Stimulating Participation in Human Development Through Theatre: A Case Study of Mobile Laboratory Experiments

This presentation, from the 4th International Entertainment-Education Conference, Cape Towne, explored the use of Theatre for Development (TFD) and its application in community development based on the presenter's experiences in Nigeria. According to the presenter, one of the major criticisms levied against the orthodox approach to development is that it denied people - especially peasants and rural dwellers - opportunities to participate in their own development. Yacoub Adeleke argues that TFD has been able to integrate people into the development process by exploring neglected tools such as worldview, cultural background, and people's experiences. The presenter shares his own experiences with "Mobile Laboratory" experiments and explores the different ways in which participation can be realised in development through theatre - including the roles of costume, music, dance folklore, language and space.

According to Adeleke, there are two main methodologies. The Inside-Out methodology, also known as the Homestead approach, requires that the facilitator or animator (a coordinator, not an instructor) reside in the "target community" for the period speculated for the experiment, studying the people's lifestyles, culture and condition of living and jointly (with the people) finding logical resolutions to the identified problems through discussions, debate, and the creation and performance of plays. In the Outside-In or Migrant technique the community is not directly involved in the processes of play-making (a major development strategy in TFD). Under this approach, a theatre troupe prepares a play on a particular theme presumed to be topical or instigated by donor organisations. The play is then taken to strategic places in the community, where the intended audience could be easily reached and enlightened on the issues identified by the donor organisation. This particular technique has often been criticised for the following shortcomings:

1. alienation resulting from the distance or barrier that may exist between the performers and the people because the play is not been performed by their community members or they were not part of the processes that led to the development of the play
2. failure to address the issue from the people's point of view
3. the financial implication of moving from one place to the other.

Regardless of these criticisms, the presenter argues that this technique - if well employed - could still be very effective in development.

Adeleke states that there are a number of important steps to successful community participation in development projects:

• Preliminary Research and Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Scenario Building
• The Skit or Sketch
• Performance
• Feedback/Evaluation
• Follow-up

Tools for stimulating popular participation include:

• Appearance: "Although often overlooked, dressing and appearance are fundamental factors to be considered in stimulating participation and winning the community people to your side or getting good reception from them. Your dress code should not violate the rules governing a particular community. Nigeria for instance is made of diverse culture, tradition and belief systems. To enter into a community even as a Nigerian requires good research to enable you start right, get attention and win support for your work."
• Language: "When you speak a people's language you are easily accepted as one of them, this automatically bridges the vacuum that would have existed where you are alien to the culture. Apart from the above fact, understanding a people's language puts you at a vantage position in the cause of analysing their lifestyle, culture and idioms of expression. In TFD language is given a great priority and seen as fundamental. Language also extends to non-verbal cues like gestures, mask, costume, dance, and rhythm."
• Music/Dance: "Music can be a very powerful weapon in conscientization and mobilisation for popular participation. The use of music in TFD apart from entertainment is highly functional, it could be used to further the course of the development work, emphasise on the actions in the sketch and be used for transition from one scene to another. It is most advisable to adopt popular tunes or popular songs for this purpose in order to stimulate great reactions from the people."
• Mask/Costume: "Mask could be used to attract participants or communicate vital information. If well used it will go a long way in painting in the minds of the audience or "spec-actor"(according to Boal) a better picture of the information being disseminated through entertainment-education and stimulate participation in development projects....However care should be taken not to overblown the use of costumes so much that, the meaning of the sketch is buried and lost in aesthetics; elaborate costume is not advised."
• Folklore: "Story telling is a way of life among the Africans; in TFD this could be highly instrumental in our approaches to stimulating participation."
• Exercises: "Improvisation Circle...is an exercise that enables the participants to improvise around several issues sitting in a circular formation. This could be tailored to a particular theme or themes depending on the facilitator or animator and the focus of the project. This exercise if well explored will stimulate participation, build self-confidence and trust in the participants, trigger real reactions and openness that could help in development projects."
• Open Rehearsals: "Although a little complex considering the kind of interventions you get from the spect-actors, open rehearsals creates room for debate and contributions from participants and the spectators who automatically turn into spec-actors in the bid to make a valuable contribution to the development of the work and in some cases act out their views and experiences as related to the issue(s) at stake."