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TO @ THE GWC
by
Christine L. Manley
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(APPLIED THEATRE ARTS)
December 2011
Copyright 2011 Christine L. Manley
Object Description
| Title | TO @ the GWC |
| Author | Manley, Christine L. |
| Author email | stineybean@gmail.com;manley@usc.edu |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Applied Theatre Arts |
| School | School of Theatre |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-12-14 |
| Date submitted | 2011-10-20 |
| Date approved | 2011-10-21 |
| Restricted until | 2011-10-21 |
| Date published | 2011-10-21 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Blair, Brent |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Lorenz, Helene Mayer, Doe |
| Abstract | The following thesis chronicles a collaborative project between the Garment Worker Center (GWC) and the University of Southern California (USC) Applied Theatre Arts (ATA) program. The GWC is an independent, horizontally run organization that organizes Garment Workers (GWs) to end exploitation in the garment industry. The aim of the project was to supplement the organizing efforts of the GWC using the tools and ethics of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). ❧ The project was conducted using the methodology of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and explored the nexus of TO and horizontalism. It took place over the course of one school year, which included one semester of participatory observation and one semester of implementation. The implementation was divided into two parts. The first consisted of modifying the GWC’s educational trainings (called Capacitaciones) to include theatrical and participatory components through a collaborative exploration of the intersection of TO, horizontalism, and the goals of the GWC. The second component involved facilitating a Theatre Group of GWs during five weeks of workshops, resulting in the creation of two theatre pieces. The first was a street theatre piece performed during the International Workers Day March, and the second was an interactive Forum theater scene performed as part of the USC ATA Theater Festival. ❧ The project’s challenges and successes were evaluated through group feedback sessions, informal interviews, and personal observations. Some identified barriers included: constraints on the GWs relating to the garment industry, internal transitions within the GWC, the structure and pressures of the academic system, difficulty around communication and decision making, as well as insufficient documentation and evaluation. The successes identified included a dramatic shift in the GW’s energy, engagement, participation, and learning, as well as a new vision for how TO might support a wide variety of the GWC’s organizing activities. Additionally, throughout this process the researcher explored, experimented with, and evaluated ways in which horizontalism informs the implementation of TO, which simultaneously provided an opportunity for self-reflexivity and personal transformation. ❧ It was found that, although the TO-influenced Capacitaciones have not reached their full potential yet, they succeeded in significantly increasing the excitement, interactivity and dialogic nature of the sessions. The Theatre Group similarly served to increase engagement of GW participants - who demonstrated improved self-esteem and criticality around the oppressive conditions of the garment industry - as well as provide inspiration for future applications of TO-based activities at the GWC. Unfortunately, although the Theatre Group was positive overall for the GW participants, it failed to address the larger scale organizing goals of the GWC. Ultimately, the time frame and requirements of the academic system along with enormous internal changes at the GWC limited both the success of the project and its ability to truly follow the ethics and methodology of PAR. Even so, the ethics and tools of TO, once adapted to the politics and practice of horizontalism, were an excellent supplement to the activities at the GWC overall. |
| Keyword | theatre of the oppressed; garment worker center; garment industry; theatre; applied theatre; art; organizing; horizontalism; Boal |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Rights | Manley, Christine L. |
| Access conditions | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@usc.edu |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume71/etd-ManleyChri-354.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | TO @ THE GWC by Christine L. Manley A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (APPLIED THEATRE ARTS) December 2011 Copyright 2011 Christine L. Manley |
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