithradicalandpopulartheatreformssuchasTheatreinEducation,YoungPeoples Theatre,ForumTheatre(TheatreoftheOppressed)andTheatreforDevelopment. Whiletheresearchemphasishasbeenontheinteractivityoftheworkshopsituationitsconsiderationsextend to, and are applicable to, forms that involve participants professional and nonprofessional in creating, devisingandperforminginawiderangeofmodesandrelationships.

THEHISTORICALCONTEXT
Radical participatory theatre practices have historically been founded on a cluster of ethical/political principles. These principles have been articulated through the methods of practitioners such as Dorothy HeathcoteandAugustoBoal,andthroughtheTheatreinEducationandpoliticaltheatremovementsandtheir

5 organizationsandcompaniesandindividuals.1Theseethicalapproacheshavebeenrecordedinvaryingways overtime,buthaveemergedfromthedebatesandcompetingapproachesofthepractitionerslargelyaspraxis which has been difficult to formulate and to share. The underpinning notions were strongly influenced by contextsofpoliticalandsocialstruggleandexploration:forexampletheantiwarmovementandtradeunion strugglesofthe60s,70sand80s;thegrowthofthewomensandgaymovements;andthestruggleforwider equalitieswhichhasgrownoutofthese. Asthegenerationoforiginatorsandinitiatorswhoarguedforapartisanandsociallycriticalpracticebeginsto givewaytotheirsuccessors,theabsenceofaconsensusonwhatthenatureofanethicalapproachmightbe hasbecomeproblematic. ItisnowheremoreproblematicthaninHE,wherePTpracticeisapopularpartofmanycurricula,andwhere manystudentshopetousetheirskillswiththewideningrangeofmarginalizedandvulnerablecommunities. ThereisalsoanindustrialPTsectorwhereformssuchasForumTheatreandRolePlayhavebeenappropriated inwaysthatmaynothavebeenanticipatedbytheirearlierproponents.Inparallelwiththesedevelopments, increasingnumbersofartistswhoseprincipalobjective,ratherthanhavingasocialorientation,istoproduce theirownwork,arecombiningwitharangeofcommunitygroupstopursuetheiraimsinwayswhichcanbe ethicallyquestionable. As a practitioner working across fields of participatory theatre and political performance, I have become increasinglyawareofabuildupofpressuresaroundwhathadpreviouslyseemedunproblematicpractices.In 1993,after20yearsofpoliticaltheatrewiththeTradesUnionandantifascistmovements,Icheerfullywrote thefollowing:
Tonewgenerationofpractitioners,thelandscapeissomewhatmorecomplicated.Itisforme.What seemed clear is still clear in itself, its questions valid and current but the context has shifted. The ethicalprojectrevealsitselfasfragileandtemporal.

PARTICIPATORYTHEATREANDETHICSCONTEMPORARYCHALLENGES
Therefore ethics is not only an attitude of questioning, a disposition, and intention, but a project a fallibleandperishableprojectthatexistsintensionwith(andthereforeboundto),asetting,history, traditionandlanguage.LouiseLachapelle.

Participatorytheatretakesplacenowinmultiplecontexts,eachofwhichpresentspecificchallenges. It stands between other participatory theatre techniques with ethical codes of their own: Playback, Sociodrama,Psychodrama,Dramatherapyetc; Practitioners work extensively with socalled marginalized groups and others, and must respond to statutoryrequirementsarounddutyofcare,equality,diversityandHealthandSafety; It interfaces with situations where concepts of good practice are longestablished but not necessarily applicabletoacreativepractice,forexampleinattitudestoriskandchallenge;

SeeLiteratureReview,Appendix1foramoredetaileddiscussionoftheseissues.

6 It is increasingly used as a research tool in HE, and so encounters a range of institutional ethical codes whicharesometimesincompatiblewithitsworkingpractices; Wherepractitionersareemployedoutsidethesocialandpoliticalfields,theycanfacecomplexchallenges to the demands of creative practice in employment and funding contexts which are unsympathetic to processandpersoncentredpractice.

Whileatitsmostprogressive,PTfostersandembodiesthecreativedesiresandcommitmentsofpractitioners andparticipantsforethical,equalandcollaborativeworking,itdoesthiswithoutageneralconsensusonhow thesecrucialelementsmightbeidentifiedandclusteredtogether. Thereislittletoprotectthefreedomofcompetentpractitionerstosetworkingmethods,agreeagendaswith participants,chooseanddevelopwaysofworking,evaluateinappropriateways,workcreativelywithnotions ofuncertainty,bewildermentanddiscovery.Thereispracticallynothingtoindicatetoemployersandother practitionersbywhatstandardscompetenceandethicalstandardsmightbeunderstood. Thisvulnerability,whichpractitionerssharewithsomeoftheirconstituency,isexacerbatedbyanabsenceof clearethicalcontractsofemployment,poorunionisation,andconsequentisolationandlackofsupport.Itall adds up to poor or no professional recognition, status and trust. There is in additiona deepconcern, even dismayamongstmanypractitionersatthewilderexcessesintheapplicationofPTbymajorfundingbodiesand institutionsforexampletheEuropeanUnionandtheBritishArtsCouncil.InresponsetheTheatreEducation Network has produced a practitioners ethics framework, and Equity is promoting a practitioners contract. ThisresearchthenispartofawidercontextofconcernabouttheapplicationandethicsofPTpractices.

ETHICALFRAMEWORKSCONVERGENCEANDCOMPLEXITY
WhenitcomestooutliningwhatappliedethicalframeworksmightberelevanttoParticipatoryTheatre,there isconvergenceandcomplexity. TheInternationalFederationofArtsCouncilsandCultureAgenciesreportEthicsinCulturalpolicyexpresses itselfinhumanrightslanguage,withanemphasisonthecivic: Cultural policy we understood in the way Jarmo Malkavaara defines it as an entity of measures by which different operators in society consciously seek to influence, and (be influenced by), cultural activitiesinsociety.Ethicalchoicesarenotblackandwhiterightorwrongsetupsbutcan,indifferent situations,bejustifiedbydifferentmeansandaimatdifferenteffect.Inculturalpolicytheimportant thingistomakechoicesconsciouslyandtransparentlyafterakeenscrutinyofethicalconsequences. 2 IFACCA define three ethical lenses through which cultural policy can be evaluated: virtue, responsibility and benefit.UnderpinningtheseisthenotionofFairCulture,rootedinhumanrightsprinciples. Incontrast,RustomBharuchashasprovocativelyproposedaGenetinspiredcommitmenttoabetrayalofthe civic:

www.ifacca.org/topic/ethicsinculturalpolicy

7 I think betrayal can seem perverse, but if one sees in it the possibilities of a certain rigor in not succumbing to bourgeois morality and feelgood liberal, even radical sentiments, it can serve as a robust corrective to political correctness and the illusions of good citizenship. To what extent am I prepared to endorse the ethics of illegality in order to activate the process of social and political changebeyondtheboundariesoftheatrepractice?This,indeed,ismyethicaldilemma.Notsomuch incrossingthelineofunethicalaction,butinnotcrossingthelinewiththenecessarycombinationof politicalrigor,cunningandaudacity.RustomBharucha.3 An approach which is in clear conflict with more sedate notions of good practice', and the observation of HealthandSafetyregulations! Stella Barneshas developed a set of ethical principles which underpinthe participatory theatre work of the OvalHouse,London: Choice:participantsagendanotpreempted. Respect:developedviacreativeprocess,modelledbyFs. Equality:withgroupshavinglittleexperience,throughcreativeprocess. Safety:focusonpresent/future,norequirementtodisclose. Tutorcompetence:supportandtraining,sharedperspectives.

(StellaBarnes:DrawingaLine:adiscussionofethicsinparticipatoryartsbyyoungrefugees,2008) Shedescribesaprocesswherebyethicsareembodiedanddevelopedinthecreativeprocess;wheresensitivity topersonalandcreativerisk,andmutualrespect,informthework;wherethegroupisviewedascollaborators andnotparticipants;andwherereflexivityandcriticalthinkingareattheheartoftheprocess.Anapproach whichechoes,andexpandson,thecertainrigourofBharuchastext. The concept of Competence is a crucial anchoring for ethical practice: without this, the complexity of Bharuchasposition,thepitfallsandstrengthsoftheITACCAproposal,andthedenselytexturedimplicationsof theOvalHouseprincipleswouldbeimpossibletodeconstructandgraspinpractice.Wecanseeinthesethree positionsthelongstandingpartisanpoliticsofPTinanapparentstandoffwiththecivic.Thethirdposition opens up a passage between the first two, responding to the concept of the civic, without preempting the rightofparticipantstoreflectcritically. Bharucharecognizesthatglobalpower/classrelationsfrequentlyoverridestatedcivicandhumanrightsethics. IFACCA classifies and proposes an ethical frame based upon a projected universal liberal human rights framework, in order to avoid unfairness. Both Bharucha and Barnes are clear that these very human rights principlesarefrequentlyoverriddenbothincivilandothersocieties:thoughithastobesaidthatthecivichas toexistinordertobebetrayed. Convergencesonethicsaremanyandcontradictory.Whilethereisawidespreadconvictionthatthereflexive creativity achievable through theatre practice is capable of generating aesthetically powerful, socially
3

PerformanceParadigmFebruary2007,reprintedbyVredevanUutrecht

8 transforming art, Bharuchas caveats are a necessary brake on assumptions about the efficacy or implicit ethicalgoodnessofPTformsofwork: IfIhadtogetbeyondtheeuphoriaofthemoment,Iwouldhavetoacknowledgehowdifficultitisto activate these truths in collaboration with political agencies. Perhaps, the greatest lesson that Ive learnedfrommyinteractionswithoppressedcommunitieshastodowiththeethicsofillegality. Hecontinues: (Aformof)radicalperformance,orantiperformance,ornonperformance,whichcouldhighlightthe beginnings of new and more complicated ways of representing and problematising ethics, where there is no clearcut distinction between good and evil. Rather, we are all implicated in the very crimes that we condemn, either through complicities of silence, indifference or apathy. For performancetobetrulyradical,itcannolongeraffordtofallbackontheearlierassumptionsofan artistsinnate,ificonoclastic,goodness The assembling of an ethical framework, or landscape for the teaching and learning of PT would help to produceagenerationofreflexivepractitionerswiththeconfidenceandvocationalaswellasacademicskillsto steer the work in an ethical direction. Reflexive practice introduced into theatre education would not only havethepotentialfortransformingstudentsbutstaffaswell.

2.AIMS,METHODOLOGYANDSUMMARYOFOUTCOMES

A IM :Toresearchanddevelopasetofethicalguidelinesforpracticeinparticipatorytheatreforusein
HigherEducationbyteachers,researchersandstudents.

M ETHODOLOGY : The work was within an Action Research framework in which participants were
invitedtoreflectontheirapproachtoethics.Theresearchwascollaborativeandincludedtwolevelsof exploration:

L EVELONE : D ATAGATHERING .
Interviewsandworkshopswith: HELecturersandstudents:toidentifyconcernsandissuesderivedfromcurriculum planning,teachingandlearningandstudentspractice Practitioners

L EVELTWO :
Review of findings with collaborators to reflect on the material from the interviews and workshopsandtoextrapolateprinciplesunderpinningtheprojectedethicalguidelines

S UMMARYOF O BJECTIVES
Toreviewtheexistingliteratureon ethicalissuesinthefield Toencouragedebateandreflection Toidentifyethicalissuesofconcernto lecturersandstudents Toprovideadocumentaryandaudio archiveoftheresearchprocessto supportfurtherresearch Totakeintoaccountdifferencesof interestandperspectivewhichmay arise

O UTCOMES
LiteratureReview 6Workshops,interviews,attendanceatconferences Awiderangeofviewsgatheredandrecorded 19audiointerviews:11transcribed Workshopmaterials Interactionanddebateinworkshops,interviews withpractitioners,Equityandsomeservice providers Attendanceatconferences Materialcontextualizedbythe historical/theoreticalbasisprovidedbyLiterature Review Productionofguidelines

Throughtheaboveprocesstoidentify theprincipalconcerns,issuesand questionsleadingtotheformulationof workableethicalguidelines. BreakdownofResearch Process

10 Transcribed: BillMcDonnell,UniversityofSheffield,JamesThompsonand JennyHughes,UniversityofManchester,KerrieSchaefer, UniversityofExeter,CaoimheMcavinchey,Goldsmiths,University ofLondon,HelenNicholson,RoyalHolloway,Universityof London,KayHepplewhiteandNickRowe,YorkStJohnUniversity, AmandaStuartFisherandSallyMackey,CentralSchoolofSpeech andDrama,AliCampbell,QueenMary,UniversityofLondon Untranscribed: DavidGrant,QueensUniversity,Belfast,MattHargrave, NorthumbriaUniversity,MatthewJennings,UniversityofUlster Transcribed: StellaBarnes Untranscribed: SueMayoofMagicMeandfreelance,AdrianJacksonof CardboardCitizens,ChrisJohnstonOfRideout,GerryLingof Lawnmowers Sevenworkshops Workshopsconducted Preliminaryworkshop: EarlyintroductoryworkshopwithMAstudentsatRHUL:helped withundergraduates, todefineapproachtoworkshopprocess. postgraduatesand someparticipatingstaff Theworkshoptemplatewasformulatedincollaborationwith StellaBarnesofOvalHouse.Participantswereincludedas collaborators. Workshops: Exeter,Goldsmiths,Manchester,QueensBelfast,Northumbria, YorkStJohn. Collaborations Reflectionondevelopingworkincollaborationwith: BillMcDonnellofUniversityofSheffieldwhohasprovided academicsupportandmentoring. StellaBarnesofOvalHousehasofferedmentoring,workshop developmentandhascontributedCorePrinciples. ElizabethHare,OpenUniversity:authorofLiteratureReview andexpertinfield. Particularsupportandcollaborationfrom:MattJennings, UniversityofUlster,MattHargrave,NorthumbriaUniversity, KayHepplewhite,YorkStJohnUniversity. SeniorpractitionersandmanagersintheVoluntaryand HealthsectorswhoemployPTpractitionerstoworkwith vulnerableandcomplexgroups.Theyhaveindicatedthatthe Interviews: 14interviewswith lecturersinuniversity departments 5interviewswith practitioners:

11 frameworkhasusesbeyondthePTfield. ElizabethHare,OpenUniversity reviewofpublishedliteraturerelatingtoethicalissues contributingtotheoryandhistoryofPT EthicsFrameworkfordiscussionandapplicationbylecturersand studentsinhighereducationandforuseinprofessionallife. Workshops:Scribingbyresearcher,materialsgeneratedby participantsintheformofdrawings,plansandsomepost workshopreflections.Writtenupasreports.Photographs. 19interviews,14transcribed. OnPALATINEwebsite. OnPALATINE website. Offersabasisforexchangebetweenhighereducation,theatre practitioners,artsorganizations,unionsandartsemployers: offerscurrentexperienceoffieldpractitionerswithinHigher Education. AppliedDramaConferenceExeter2nd5thApril08. PresentationatTaPRASeptember2008. WorkshoponWhatdoyoudo?calledbyKayHepplewhite, YorkStJohnUniversity,atLiveTheatre,Newcastle. LCACEconferenceonEthicsintheArtsinSeptember2008. PALATINEConferenceinJanuary2009:TeachingApplied Drama. AestheticsofUncertainty,ManchesterMay2009. PresentationatTaPRA,Plymouth,September2009. LivingandLearning,LearningandTeaching:MentalHealthin HigherEducationconference,LancasterUniversity,3031 March,2010.

Literaturereview Outcomes Guidelines Documentation

AudioInterviews LiteratureReview Archive

Dissemination Publicationofguidelinesfor practiceandappropriate materialsonthePALATINE, SCUDD,Sheffield,Oval HouseandEquitywebsites Conferences

Acknowledgementof contributionof collaboratingdepartments andindividuals LiteratureReview

Returnofmaterialstodepartments.Namesofparticipantson recordofwork.

TheLiteratureReviewoffers:anhistoricalcontexttothepracticeofparticipatorytheatreinthatitdescribesits origins and its provenance; it provides a critical interrogation of the practice by raising questionsand provokingdiscussion,(aswellasinthelongertermwehopeitwillactuallygiveatheoreticalunderpinningto practice);anditaddsadepthtothepracticebyofferingthescholar/student/practitionerpointsofreference

12 toexplorefurtherintheworkofthepractitionersdescribed,whichwillenrichandenhancetheirengagement withthepracticeitself.TheliteraturereviewcanbefoundinAppendix1.

THEWORKSHOPS.
Theworkshopsaimed: toexploreexistingnotionsamongstparticipantsofwhatethicsmightmeantothem to find out what structures might have been adopted individually and institutionally to assert ethical practice to explore the relationship between notions and structures in the context of relations between practitioners, between practitioners and participants and between practitioners and commissioners of work toexplorethepotentialforanassertive,principled,ethicalframeworkasopposedtoacode,capableof enhancingcreativitywhilesupportingpractitioners,participantsandinstitutions

The workshop was a flow model, designed to find out how the processes of theatre practice might interact withethicalprinciples.TheworkshopstructureandexercisescanbefoundinAppendix2.

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3.ANETHICALFRAMEWORKFORPARTICIPATORYTHEATRE INTRODUCTION
Thissectionsetsouttheresultsoftheresearchprocessembodiedintheworkshopsandinterviewscarriedout withHEacademicpractitionersandstudents. ItoffersaprovisionalframeworkforethicalpracticeinParticipatoryTheatre. The span of this proposed framework covers a range of questions for Ethical practice from the fundamental questions about what kind of values are in operation to how relations with recipients andcommissionersoftheworkcanbecontracted. The structure contains the following elements which will be dealt with as a consecutive process or successionofstagesinpractice: 1. 2. RadicalEthicalFrame(REF)foundedinthetheoryandpracticeoforiginatingpractitioners Values: a set of cultural lenses proposed by the International Federation of Arts Councils and CultureAgencies(IFACCA) CorePrinciples(CP):theethicalbaseofpractitionersatOvalHouse,London StanislavskisquestionsWho?What?Why?Where?When? ThequestionHow? EvaluationandReporting

3. 4. 5. 6.

Theaimistodemonstratehowoverarchingconceptsmaybebrokendownintoabasisforanethical practicecapableofpracticalapplication.QuestioningwithintheparametersoftheREFwillproduce usefulanswerstobetriedoutinpractice,reflectedon,evaluated,learntfromanddevelopedfurther. Intertwinedwiththisisthepractitionersreflexiveprocessinwhichperceptions,values,knowledges andskillsaredevelopedthroughcriticalthinkingandpracticeintoadevelopingpraxis. Toclarify:thisprocessisofferedasanapproachtoenhancingethicalpractice.Referencetoteaching and developing practice structures and skills is not directly made here, though cross referencing is inevitable.

ORIGINATINGPRACTITIONERS
Forthepurposesofthisresearchproject,thesehavebeenidentifiedthroughtheLiteratureReview andintheinterviewprocessas: AugustoBoal

14 DorothyHeathcote TheTIEpractitionersof1970s,80sand90s PoliticsandEthicsinterrelateindifferentwayintheirwork,andareembeddedintheirpractices,but are not necessarily identified as such. It is in the values and principles explicit and implicit in their praxesthatthisstructurefindstheethicalbasisofParticipatoryTheatreorPT. Strong influences on all of them are Brecht and Stanislavski: Brecht for his commitment to making strange,questioningandreflectingonwhatappearsnormalinthedominantculture;Stanislavskifor hisunderstandingoftheinternallifeofcharactersinthetheatrespace.

FROMIMPLICIT(ISH)TOEXPLICIT(ISH).
NOTE: The use of (ish) indicates recognition that in creative work not everything can be spoken or explained,thatthereisalwayssomethingelusive. This structure looks at the boundary between what is implicit and what can be made more or less explicitinadevelopingpraxis. Theideasinformingthebodyofworkoftheoriginatingpractitionersarecoherentinthattheymake intellectual,cognitiveandintuitivesense.However,theethicsoftheirworkarefrequentlyimplicit. Thismaybebecausetheyinitiallyreliedonpersonaltransmissionoftheirworkanditspolitics/ethics. Additionally, they were often working in a context where there was a high degree of political consensusamongstcommittedandwouldbepractitioners. Accordingly,thisEthicsFrameworkapproachessuchquestionsas: Whatdowedoaboutethicsbeforeandasweentertheworkspace? What informs our practice in the space and how much of this can be made explicit without reducingthepowerofwhatBoalcallstheaestheticspace? Whatkindofethicallyinformedproceduremightenhanceandcreativelydeveloppractice? Howdowediscoverwhetherapracticeisethicalandinrelationtowhatsetofideasisitethical? If ethics are implicit in PT,what do theyderive from, andhow canajudgmentbemade about theireffectiveness? WhatistherelationshipbetweenPoliticsandEthics?Howdoissuesofclass,gender,race,justice, equalityandpowerintersectinanethicalpractice?

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STAGE1:THERADICALETHICALFRAME(REF)

1.1 IntroductiontoRadicalEthicalFrameworksomepropositions The ideas that inform PT as developed by Boal, Heathcote et al. form a Radical Ethical Frame (REF). For Dorothy Heathcote, pedagogy involved the setting of boundaries, empowerment, questioningandreflection. AugustoBoal,creatorofTheatreoftheOppressed(TO),whichincludesForumTheatre,refutes thenotionofanabsolutesetofmoralvalues,espousesradicaldissent,andbelievesthatonly out of constant practice will the new theory arise. He identifies the purpose of his theatre, whichistoempowerthepowerlessandvulnerableandtoeffectchangeintheirreallivesthrough engagementwiththefictionofthedrama.4Hestressestheaestheticoftheoppressedasartist and the nature of theatre as creatively and socially transformative. The practice of these theatricalformscreatesasortofuneasysenseofincompletenessthatseeksfulfilmentthrough realaction.5 Boalsethicsandpoliticsaredeeplyembeddedinhistheory,andinthestructuresofhisGames, Exercises and theatre forms. The practice has become diffused, however, and what may have appearedclearasapoliticsandethicstothoseworkingwithhiminthelate1980snowrequires someunpacking. The role of Boals Joker/facilitator embodies the questions of how the balance between individualandgroupmightwork,bothfortheJokerandintherelationsbetweenparticipants:it raisesimportantconsiderationsabouthowpowerisexercised,shared,and/orhandedoverinTO andotherpractices. TheatreinEducationsinterestinmoralvaluesandpoliticswasneverexplicitinitspublicagenda, althoughtheyformedtheheartofitssubjectmatteranddictateditsethics.Itsexplicitagenda was for goodtheatre and its value in childrens lives. For many practitioners, thepolitics was deliberatelyimplicitandsubversive. Harestatesthat:ThereflectiveandreflexivenatureoftheprocessofTIE,(is)acharacteristicthat hashadaprofoundinfluenceontheconductofparticipatorytheatreintheUKeversince.Italso forms the core of the current concern to identify and formulate the ethics of current practice. TheaccountsofTIEprogrammesarealwaysaccompaniedbyaccountsofevaluations.6

Hare,LiteratureReview,2010(Appendix1) Boal1979,p142 Hare,LiteratureReview,2010(Appendix1)

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RADICALETHICALFRAME
The following core Ethical/Political objectives for PT have been derived from the practitioner interviews,studentworkshopsandtheliteraturereview. Toempower To question, to reflect, to be reflexive, to learn from experience, to create change in understanding,toreflectonthepracticeforitsenhancement7 To challenge accepted ideas, to question and challenge power relations, to transform, to transgress,tosubvert Tobecomeequal,tobedemocratic,toworkwithconsent,todialogue. Totakepower,toeffectchange Toexploremetaphorthroughtheatre,tomaketheatre,tobecreative,tobeartists,totransform throughbeauty,tohavefun Toenrichteachingandlearning Tocreatevitalcommunicationbetweenpeople,ofthoughts,feelingsandideas8,tocreategroup workingwhilesupportingindividualautonomy Tofindeffectiveactionsintheworld ItisusefultoseetheREFasasetofworkingideasorcontextsfortheapplicationoftheValuesor ethical lenses which are set out below. Taken together they can assist in clarifying the ethical purposeandintentionsofaprojectorworkprocess.

STAGE2:VALUES
INTRODUCTIONTOVALUES
Atthisstageinthereflexiveprocessitisusefultoaskquestionsaboutaworksorprojectsroleor function. There is a useful tool in the2008International Federationof Arts Councils and Culture AgenciesdocumentEthicsinCulturalPolicy.ThesectionisentitledFairCulture?.9Itproposesthe useofethicallensesthroughwhichtodeterminethewayfundersmightunderstandandrefinetheir policies. In funding practice, particularly in arts funding, the idea of a hierarchy of aesthetic worth generallyrelegatesPTorsociallybasedworktothelowestlevelasutilitarian.FairCulturecanbe usefullyadaptedtohelpingdefinethepurposeofthework,helpingtoavoidvaluejudgmentswhich discriminate against either the notion of art for arts sake, or socially targeted work: it suggests a spectrumratherthanahierarchyofpractice. ThedocumentgoesontoofferadefinitionofHumanCulturalRights:
7

BoltoninJackson,1980,p,73. VallinsinJackson,1980p.4 Ethicsinculturalpolicywww.ifacca.org/topic/ethicsinculturalpolicy/

17 In order to illustrate the ethical aspect in cultural policy, we created a new concept 'fair culture',whichwedefinedasfollows: Fair culture means the realization of peoples cultural rights and inclusion in cultural signification, irrespective of age, gender, language, state of health, ethnic, religious or culturalbackground. Thedimensionsoffairculturewedividedintothefollowingcategories 1.Accesstohumankindsandonesownculturaltradition 2.Physical,regionalandculturalaccessibilityandavailability 3.Diversityofculturalsupplyanditsmatchingwithdemand 4.Participationinculturalsupply,and 5.Opportunitiesfor,inclusioninandcapabilityforculturalselfexpressionandsignification ThisformulationisderivedbyIFACCAfromAristotlesEthics,thoughitmovesquitealongwayfrom itsoriginal.Ihaveadapteditandsuggestitasonemeanstodifferentiatebetweenrelatedpractices.

VIRTUE,RESPONSIBILITY,BENEFIT:THEETHICALVALUESORLENSESPROPOSEDBYIFACCA.
Avirtueorfreedomethicfocusesonissuesoffreedominartandculture;onfreedomof selfexpression and the autonomy of art. It views creativity andart as intrinsically valuable andthereforelegitimategoalsinthemselves. A responsibility or rights ethic relates to the cultural interests and identities of communitiesandgroups,workinginthecontextofculturaltraditions,andtherealizationof cultural rights. This involves accessibility, availability and provision, participation and inclusion. A corollary or benefit ethic can see creativity as a tool, focusing attention on the applicationofartspracticeincomplexsocialandeconomiccontexts.Itsalsoapplicableto industrialspheresfore.g.theprotectionofintellectualproperty,contractualrelationswith employersandfunders. o o Howmightpracticeusetheseethicallenses? Thepositionsindicatedundereachcategoryarenotmutuallyexclusiveandapiece of work might combine more than one. The corollary lens, for example, could combinewithboththeothertwotolookattherelationshipbetweencreativearts workandsocialorpoliticalintervention. The lenses, with their underpinning in human rights, point up those issues of inclusionandmarginalizationwhichPTcontinuallyaddressesandcritiques.What istheworkaimingatinanyparticularcontext,whatdrivesit?

ThevalueoftheselensesisderivedfromtheirrelationshiptotheREFsetoutabove,and totheCorePrincipleselaboratedbelow.

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STAGE3:COREPRINCIPLES
CHOICE,EQUALITY,RESPECT,SAFETY,COMPETENCE. 10

3.1:INTRODUCTION.
Thisstage,duringwhichcontinualreferencetotheRadicalEthicalFramework andValuesstageswill bemade,isintendedtonarrowthefocusontoasetofworkingconceptswhichbothconnectwith, and challenge, current ideas of good practice in the political and social spheres. The research workshop process revealed that the Core Principles are resonant with meanings that may be obfuscatedbyinstitutionaloveruseoftheseterms:explorationrevealedthatmanymeaningscluster aroundthewords,andshiftaccordingtocontext,individualinterpretationandinstitutionalcontext. 11 In terms of the Radical Ethical Framework, these principles may emerge as a challenge to and a questioning of legal and institutional concepts of good practice and of research ethics. The principlesweredevelopedinthecontextofworkwithcomplexandvulnerablegroupsforOvalHouse, London,byStellaBarnes,theirHeadofEducationandcollaboratorinthisproject. Under prevailing codes of practice, notions of safety, for example, tend to default to limiting or preventingphysicalrisk,emotionalrisk,ortouching,Theyaretheretooftentoprotectagainstlegal actionandfacilitatorincompetence,amongstotherthings.Inartsandtheatrepractice,ontheother hand,riskisanacceptedelementingroupandindividualdevelopment,bothinpersonalandcreative forms.Groupworkinvolvingphysicalactivityandtouchingisregardedasstandard.However,what kindofriskisbeingalludedto?Doesitconflictwiththestatutorypositiononriskornot? Similarly, Respect may conventionally be seen as excluding Challenge, an element of the Radical Ethical Framework, while Choice, in the context of Participatory Theatre working situations, can be provoking and provocative for all involved, owing to imbalances in power relationships, and to agendasbeingsetbycommissionersratherthanbyartistsorparticipants. Asking the questions Who, What etc (below) will help to clarify whats needed and what the Core Principles might mean in a specific context: a group of learning disabled people may require a differentapproachtoagroupofrailwayworkers,forexample. Acceptance of gender inequality in vulnerable or marginalized groups raises specific issues of practice.Inherentinallgroupworkareissuesofpower:relationsbetweenfacilitatorandgroupare especiallycomplexandchangeasprocessdevelops.

10

StellaBarnes SeeIntroduction

11

19

3.2:NOTESONCOREPRINCIPLES:CHOICE,EQUALITY,RESPECT,SAFETY,COMPETENCE.
With reference to the Radical Ethical Framework and Values, it is helpful to reflect on what competenceactuallyis.Isitastateofbeingorofbecoming?Itiscertainlyakeytoexercisinguseful judgment. During research it emerged that becoming competent is an incremental process. At its centre is reflection and reflexivity: a new practitioner who reflects, questions, learns from mistakes and successesandmovesonisdevelopingcompetence.Theskillsandknowledgegrowwithpracticeand incombinationconstitutethemeanswherebypractitionersdeveloptheirpraxis. ThefollowingisaclusterofcapacitiesrelatingtoCompetenceproposedafterconsultation

C OMPETENCE
Asanartist,developingandconsolidatingknowledgeoftheatreanditspotentialand howtoworkinandholdthetheatrespace. Learningfromandreflectingonexperience,anddevelopinghonestusefulknowledge andselfawarenessofowncapacitiesandlimitsatanystage. Learningespeciallyfrommistakes. Workingtodeveloppersonalskillsinreflectionandtransmittingthesetoothers. Developing, valuing and understanding your range and repertoire of strategies and workingpracticesateachstageofworkinglife. Developingtheabilitytoexercisejudgmentinrelationtoworkprocessbydevelopinga systematic and imaginative approach to analyzing the work, its context and key factors. Increasing ability to question and to take working decisions with flexibility and creativity. Understandingtheimplicitcontractbetweenyourselfandthoseyouareworkingwith. Acquiring knowledge of Equalities, Health and Safety and other legislation and of acceptedgoodpractice. Workingtogainanalyticalrigourandimaginativefreedom. Developing ethical skills in negotiating, planning and contracting with employers to supportboththeworkingsituationandyourselfasaprofessional.

Competencehereisbothanethicalprinciple(anincompetentpractitionerinacomplexsituationis unacceptable),andanecessarybridgebetweentheory,principlesandpractice.

3.3THECOREPRINCIPLES.
Having considered Competence at some length, it is worth pointing to the ambiguities that might

20 surround the other Core Principles. Questioning of the Core Principles is appropriate, not least becausetherearesociallyreceivednotionsaboutwhattheymightmean,andthesenotionsmayhave tobechallenged;thisisespeciallytrueinplaceswherecontrolandrepressionarepractised,suchas oldpeopleshomes,prisons,andyoungoffendersinstitutions. Itisimportanttotakeintoaccounttheciviccontextinwhichtheworkmighttakeplace.Forexample, in 1960s and 1970s Brazil, the coup of 1964 and continuing opposition to state repression and violence generated Boals Theatre of the Oppressed with its penetrating analysis of power and oppression.12 Recently,ProfessorJamesThompson13haswrittenabouttheethicalquestionsraisedduringworkin the Sri Lankan war zone. Both Theatre for Development work and local UK work with groups experiencing injustice or coming from sexist, lawless and oppressive regimes, can raise particular politicalandethicalissues.Judgmentandskillsareneededinthesecontexts,buttrialanderrorare alsopartoftheprocess. The meaning of Choice, for example, has to be carefully considered in a prison where choice is restricted:whatrolecantheatreplayinexplicitlyorimplicitlyconfrontingtheissue?Whathappens whenthepractitionersperceptionofchoicediffersfromthatoftheauthorities?HowmighttheREF influencedecisions?WhatroledoesSafetyhave,howdoesitaffectnotionsofEquality?Inwhatway wouldthedecisionschangein,say,acommunitycentreoraschool?

12

SeeTaPRApresentationforRustomBharuchaonthecivic ProfessorofAppliedandSocialTheatre,UniversityofManchester

13

21

STAGE4:QUESTIONS:WHO?WHAT?WHY?WHERE?WHEN?
4.1:INTRODUCTION.
This stage of the process applies Stanislavskis questions for characterbuilding to reflection on the characteroftheworkorprojectorlearningcontext,andofitsparticipants. Askingusefulquestionscanhelpustoreflecton,clarifyandstructureideasforallpartiesinvolved, andfacilitateaclear,ethicalproposalandrealisticexpectationsofthework. The questions will help particularly, perhaps, in the process of consulting and of developing an agreementwiththeorganisationofferingthework,thecommissioner,and/orwiththosetakingpart init(whomayalsobethecommissioner). Usingthisapproachtoexplorethecommissionerspositionitispossibleataninitialstagetodecide whetherornottheworkiswithinanacceptableethicalframeandhow/whetherornottodoit.The process of asking will increase your competence and help in the accumulation of critical understanding: reciprocally, as your competence increases, so over time, the questions will be integratedintoyourworkandwillgiverisetonewquestionsandapproaches. ThesequestionsarecrucialintheprocessofemergingfromtheImplicitishintotheExplicitish.They can(mostly)beanswered,andusefullyso.Otherquestionscannotalwaysoreverbeanswered:some ofthesearefrequentlyansweredwhentheyshouldnotevenbeaskedandarefoundonapplication formstoArtsandotherorganizationsandinevaluationforms. Thisprocessasawholehelpsinthetaskofseeingwhatcanandcantbeusefullyoreventruthfully answered,andwillagainhelptoprotectpractice. An example is a funders desire to close down and overdetermine outcomes very prevalent in NorthernIreland,forexample,whereartistsareusedforcomplexcommunityworkbutwhere,asis common, art and its uncertainty is feared and mistrusted. Or they may ask for outcomes to be described before the group has had a chance to decide what it will do, precluding choice in, and ownership of the work by all involved. Strategic and tactical decisions can be made as to how to answer. In for example, refugee work, Theatre for Development and again in Northern Ireland, fundingmaybedependentonachievingresultsatoddswithPTethicalpractices.Istheworkworth doinganyway?

4.2USINGWHO?WHAT?WHY?WHERE?WHEN?INPRACTICE
The summary of possible questions/issues set out below cannot be comprehensive, as answers are contextdependent.Asyouwork,reflectonwhattheREF/CorePrinciplesmeanhere.Whatisthe relationshipwithlegalandgoodpracticeprinciples,forexample?

22 Who? Who do I think I am? Who do the group think I am? Who will be there? Age, gender,ethnicity,class,sexuality,age,status,employment,presence,healthetc. Who am I/are we as practitioners: what are our presence, stake, involvement, desires,connection,culture,knowledgehowmuchdoweknow,doesitmatter? ItisusefulunderWho?tochallengethestigmatizingandreductiveuseoflanguage whichdefinespeoplebytheirperceivedvictimhoodordisadvantage:marginalized andexcludedareexamples.Suchtermsareoftenusedbypowerholders(inthe benefitssystem,theimmigrationsystemetc)toclassifygroupsandarepickedup byotherorganizationsandbyindividuals,includingpeopleinthegroupsinvolved. Whoseistheidea/work,whosewillbetheoutcomesownershipareyouhappy with the answer to this question (refer toCore Principles)? Have the participants chosentheproject/work? Forwhomistheworkbeingdone?Towhomwillitbeperformed,andforwhose benefit?Isittoticktheboxesforacommissioner?GotoHow!

What?

Whatswanted?Whowantsitemployerorparticipantsorbothwhoseagenda isit?Whatarethepreconceptionstheparticipantshave,doIhave?Whatarethe powerrelations? Do the participants know about the work? Have they been consulted? If its imposed,whatdorespectandchoicemean?WhatdoIwant,isitcontradictoryor in harmony with the project? What are the aims and objectives, have you scrutinizedandagreedthemaspartofyourcontract,whatchoiceshaveyoumade already?

Why? Where? When? Timeofday,timeinhistory,inthelivesofpeopleandorganizations,yourlife,the livesandcontextsoftheparticipants,insocialandpoliticallife. Locationandenvironment,physicalandsocial.Aricharea,adangerousplaceetc. Whataretheimplications?Howdoyougetthere? Whynow?Whowantstheworkandwhy?Isitafreechoice?

23

STAGE5.HOW?

5.1FORMALSTRUCTUREOFTHEWORK.
InarrivingatHow?thepractitionerisinapositiontothinkabouthowtheworkwillbedonewhat elements,plans,strategiesmightbeselectedtorealisetheproject.Throughthequestioningprocess, shewillhavecreatedavisionofthecontextandparticulardemands,ofthecharacteroftheproject. Usingthisapproachthepractitionercanexplorethecommissionersposition;decidewhetherornot the work is within an acceptable ethical frame, whether or not to do it and how to mediate the problems through discussion or subversive action. This structure is not a guide on how to be unemployed,butonhowtodecide,ethically,whattodo.Therearemanyexamplesofworkdone ethicallybypractitionersworkinginproblematiccontexts. The interchange with the commissioner creates a relationship in which each party is clear enough abouttheotherspositiononcreative,ethicalandworkissuesenablingacontractualagreementtobe reachedonthewholeprocessfrominitialsetuptoevaluation.14

5.2HOW?MAKINGAGREEMENTS.
Howdoestheworkgetdonegiventheknowledgeaccumulatedthroughyourethicalinquiry?Reflect oneachstageoftheprocessbyreferringtoREFandCorePrinciples. ThisprocessisonethatisasappropriateforpractitionersintraininginHEasitisforthoseinmid career.Thepracticeofworkingtogetaclearandethicalagreementwithcommissionersiscrucialto anassertiveandconvincingpractice. Developing a template for dealing with commissioners can be approached through applying this processtoworkbetweenteachersandstudentswithintheHEenvironment.Suchapracticeneeds tosafeguardwhatiscentralcreativelyandethicallywhilerespondingtothecommissionersneedsin an environment in which, unlike that of HE, there is little or no understanding of the values and principlesofthework. Thefollowingishelpful.Itcanbeusedinternallywithteachersorcolleaguestoclarifywhatyouwill do, and with commissioners. Thinking can be summarised and focused through a Proposal and a Contract:

P ROPOSAL : Aimandobjectivesoftheworkinwritingincluding
1. 2.
Duringtheworkshopphaseoftheresearchforthisstructure,studentsformulatedcontractualapproacheswhichclarifiedtheirthinking andrepresentedtheirworkinawaychosenbythem.
14

Adescriptionofhowyouwork,yourmethodology Yourethicalvaluesandboundaries.

24

D EVELOPINGA C ONTRACT :
This takes different forms: e.g. a contract with a group of participants, with an employing or contracting organisation, an internal agreement with colleagues to clarify work plans and relationships. It should be noted that a contract needs to be written down and is a legal agreement which properly formulated creates professional and structured working relationships. It includes the Proposal. Contracts of employment/engagement have particular requirements including days/hours of work,dates,statementofwhatyouareoffering,ethicsstatement,whattheemployeragreesto provide,number of peopleneeded, HealthandSafetyand statutory requirements, appropriate support and briefing, the appropriate number of facilitators, money. Issues of copyright and ownershipofmaterialsshouldbeincluded. Acontractshouldcontainanagreementonevaluation,howitsdoneandifthescaleofthework warrantsit,whowillpayforitandwhowillcarryitout.15

5.3HOW?WORKPLANNINGANDEXECUTION.

T HE P RACTICEPLANANDETHICALFACTORS
Whatistheworkfor?Balancebetweencreativeandsocialobjectives?(seeVirtue,Responsibility etc.above). HowdotheRF/CorePrinciplesaboveandtheanswerstoyourquestionsinformyourworkshop structure? Whatkindofgames,exercisesetc.willhelptocreatetheinteractionsandoutcomesyouwant? Alternativestrategies:Uncertainty,changeandunpredictabilitywillinformtheprocess.Whatis fixedandwhatcanbechangedasneeded?Whathappensifparticipantswanttochangethings? Answersdependoncontext,ethicalpositioningandcompetence.

W ORKPROCESS
InworkinginPTthefollowingarecontextdependentallorsomemightbeuseful.Theycreatean arenawhereagreedboundaries(e.g.noviolence)aretransgressedinimageintheother,aesthetic space. Negotiatingtheworkwithcommissioners:forexample,wherethecommissionermightconsider it risky, emotionally and physically, for young offenders to work on certain issues of their own choicewhichmaychallengethesystem. Exercisingpower:acknowledgeyourpowerasJoker,facilitator,workshopleader:Howdopower
15

Seemodelcontractattached.

25 and Equality correlate? Being clear about having different roles is part of Equality, as is understandinghowthesemightchangeastheprocessdevelops. Ground rules: asking the group to propose some (see suggestions below) or offering them for discussion demonstrates a practice that respects participants, engages them from the initial stagesoftheworkasequals,andoffersthemchoicesandcontrolintheprocessandtherightto consenttoit. Groundrulesdelineateareasofpowerandresponsibility:theyclarifyforeveryoneinthework situationequalthoughdifferentroles.Whoisrunningthework?(Collective?Facilitator?)What role do participants play in contributing, commenting, consenting, saying no, hearing each other?Thisrequiresthefacilitatortoreflectonherownrole:whataretheboundaries,whatis thepoweractuallyfor,howdoesshehandlethebalancebetweenherroleandtheparticipants roles?If,forexample,listeningisagroundrule,howdoesthefacilitatorunderstandthis?What happens if participants dont like the work what does she do if she is listening? What is appropriateinthecontext? ExplainandreviewtheAimofthework.Offergood,appropriateexplanationsofwhatsgoing on, encourage feedback at appropriate times, encourage listening, reflection, questioning. Reviewprogress,sharereflections. Being clear about what you seek to achieve but having alternative strategies and courses of action:knowingwhatisfixedandwhatisflexible. Ownership is an issue where participants contribute creatively to a devised piece, material for publication and/or exhibition etc. Recognition and crediting of the material is essential and, wherefinancialgainmaybeinvolved,clearcontractualboundariesareneeded. Use of personal stories: issues around disclosure, past trauma, and decisions to work with autobiographical materials relate to confidentiality, emotional safety and ownership. Where groupsandindividualsagreeorevenvolunteermaterials,thedecisiontousethem,whetherin the workshop space or in public, needs special ethical attention, depending on context. The choice of whether to use such material does not necessarily rest with individuals whose willingnesstodisclosemightbeproblematic. With personal and other kinds of difficult material, the need for competence in holding the theatrespaceisexemplified.Ensuringthatthegroupsworkthroughthedistancingcontaining thattheatreenablesiscreative,competentandsafer.TheBoalianprocessofmakinganimage ofrealityandthenworkingwiththerealityoftheimage,Metaxis,encapsulatesthis.16 Personal stories are a subject for attention. Working with refugees on personal, traumatic and sensitive material involves consideration of aesthetic, funding, personal and social issues. A decisiontoworkinthepresentandwiththewholepersonasalifenotsolelycharacterizedby trauma, for example, is an ethical decision with consequences beyond the immediate piece of work. Taking on uncertainty, change and unpredictability is inherent in the creative process. This
16

AugustoBoalRainbowofDesire.Routledge1995.P42Secondhypothesis:metaxis

26 requires mediation in your interface with commissioners who may not grasp the centrality of theseandmaywanttobereassuredthattheoppositeisthecase. Competencemakingdecisionswithinyourcapacityatdifferentstagesofyourdevelopment.

5.4 C OMMENTS : THE E XPLICIT

This is where the question of the Explicit emerges beyond the (ish). The REFs within which the originating practitioners work was situated provided their ethical/political basis; getting group consent,forexample,wasusuallyImplicitintheirpractice.Theageofstatutoryregulationwasbarely beginning. Contemporary practice does suggest an Explicit use of Ground Rules, boundaries and rules of engagement. In a litigious environment, they act as a signal to commissioners that accepted Good PracticeandStatutoryobligationsarebeingacknowledgedandobservedappropriately,andthatthe dangerofbeingsuedisminimal. However, the ambiguities and complexities of meaning discussed under REF, Values and Core Principles stand. There is no universal rule: thereare exceptions. The issue is to consider How the workcanbeenabledandtomakeajudgmentastowhat,incontext,mightbetheoptimumcourseof action. Statutory requirements onchild protection, health and safety etc.area legal imperative. Abide by them: physical safety is a given; allowing elders to fall over misplaced furniture is clearly unacceptable.Beyondthestatutory,again,judgmentisrequiredtogaugewhatconstitutessafetyand riskin,forexample,aprimaryschool,aprisonoraworkplace. ThePALATINEConferenceCalculatingRisk:assessment,ethicsandriskassessmentindurationaland sitebasedperformanceworkwith/bystudentsinJanuary2010isausefulreferencehere,thoughit focusedonadifferentfieldofwork.17

S AMPLEGROUNDRULES ( IT SGOODTOAVOIDTHEWORD NO WHEREPOSSIBLE )

Listentoeachother(dontinterrupt) Supportivechallenging(dontberudebutfeelfreetodisagree!) Confidentiality Negotiatedifficulties(noviolence) Beontime Eatatbreaks Phonesoff Discussionattheagreedmoments Youcansayno Haveago!

17

http://www.palatine.ac.uk/events/viewreport/1699/

27 Usematerialyourecomfortablewith

STAGE6.EVALUATIONANDREPORTING
6.1Criteriaforassessingtheeffectsoftheworkneedtoberelatedtotheaimsandparameters set out in the initial contract. Once again, this approach is as appropriate for practitioners in traininginHEasitisforthoseinmidcareer. Evaluationcriteriashouldbeagreedwiththecommissionerattheoutset,and,inHEcontexts, should complement the usual internal evaluation of course outcomes. Sometimes, of course, thetwowilloverlap.Thereisarangeofavailableapproachesfromsimplyaskingtheparticipants to say or write their reactions in the final session, to structured schemes which might involve focusgroups,externalassessorsetc. Referring back to the Virtue, Responsibility, Benefit spectrum, the REF and the Core Principles will be helpful and at this stage it should be possible to evaluate confidently. Ethically, it is essential to check out with participants themselves how the work is going at regular intervals duringtheprocessandtorecordtheirresponsesaspartofacollaborativeevaluationprocess. 6.2 Issues of confidentiality will be especially important in situations where participants have offered personal material: for example prisons, large business organizations, childrens homes, localcouncils,tradesunionsetc.wherecommentsmaybemadewhichindividualsdonotwishto have reported back. Anonymity can be promised via the Ground Rules and the commissioner canbeinformedofthisethicalpositionviathecontract. 6.3 Due to pressure from funders, in some cases evaluation has become a marketing tool for promoting the work to new commissioners, of little benefit, in its published form, to the practitionersinvolved.Attemptingtoensureongoingfundingshouldbeseenasseparatetothe internalanalysispractitionersneedtopracticeforthedevelopmentoftheirwork.

28

STAGE7.REFLECTIONANDREFLEXION
This is the final staging point prior to returning to the beginning of the structure to reflect on the processyouhavecarriedthrough,assesshowitrelatestothecriteriasuggested,andtothinkabout howyouwilldevelopyourthinkingandpractice. Inthemomentofreflection,throughouttheworkandatEvaluation,bringbackintoplaytheRadical EthicalFrame,Values,CorePrinciplesandQuestionsasacontexttohelpassesswhetherthepractice is still holding a relationship with its aims. What happened? Gibbss Reflexive Cycle offers the followingquestionstoassistthinkingaboutwork.Mistakesareopportunitiesforlearning! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Description:whathappened? Feelings:whatwereyourthoughtsandfeelings? Evaluation:whatwasgoodandbadabouttheexperience? Analysis:whatsensecanyoumakeofit? Conclusion:whatelsecouldyouhavedone? Returnto1.

Thesequestionscanofcoursebeusedatanystageintheworkprocess.Liketheessentialsofthe structureasawhole,theywillbecomesecondnature.

29

APPENDIX1.ETHICSOFPARTICIPATORYTHEATRE:ALITERATUREREVIEW BYDRELIZABETHHARE
The purpose of this literature review is to provide a literary and academic background to support the frameworkforpracticewhichformsthemainbodyoftheprojectreport. TheframeworkitselfisintendedtoinformtheworkoffacilitatorsandprojectleadersinParticipatoryTheatre, and further, would shape the educational processes for students in Higher Education who are studying the subject, usually called Applied Drama,18 within the performing arts disciplines. This literature review will identifythesourcesandintellectualideaswhichinformtheproposedframework,fromtheconsiderablebody ofscholarlywritingextantinthisarea.InthispaperIwilldealwiththehistoricalprecedentsforparticipatory theatreandthehistoricalcontextfromwhichithasemergedoverthelast40years.

H ISTORICAL C ONTEXT
The history of contemporary participatory theatre begins in the middle of the 20th Century. There emerge three significant areas of practice which may be deemed essential to the understanding of the practice of participatorytheatreintheUKsincethenandatthepresenttime.Theyare:theworkofDorothyHeathcote (andGavinBolton)ineducationaldrama;thepracticeofAugustoBoalinForumTheatreandtheworkofthe TIE(TheatreinEducation)companies,hereintheUK,inthe1970sand80sandintheEnglishspeakingworld, mostnotablyinAustraliainthe1990s. Therealreadyexistsaconsiderablebodyofscholarlywritingaboutthesepractitionersandareasofpractice, accumulatedduringthelastthirtyyearsofthedevelopmentofparticipatorytheatre,whichhasforalongtime been an element of university teaching in the performing arts, and an element of education in our schools system,andalso,perhapsmorepertinentlyhere,abodyofsuchworkundertakenbyprofessionalpractitioners with a wide range of vulnerable and excluded groups of all kinds in our society. It is not the remit of this project to reexamine that literature in detail, but rather to identify and examine the ways in which it may contributetothepresentdiscussionoftheethicsofthisofthepractice. Thisbodyofliterature,mostofwhichdescribes,analysesandcritiquespractice,contributessignificantlytothe emergenceofthecentralquestionsofthisproject.Iwouldliketoidentifythesequestionsasfollows: Wheredidtheworkwearelookingatcomefrom? Whatweretheethicsthathaveinformedit? Whataretheethicsthatinformitnow? Whatcouldanexaminationofthismaterialcontributetothedevelopmentofanethicalframework forcurrentpracticeandtraininginthepracticeofparticipatorytheatre?

18

Thetermparticipatorytheatreisusedthroughoutthisdiscussionbecausetheresearcherstaketheviewthattheactivitieswithwhich theyareconcernedaretheatreratherthandrama,andparticipatoryratherthanapplied.Seesectiontwoforanexpansionofthisidea.

30

D OROTHY H EATHCOTE . 19
Inthelate60sandearly70sHeathcotesworkinDramainEducationemergedasapractice,whichwaslater reviewedanddocumentinliterature,intwoimportantbooksandnumerousarticles(Wagner1973andONeill and Johnson 1984 and various journals). More recently a biography of Heathcote by Gavin Bolton, her long time friend and colleague summarizes her contribution to educational drama over the last 60 years.20 However,wearehereconcernedwiththehistoricalcontextandthereforeIwillconfinemydiscussiontothe earlierworks. Bothinthepractice,andinthecontemporaryliteraturewhichdocumentedit,Heathcotesethicswereimplicit ratherthanexplicit.Forexample,inWagner1972,thereisachapterheadedThresholdswhichdescribesthe setting of boundaries necessary for the conductof a successful dramasession, and relates to the emotional safetyoftheparticipantsandconfidentialityofthework.Thesethresholdstaketheformofpracticaladvice and do not attempt to propose an ethical framework for the work, but they do implicitly offer one. They describeclearlythenecessityforboundariesbetweenfacilitatorsandparticipantsandbetweenthefictionof the stage and the space occupied by the audience or participants in their real lives. This distinction was to become,andremains,acentralconcernpractitionersofparticipatorytheatre.Itisconnectedwiththeequally important questions of whether the activities of participatory theatre can affect reality and of that way in whichtheemotionalsafetyofparticipantscanbecompromisedandmustbeprotected. AnothersignificantcharacteristicoftherelationshipbetweenHeathcoteandherparticipatinggroupsisthatof empowerment. This is of particular significance as many of the groups she worked with were vulnerable people:forexample,youngchildrenandthelearningdisabled.Examplesofhowherworkischaracterizedin thiswaycanbeseeninWagnersaccountsofhertechniques,suchasMantleoftheExpertandTeacherin Role(Wagner1973).Intheuseofthesetechniquesthepowerisdeliberatelyabrogatedbytheteacher,the culturally assumed powerful figure, and given to the participants. By handing over the knowledge and direction of activities and decisions to a group of young children, the teacher motivates them to learn and discover,andbyassumingadependentrole,theteacherallowsthemtosolveproblemsandmakedecisionsin the imagined adult context of the drama. The theatre activity becomes participatory to the extent that the leadership and direction of the activity is handed over from the assumed powerful figure of the teacher or facilitatortothemembersoftheparticipatinggroup,howeveryoungorvulnerabletheymaybe. At no point has either Heathcote or any of the scholars who have documented her work, laid down a prescriptive or explicit ethical framework, but it is clear that these two elements of setting boundaries and empowermentarebothcentraltoherworkandimplyanethicalframework,asetofunderlyingprinciples,in operation. AthirdcharacteristicofHeathcotespracticeisquestioning,andasherquestionsareopenendedandthought provoking,thistechniquemightbedescribedashavingethicalimplications.Heathcotespractice,likethatof TheatreinEducation,isprimarilypedagogical,andtheopennessofthequestioningimpliesapedagogyofa particular kind; a pedagogy that teaches questioning and thought rather than coerces into prescribed attitudes; a pedagogy that is radical, liberal and profoundly political; a pedagogy that has become a central characteristicofparticipatorytheatre.ThecurrentworkinBritishuniversitiesinparticipatorytheatreremains essentiallypedagogicalinnatureinthatpostandundergraduatestudentsaretaughtskillsandpractice.That pedagogyretainsthespiritofradicalquestioningthatcomesfromHeathcoteswork.
The Dorothy Heathcote Archive is housed at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and is a rich source of information and materialforfurtherstudy.Visithttp://www.partnership.mmu.ac.uk/drama
20 19

BoltonGDorothyHeathcote'sStory:TheBiographyofaRemarkableDramaTeacher2003

31 To summarise, there are three aspects of Heathcotes work that can clearly be said to inform the current practice of participatory theatre. They are the setting of boundaries, the empowerment of the given client groupandthecentralityofopenandgenuinequestioning.

A UGUSTO B OAL 21
The same may also be said of the work of Augusto Boal, emerging in the 70s and is the most significant influence on the practice of participatory theatre which has developed in the context of British universities since that time. Boals work as recordedin his book The Theatreof the Oppressed, (UK translation 1976)22, restsontheradicalpoliticsofthestruggleforliberationandhumanrightsandtheempowermentofminority andvulnerablegroups.Itisselfevidentthatthisworkhastohaveanethicswhichinformsthepractice,and thisethicsisindeedcentraltotheconsiderableliteratureonhiswork. ItisclearthattheethicalconsiderationswhichinformBoalsworkoverlapwiththoseofHeathcoteandthat, likeher,Boalisnotexplicitinanyethicalprescriptionbutfromtheearlieststagesinthedevelopmentofhis practiceanethicsisimpliedanddiscussed. Boalsworkhasdeveloped,andcometoformthelynchpinofparticipatorytheatre.Mostundergraduateswill beintroducedtothetechniquesofForumTheatreandithasbecomeclearthatthis,themostsignificantform ofhispracticetoinfluencecurrentworkinparticipatorytheatre,cannotbeauthenticallypractisedoutsideofa clearethicalcontext.Ithasbecomethemostused,andprobablybydefault,mostoftenmisused,techniquein participatory theatre. For these reasons it bears a little more scrutiny here, in order to identify its implicit ethicalcharacteristics. Boal himself relates, in the early chapters of the Theatre of the Oppressed (1976) how badly things can go wrongifforumtheatreisapproachedwithoutafullunderstandingofitspotential,andthecorrectuseofits techniques. Thecreationanddevelopmentofgoodpracticeofthisformoftheatreisinformedbyareturntotheethicsof Aristotleandhisnotionofvirtu(Boalopcitpp3335andfollowing1976).Boaltakeshisexpositionfromthe ethics of Aristotelian tragedy, with its notion of the fatal flaw, through the politics of Machiavelli and the philosophyofHegel,tothepointwhereherefutesthenotionofanabsolutesetofmoralvaluesandsaysthat inthenewformoftheatreheespousesradicaldissentanddeclaresthatonlyoutofconstantpracticewillthe newtheoryarise(Boalopcitp79). Boal is scrupulously honest in identifying the pitfalls of working in this form of theatre, and facilitators attemptingtouseitaspartoftheirpracticewoulddowelltotakeheedofhisexperienceasrecountedinthe finalsectionofthebook,TheDevelopmentoftheArenaTheatreofSaoPaolo,(Boalopcitpp1591901976).[In thisearlyworkheusesthetermarenatheatre;thebasisofthegroupoftechniqueslatertobecomeknown asforumtheatre.]Intheseearlyexamplesofpracticehediscussestheproblemsattendantonthecentraltask ofempowermentandtheneedforboundariesbetweenfictionandreality,andthequestionoftheimpactof theworkonpeoplesreallives,asIhavealreadyidentifiedinHeathcotesworkabove. Pertinent to this review, the book includes a chapter entitled the Poetics of the Oppressed, in which Boal outlines his thinking, his philosophy and theorising, of this own work (Boal op cit p119 1976). He gives a thumbnailsketchoftheatrehistory,andidentifiesthemasses,theaudience,astheoppressed,andthetheatre elite,(actorsdirectorsetc.)astheoppressors.Hedescribeswhat,tohismind,isthecrucialmomentwhenthis
21

Forreliablebackgroundinformationvisithttp://www.theatreoftheoppressed.org TheoriginaltextwasinPortugueseandfirstpublishedinEnglishintheUnitedStatesin1973

22

32 oppressionbegan,asthemomentwhentheroleofspectatorwasseparatedfromthatoftheactor;whenthe spectatorbecamemerelythepassiverecipientofthework,andtheactor/theatremakerheldallthepower overwhatwassaidanddone.Boaladvocatesareturntoparticipatorytheatre,andfromthispointonwardhis workisfocusedonthisgoal. Boaltalksaboutpower,andspecificallyaboutthepowerlessness,ofanyaudienceinthetheatreexperience. This is the starting point for the ethical dimension of his work. He goes on to parallel this with the powerlessnessinrealityofthemembersofthevulnerablegroups,theoppressedwithwhomheworks.Inthis wayheidentifiesthepurposeofhistheatrewhichistoempowerthepowerlessandvulnerable,andtoeffect change in their real lives through engagement with the fiction of the drama, a purpose that remains at the heartofthepracticetothisdayandismoreover,essentialtoanunderstandingofitsethics. Boals mission in Forum Theatre is to reverse the power balance, both in the theatre and, to the extent to which participatory theatre can be deemed transformative, in real life. He talks about how in the Forum Theatre the spectator starts acting again (p119), and to give the power in the theatrical event over to the participants. Inamuchlaterwork,TheRainbowofDesire(Routledge1995)Boalgivesaconsolidationofthisprincipleintoa useful series of practical guidelines for working ethically in Forum Theatre. The emphasis of the book on guidanceforpracticeandwhatethicalguidancethereis,is,likeHeathcotes,impliedratherthanexplicit. UnlikeHeathcote,whoworksinparticipatorydramaratherthantheatre,theovertpurposeofBoalsworkisto removethebarrierthattheconventionsoftheatrehadpreviouslyplacedbetweenaudienceandstage(Boal, 1995p90).ItfollowsthatthetechniquescreatedbyBoalhavebecome,andremain,centraltomanyformsof participatorytheatre. Participation in the theatre experience does not take place simply because the conventions of theatre are ignored.Itcomesaboutbecauseofwhatisputintheirplace,andiscarefullyconstructed,throughaseriesof techniques and exercises, and development of the audiences understanding of its participatory role in workshopswithgroupsoveraperiodoftime.Thisdevelopmentisclearlyoutlinedinthefirsttwochaptersof TheRainbowofDesire.Initsfullydevelopedform,ForumTheatreallowsnotonlyforparticipation,butalsofor theinterventionofaudiencemembersintheperformance,inordertochangethescriptandtheoutcomeof theplaysevents. Another significant characteristic, in which Boals work differs essentially from Heathcotes, is the overt politicalnatureofitscontentandpurposeofpoliticalempowerment.Hesays: The practice of these theatrical forms creates a sort of uneasy sense of incompleteness that seeks fulfilmentthroughrealaction(Boal1979,p142). ThepoliticsthatBoalisdealingwithinhisownpracticeisthatofthedivisionsinsocietycreatedbypoverty andclass.Sincehisworkhasbecomecurrentamongpractitionersofparticipatorytheatre,itisapoliticshas beenappliedtomanyotherkindsofdivisionsandexclusionsinsociety.Forthosewhotakeonthetraditionof Boalspracticegivingintothepoliticsofcoercionisnotanoption.Itisaroundthesequestionsofpowerand coercion that many of the ethical considerations affecting the practice of participatory theatre revolve. In contrastpractitionerslearntoworkwithintheframeworkofliberationandradicalchange. Coercion, however, can come from many different places in participatory theatre and can operate on a numberofdifferentlevels.Itisoneofthemostsignificantanddifficultchallengesforthosewishingtoengage with ethical practice. For example, coercion might be embedded in the attitude and policy of the funding bodies, particularly if they are public or state institutions, such as charities or local authorities. Therefore

33 practitionersneedaclearethicalpositionwithwhichtoresistcoercionintheinterestsofthecreativelearning anddevelopmentoftheclientgroup.Thisiswhattheframeworkanditsinformingliteratureintendstooffer. While participatory theatre is not a revolutionary movement it is a movement for change and many public institutionsandbureaucraciesresistchangeasamatterofcourse,aresistancethatisoftenaccompaniedbya prejudice against artistic activities per se. Boals discussion of the politics and techniques of effecting such changediscussedaboveprovideusefulprecedentsinthisrespect. ThethirdhistoricalcontextthatbearssomeinvestigationhereisthatofTheatreinEducation,orTIE. ThismovementbegininCoventryintheUKin1967,andhasspreadasaneducationalpracticewidelyacross the English speaking world. In its original form it is, sadly, now defunct here in the UK, but it has had a profoundandfarreachinginfluenceonthedevelopmentofparticipatorytheatreandonthepedagogywhich underpinsthetraininginthispracticeinBritishUniversities. From its inception TIE has had an overtly political and social agenda, a radical and left wing politics and a principled pursuit in the spirit of that politics, and of social improvement. It has also had a symbiotic relationshipwithmainstreameducationalprovision,albeitnotalwaysahappyone.TIEhasalwaysreliedon interestexpressedbyindividualschoolsintheprojectstoprovideitswork.Eveninitsmostsuccessfulperiod theprovisionandfundingofTIEinschoolwasalwaysscatteredandfragmentary.Itwasalwaysperceivedas radicalandsubversive,anditswideinfluenceonpracticesthathavedevelopedsince,isthemoreremarkable forthat. In its halcyon days of preThatcher government funding, TIE focused its own ethical framework within and responding to, and sometimes challenging, the educational mainstream. It forged its own moral agenda, created its own values and expectations. Its principles were underpinned by the emerging culture of inclusivenesswhichatthattimewasstyled,variouslyasmulticulturalismandequalopportunities,aculture thathasmorerecentlybecomemainstreaminoursocietyintermsoflegalprovisionandculturalexpectation andwhichusesalanguageofdiversityandidentity. BehindthisagendainBritishpoliticsofthelastdecadesofthetwentiethcentury,layawiderglobalpolitical andsocialagendaofHumanRightsandtheactivismofvariouskindsthatexpressedit.WhileTIEengagedwith this agenda in its work in the 70s and 80s tackling racism and antifascism in its very earliest programmes, acrosstheworlditsvoicewasechoedtothediscomfortofmany,invariousestablishments,intheemergent UnitedNationsDeclarationofHumanRightsandingrassrootsmovementssuchasfeminism,blackcivilrights andgayliberation.TIEwasitselfonesuchgrassrootsmovementandintunewiththetimes. Despitelimitationsimposedbyitscontinualfightforfundingandlackofnationalrecognition,TIEconsistently focuseditsworkonaddressingthesepoliticalissuesandtheaccompanyingsocialprobleminitsprogramme. InherbookCanTheatreteach?(Pergammon,1983),ChristineRedingtoncapturesthemoodoftheearlydays ofheadyoptimism.Sheoutlinesamissiontochangeinaworldreadytobechanged.Thiswasthecaseevenin mainstream school education where TIE was initially greeted, like all arts activities, with suspicion and mistrust.RedingtongivesausefulwellinformedandoptimisticaccountofthedevelopmentofTIEcompanies inthe70sand80salloverEngland,anddescribestheimpactthattheirworkhadoneducationalthinkingand practice. The work of the TIE companies was linked with the then dominant classroom practice of teaching through project work and the philosophy of childcentred learning. TIE was seen as an appropriate educational tool, providing stimulus and engagement; allowing for imaginative response and teaching children to think for themselves.

34 InhisbookLearningThroughTheatre(MUP1980),TonyJacksontakestheeducationalandhistorical contextforTIEfurtherbackintheperiodoftheearly50sand60sseeingitsoriginsintheeducationaldrama work of Peter Slade and Brian Way. Early work in TIE drew its stated aims from these origins, and they emphasised the main purpose of their mission was to encourage an interest in theatre, rather than the disseminationofpoliticalandsocialreform,withwhichtheprogrammesthemselveswereclearlyandovertly preoccupied.Itisimportanttonotethatatthisstageandindeedthroughoutmostofitsheyday,TIEsinterest inmoralvaluesandpoliticswasneverpartofitspublicagenda,althoughtheyformedtheheartofitssubject matteranddictateditsethics. Jackson identifies two important characteristics of the practice of the TIE companies, as a peculiar interactionbetweenthedramaticeventandthelearningprocessandthatthepractitionersrespondtoand learnfromtheirachievementsandmistakes(Jackson1980,introductionp.vii).Hisbookoutlinesthelegacyof TIE which may be summarised as an intention to nurture and provoke change by a process of collaborative learning,accompaniedbyacommitmenttotheevaluationofandreflectiononpractice.Inthislegacy,which characterizesthewayinwhichparticipatorytheatreistaughtinuniversities,thereisaclearindicationtheway inwhichTIEhashadaprofoundinfluenceontheconductofparticipatorytheatreintheUKeversince.This legacy forms the core of the current concern to identify and formulate the ethics of current practice. (See JacksonandRedingtonforexamples.) These evaluations related to the original TIE materials and projects themselves form a subjective ethicalframework,basedontheexperienceofeachoftheindividualprogrammesandtheirparticipants.Ifa collectiveethicsemerges,itindicatesasensethatthecompanieshadoftheirroleasagentsofsocialchange throughtheprovisionofadeeperandricherandlearningexperience.Theearlyevaluationsofworkinthe60s andearly70s,(ofwhichadetailedaccountisgiveninRedington,seeabove)areconcernedwiththelearning experienceachievedforthepupilsandforthesuccessofthetheatricalevent,ratherthanwithadiscussionof the wider political or social impact of the content of the work. In them the actor/ teachers reflect on the extenttowhichtheworkwasunderstoodbythechildren,onthewayinwhichthechildrenreactedandon whetherthepieceworkedasaperformance.Theyarenotconcernedforthepoliticalorsocialimpactorfor the possibility of a changing reality as a consequence ofwhat they have done. It is almost as though this is somehow assumed. In this they are different from the present day practitioners of participatory theatre, whosecentralconcernsareoftenforpoliticsandthesocialproblemsofthesituationstowhichtheybringtheir practiceandthewaysinwhichthatpracticecanaddressandseektoresolvethem. The contribution of TIE may be summarised as offering an enriched educational experience characterizedbythinking,questioninganddiscussion;amissiontoempowertheyoungtochangetheworldin which they are to be citizens; energy to effect social change and to articulate political awareness, and a commitmenttoreflectiononandcontinualimprovementofthepractice. By1976,TIEhadalready,becauseofpoliticalantagonismandwithdrawaloffunding,beguntomove intothewidercommunity,tolinkupwithcommunityandprofessionaltouringtheatreandtobecomethecore ofamuchmorevariedpractice,whichwastobecomeknownasAppliedDrama/Theatre.Eveninthe1980s, Jackson writes prophetically of the challenge of survival facing the arts in a recession! However, the movementofparticipatorytheatreintoawiderthanpurelyeducationalcontextwasnotonlyforreasonsof financialsurvival,althoughhasalwaysbeenandremainsacentralissue.Itwasamovementengenderedalso byabroaderpoliticalagendaofsocialchange.Jacksondescribesacentralreasonforthismoveas alackof understandingof,andindifferenceto,thebenefitstopolitical,moralandsocialeducation.Heattributesthis prejudicetotheinsistenceonadistinctionbetweenlearningandentertainmentintheculturalmind. Once established as part of the educational landscape in the schools sector, by the mid 1970s TIE was declaring its central identity as that of an agent of change. This identity was reinforced by the formation in

35 1975 of the Standing Conference of Young Peoples Theatre (SCYPT), an umbrella organisation intended to bring together various forms of theatre and drama with which young people were engaged to share a commonality of values, in both formal and less informal learning environments, and to develop an ethical position. SCYPT was an organisation that has TIE at its heart and its prime movers were members of TIE companies. SeveralofthecontributorstoJacksonsbookemphasizethecentralityoftheemotionalexperienceto theworkoftheTIEcompanies.GordonVallinsspeaksofavitalcommunicationbetweenpeopleofthoughts, feelingsandideasinresponsetoalivingsituation(VallinsinJackson1980,p4)andKathyJoycetalksofthe directemotionalandintellectualimpactof(TIE)ontheaudience(JoyceinJackson1980,p25). Theseemotionalpreoccupationsalsohaveapoliticaldimension.InJacksonsbook,DavidPammenter identifiesakeyideainrelationtointendedpoliticaleffectoftheprogrammes.Hediscussesthefactorswhich governtheextentofthechildrensunderstanding,thechiefofwhichhesaysistheextenttowhichtheyhave been able to secure access to understanding, and the extent to which social conditioning has succeeded in mystifyingthem(PammenterinJackson1980,p43).Herehesuggeststhatthereisaconspiracyonthepartof theeducationalauthoritiestokeepchildreninthepowerlessnessofnotunderstanding. Transferring Pammenters thoughts to the modern context of participatory theatre it is possible to substitute language and cultural difference, bureaucracy or alienating systems for the educational establishment,andseetheimportantethicalconcernthatremainsattheheartofparticipatorytheatre,the questionofwhetheritcanbeameansofempowermentforthedisadvantagedandexcluded.Inthiswaythe ethicaldimensionsofTIEarelinkedwiththeimplicitethicsofbothHeathcoteandBoalandwiththepractice oftoday. AnotherconnectionbetweenTIEandtheotherpracticesdiscussedhereisapreoccupationwiththe centrality of discussion and questioning in the practice of participatory work. Whereas Boal and Heathcote emphasize the need for open ended questioning as part of the process of engagement with drama and theatre, the TIE companies were at pains, despite accusations of leftwing political bias levelled at them, to createdialecticratherthanapoliticaldidacticasthebedrockoftheirinteractionwiththeiraudiences(Jackson 1980,p44).Theydidnotespousethepromotionofoneparticularpoliticalview,althoughtheywerefrequently criticizedfordoingso. Jacksoncitesoneheadmastersevaluationasclaimingthatthetheatrepiecewasdangerousbecause ofitspoliticalovertonesanditscritiqueofirresponsiblecapitalisticenterprise(Jackson1980,p45).Itisnot difficult to see, given this kind of remark, why TIE and other forms of participatory theatre sought a more friendlyenvironment,andeventuallyfoundalikemindedoneinHigherEducationinthelate80sand90s. ThecontentofTIEprogrammeswasusuallyfocusedonaddressingsocialissuesandproblems,notnecessarily resolvingthem,butopeningthemupfordiscussion.Centraltoallcompaniesworkandallprogrammeswas thecleareducationalobjectiveofachangeinunderstanding(BoltoninJackson,1980,p73). Theotherissuethatwashotlydebatedbythecompanies,andisstillimportanttotheethicalstanceofour contemporaryversionsofparticipatorytheatre,isthatwhichmightbebroadlydescribedasthesuspensionof disbeliefandtheboundariesbetweenthefictionalworldofthestageandtherealworldoftheaudience.Ina theatreformthatsetsoutwiththeexpresspurposetransgressingthoseboundaries,thishasalwaysbeen,and remains, significant, be it with Boals audience who thought the actors guns were real and that they were goingtojointheworkersintherevolutionarystruggle,totheschoolchildwhothinksthatactingoutawayof dealing with bullying, is actually going tomake the realbullies go away. Pam Schweitzer in her essay in the Jacksonbook,sumsuptheparadoxthatthispresentsforthepractitionerofparticipatorytheatre:

36 Ononelevelwhatthechildrenareaskedforisasubjectiveresponsetoanemotionalconflict,buton the other they are asked for a high degree of objectivity in dealing with difficult adult questions (SchweitzerinJackson1980,p83). Thisraisestwoimportantethicalconsiderationsforallpractitionersthenandnow:firstaneedtoensurethat the audience and/or participating group understands the boundaries between fiction and reality, and a decisionastowhetherornottheworkshouldaimtoeffectanyrealsocialchange. The ethics of TIE reflect the educational ethics of a libertarian and radical period in British education in the 1970sand80s,nowsadlylonggone.By1976whenTIEmovedawayfromitsworkwithschools,theendofits erawasalreadyinsight.Itwasthevictimfundingwithdrawal,andtheintroductionoftherigidityoftheearly versionsoftheNationalCurriculuminschools,whichexcludedalmostallcreativeactivityfromtheclassroom. Atthispoint,TIEandotherearlyeducationalbiasedformsofparticipatorytheatremovedundergroundinto the burgeoning academy of Drama, Theatre Studies and Performing Arts where it currently has its home as AppliedDrama.Inmakingthatmoveitwastransformedbythetheorisingthatwasneededtocontextualize it,despitethefactthatmostworkthatundergraduatesundertakeinthisareaispracticalandmuchofitstill withineducationalsettingsofvariouskinds.

B IBLIOGRAPHY
BoalA.,TheatreoftheOppressed.Pluto,London1979 BoalA.,TheRainbowofDesire.Routledge,London1995 JacksonT.,LearningThroughTheatre.MUP,1980 Johnson L., & ONeill C., (eds) Dorothy Heathcote: Collected Writings in Education and Drama. Hutchinson, 1984 RedingtonC.,CanDramaTeach?PergamonPress,Oxford1983 WagnerB.J.,DorothyHeathcote:DramaasaLearningMedium.Hutchinson,1979 Of the above, Redingon is a useful and evaluative survey of TIE, and Jackson is the most ethicscentred account.

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APPENDIX2:THEWORKSHOPMETHODOLOGY
Theprincipleaimoftheworkshopwastoworkwiththeimplicitknowledgeandfeelingsofparticipantsabout ethics, and to create a space in which they could reflect on and structure their thoughts. The process was reflectiveandreflexiveanopportunityforindividualsandgrouptorecognizetheirexistingknowledgeandto developtheirpraxis. Theprocessmovedbetweenintuitiveandcognitiveworkwhich: 1. openedwithanexerciseinwordassociationswhichproposedaspaceinwhichethicalconsiderations mightexist. offeredaconceptualframeworkbasedonOvalHousesfiveethicalprinciples23(referredtoasCore Principles, Core Principles in the structure) within which a debate about the parameters of ethics couldbegin. asked participants in small groups to use theatre image and Forum to share with the group any dilemmasofpracticetheyhadexperienced,usingthepreviousexerciseasabasis. askedthegrouptoworkandreworktheimagesandscenariostogetherandtobegintoextrapolate usefulprinciples,practicesandlearning. exploredtheshiftingrelationshipsbetweengoodpractice,politicsandethicsthroughthethreecircles diagram.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. asked the group to consider Gibbss24 reflexive cycle as a diagrammatic representation of the flow modelofworkingwhichwasactuallyinprocessintheworkshopandtoapplytheirnewperceptions toausefuldeviceoroutcome:astatementofworkingprinciples,acontract,astructureforpractice, forexample. Whatfollowsistheresearchersreadingoftheworkshopprocesses.Theworkshopsdifferedindetailbutthe workshop structure opened up a recognisable process which structured each encounter. The workshop transcriptionsprovidethespecifics:thesevariedwiththeage,level,experienceandbackgroundofthegroups. Thisreadingisofferedasaprocessoflearningthroughfacilitation:manyideasandconnectionswerenewto the researcher as the process grew. That it was possible to repeat the workshop six times with correlated outcomessuggestsasignificantlevelofconsistency.

WORKSHOP:FIRSTSTAGE.
The opening question: How clear do you feel about your understanding of ethics in your work? asked the grouptorespondbyholdingupahand,fromlowtohigh,toindicatethelevelofunderstandingeachbelieved theypossessed.Thisgenerallyelicitedaresponseofmediumtolowwiththeoddexception.Theatmosphere wastentative.
23

Choice,respect,equality,safetyandcompetence.SeealsoAppendix2:WorkshopOutlines. Appendix2:GibbssReflectivecycle.

24

38 Someopeninggames,usuallyBoalsHypnosisandversionsoftheMillingexercise,FearandProtection,were usedasareflectivetool:ItwasusefultodeneutralizethewarmupandtoreasserttheBoaliannotionof exercisesandgamesashavinglivingcontent. The group wrote words associated with Ethics on paper tiles, spread them over the floor space, debated chosen words in groups andthen distributed them around the room in groupings under theCore Principles (CorePrinciples):Choice,Equality,Respect,Safety,andCompetence.25Thisinvariablyopenedupaspacefor heteroglossiainwhichmeaningsclusteredandshiftedaround,betweenandbeyondthefiveCorePrinciples:a spacewhichhighlightedthepotentialforconfusionbyembracingit. Itbecameclearthatthiswasasufficientandeffectivetriggertobeginaprocessofthinkingandexperiencing. Energetic debate, disagreement, rethinking quickly replaced the tentative beginning.26 The Core Principles offeredastructureoffamiliarwords,buzzwords,even,thatarefoundinfundingapplicationformsandethical codesbuttheprocessrevealedthediversityofthewaysinwhichtheyareactuallyunderstoodandinitiateda processofindividualandgroupreflection.27 Crucially,thisexerciseembraceddiversityofviewandallowedparticipantstoexerciseresilienceinthefaceof confusionandfluidityandshiftsofmeaning,torecognizetheircapacitytoreflect,tofeelusefullychallenged byshiftiness,todecide,reviewandlearnfromexperienceaprocessessentialtoworkshopfacilitation.

WORKSHOP:SECONDSTAGE.
This process was focused next into image and scenario work around specific problems and experiences in whichtheimportanceofcontextasacontainerfordecisionsastothespecificmeaningoftheCorePrinciples wasabletoemerge.Themeaningsarenotabstractbutrelatedtodifferentdemandsincontext. Forafullrangeofexamplesseetheworkshoptranscripts.Thesescenariosandimagesweredeconstructed, analyzedanddebated.

THEMES
Scenarios about HE education and relationships with tutors worked on with the tutors, a sign of real confidenceintheteachers! Relationshipswithcommissioners:bullyingbyaschool,backgroundmaneuveringsininstitutions. Imposed agendas: especially in culturally and politically complex contexts, commissioners instrumental approachtoworkboxticking. Relationships with participants: crush on facilitator, nervousness around youth workers, problems with respecting someone whos a criminal, political correctness and respect, boundaries and confidentiality issues.

25

SeeFramework

Crucially,theuseoftheCPsalsoraisedthequestionofwithinwhatvaluestructurethemeaningswereheld,aquestionnotexplicitly addressedintheworkshops.ThisinitsturnhighlightedtherolesofImplicitandExplicitknowledge.Whatisandhasbeenassumedas commonorimplicitknowledgeatdifferentstagesoftheteachingandlearningofPT?IndevelopingtheEthicsFramework,howfarandin whatwayisitdesirableornecessarytounpacktheunderlyingtheory,history,meaningbehindPTpractice?

27

26

OvalHouseslongstandingethicalpracticecontinuallyquestionsandrenewstheseCPs.

39

COMPETENCE
Therewasaperceivedtensionbetweenthepressuretoaccumulateskillsandknowledgeandthedesirefor experience and fluency. Working with Gibbss Cycle and the three circles diagram the workshop explored competence, as a process of growth and becoming, with the capacity to reflect and learn as central. Reflexivity nourishes competence and fuels knowledge and skills. A particular repeated remark by students wasItsgreatthatyoucanlearnfrommistakes!Itsnotpossiblethatthiswasneversaidtothembefore.It wasthecontextthatbroughtitaliveandgaveitmeaning.

W ORKSHOPOUTCOMES
Thefinalstageoftheworkshopwasworkinginsmallgroupstotalkaboutreflexivepracticeandtodevelopa framework for that practice whether as an ethical frame, a statement of principles, a set of criteria for commissioners, or something else that would support their practice. There were many examples, during discussions, of problems with explaining to commissioners and each other what they wanted to do in their projectsandalsoofundervaluingbycommissionersandbythemselvesofwhattheyweretryingfor. Theworkshopprovidedalanguageandaframeforthinkingaboutthesethings:thetentativesilenceofthe opening was transformed into a passionate, articulate and thoughtful expression of aims and desires. The workshop transcripts contain a group of work plans, ethics statements, contracts of employment or engagementandgraphicstructuresallofwhichareclearlyderivedfromtheworkshopstructureandmostof whichareworkable.28 Evaluationbyparticipantsrevealedarangeoflearningfocusedaroundtheinitialobjective.Insomecases, studentssentwrittenreflections. 29Thereareclearlydifferencesbetweentheexperiencesofsecondyearand thirdyearstudents,postgraduatesandstaffbutwhatseemedtobeusefulwasasharednexusofwords,ideas andparticularlyofstructurewhichfunctionedasastartingpoint.

28

SeeAppendix2. SeeAppendix2.

29