1
Susan Gravatt
MDST 3050
30 March 2012
The Importance and Purpose of Outdoor Performance
Public spaces in the past and present have and continue to provide a venue for
performance. Street theatre and outdoor performance give both trained actors and musicians as
well as ordinary citizens a unique means of spreading a message and reaching the public in a
way distinct from traditional theatre. Street performances can act as bridges between imagined
places and the reality of daily life, often in the locations and places that actors want to transform
for their onlookers.1 They generally encourage discourse and challenge the status quo; rallies,
puppet shows, dances, musical collaboration, marches, and vigils are only a few of the methods
for catching and maintaining mainstream attention on different circumstances and issues
affecting a particular culture.2 Although themes and goals of street performance do vary among
cultures and troupes, the medium itself globally has endured because it creatively transforms
everyday spaces into sites for both education and entertainment. By taking messages into the
streets and utilizing places frequented by the public, street performers directly access and reach a
broader audience in ways that other media cannot.
Historians have linked the community leader, the shaman, with present day roles of street
artist and entertainer. Traditionally, the shaman coordinated tribal celebrations, dances, and
rituals. In Africa, the shaman selected men called ‘clowns,’ who devoted themselves to creating
elaborate ceremonies about life and death. As these groups received invitations to perform
beyond the realm of their own culture, outsiders lost the cultural importance and message, as
1
Jan Cohen-Cruz, Radical Street Performance: An International Anthology. London: Routledge,
1998. Print. pp.1.
2
Ibid., pp.3
2
these events began to solely serve as entertainment to other cultures. The English adapted
African plays to have less emphasis on “ancient death and resurrection ritual” and greater focus
on humorous sword fights and deaths that elicit laughter.3 As more aristocrats invited African
shamans and tribe members to perform in European palaces and courts, a broader audience
witnessed and copied mystical techniques of the shaman and his people. The traditional elements
faded in time as performance replaced them entirely. Once African dancers and actors performed
outside of their communities, they also learned to alter and embellish the “aesthetic qualities and
provide a varied program[me]” to make their work more appealing and understandable for
spectators seeking entertainment and lacking knowledge of the African culture.4
At the same time, the Christian Church was rising to power in medieval and early modern
Europe. Leaders began to discourage theatre and performance that strayed from teachings and
doctrine. Rather, the church wanted to utilize public arenas for “… [the church’s] reassertion of
power….” Out of a need for more space, church plays moved into the streets and there
proclaimed anything from the Biblical account of creation to the final judgment of man. In the
streets, actors strayed from Latin and used the vernacular, thus reaching a broader audience and
not just the educated and the elite.5 The street became an area for both the “display and creation
of power” and the transmission of religious messages. 6
By the 19th century, street performance began to really take the form it has today. In light
of the revolutions in Europe, artists began viewing themselves as key players in transforming the
3
Bim Mason, Street Theatre and Other Outdoor Performance. London: Routledge, 1992. Print.
pp.14-15.
4
Ibid., pp.15-16
5
Cohen-Cruz, Jan. Radical Street Performance: An International Anthology. London:
Routledge, 1998. Print. pp. 4
6
Mason, Bim. Street Theatre and Other Outdoor Performance. London: Routledge, 1992. Print.
pp.16
3
way society understood its world and surroundings. In outdoor theatre, visual artists, known as
Dadaists, held their first recognized, official exhibition in 1916 and danced, played music,
adorned elaborate costumes and masks, and read poems to incite riots. The Dadaists publicly
endorsed their own revolutionary perspective, which was typically “anti-authoritarianism, antiart and against capitalism, militarism, and nationalism.” They wanted to be free of the
smothering elitism of refined onlookers and elicit responses from a larger, broader public.
Because of their countercultural views, they were forced to perform outdoors, as art galleries and
theatres refused to showcase these groups.7
Although street theatre now in most cultures is generally less politically charged, actors
and musicians still create and bring an intense atmosphere and message to their makeshift stages;
these are keys to this type of performance’s effectiveness everywhere today. Whatever the
message or goal of a particular group of performers, the players must be bold and passionate in
their presentation, or crowds lose interest and can easily walk away.8 Successful street theatre
captivates the attention of its audiences through great entertainment techniques as well as
sometimes-controversial discourse in open, public space. The high energy causes people to
pause, take in their surroundings, and immerse themselves in the message and activity of the
actors.9
In 2007, street theatre took over the block in front of New York City’s City Hall for a
project called “One Million Forgotten Moments.” Yehuda Duenyas, the coordinator, envisioned
this work of art to capture city life in a staged performance. Through a framed window, a small
audience watched as actors went through the motions of daily life in the Big Apple. Over 100
7
Ibid., pp.20-21
Ibid., pp.13
9
Ibid., pp.28
8
4
actors participated, from recent New York University graduates, magicians, and skateboarders to
deejays. Acrobats climbed tall buildings in the cityscape and others playing the role of
pedestrians wove through traffic, singing and dancing. Spectators behind the frame and on the
streets called it a form of visual poetry. While watching, they were able to experience the hustle
and bustle of the city from afar and appreciate the simple beauty of their own daily routines
through the actions of the performers. This atmosphere on an indoor stage would have been
impossible to recreate, for doing so would destroy the authenticity that the actual city buildings,
traffic, and sounds provided. “One Million Forgotten Moments” reached and touched people in a
way that no other medium could have. 10
While outdoor performance can offer both calming visuals and entertaining aesthetics, it
can also double as a practical and instructional tool. In the recent past in India, formal and
informal street theatre groups have financed programs in local communities to educate the public
about social and cultural issues there.11 Since the early 1990s, locally-scripted street dramas have
provided the population greater access to information about HIV/AIDS and similar health topics
in areas heavily affected by these problems. In 2000, the Development Program of the United
Nations began facilitating acting groups in Nepal to reach out to rural and village areas. The
groups continue to attract their audiences on street corners and in public places through comical
scripts while inserting dialogue that conveys awareness information to spectators.12 By going to
these venues, performers are entering the everyday realm of the public rather than charging
admission for audiences to come to them. To make issues feel even more relevant to the crowds,
10
Melena Ryzik, "Taking It to the Street." The New York Times. 15 Sept. 2007. Web. 27 Mar.
2012.
11
Pelto, Pertti J., and Rajendra Singh. "Community Street Theatre as a Tool for Interventions on
Alcohol Use and Other Behaviors Related to HIV Risks." AIDS Behavior 14.1 (2010) p. 147
SpringerLink. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
12
Ibid., pp.149
5
some groups, such as Nalamdana, invite community residents to the “stages” during a show.
Their delivery of messages is an effective method of targeting the specific cultural and societal
issues of one particular area. In familiarizing their viewers with HIV/AIDS, observers afterwards
reportedly had “intentions to treat HIV-positive individuals more kindly.” 13
Reports of heightened levels of kindness are just some of the small signs of success for
street theatre in India. In one script, Tota and Maina, the two main characters engage in a
discussion about alcohol’s effect on marital relationships. In the background, the “Chorus” acts
as a link between spectators and actors, as they “speak for” the audience and alert them when a
more serious aspect of the show is approaching. In one part of Tota and Maina, the main
characters, a married couple, argue, and the man exclaims, “Because I am a man and that is why
you have to do as I wish. When I tell you to sit, you have to sit. When I tell you to stand you
have to stand. When I tell you to sleep, you have to sleep.” The Chorus then enacts a totally
different scene, one that demonstrates a husband and wife supporting each other. The
overarching messages are that alcohol can intensify life stress, lead to destruction in
relationships, and adversely alter the sense of equality that should exist between man and wife.14
Following this play, actors coordinate meetings with onlookers to gauge the impact of their
work. Individual interviewees praise the play for its open presentation of important themes like
masculine dominance, respect for women, and negative results of alcohol consumption. In one
study, nearly all who saw a production reported attending educational meetings and activities.
Nearly 80% recalled alcohol abuse as a critical social message, and around 50% recounted
domestic violence and HIV/AIDS. 90% of men claimed to have absorbed lessons from these
performances and used them to effect their personal behaviors. Furthermore, within the last 5
13
14
Ibid., pp.150
Ibid., pp.152
6
years, there has been a noticeable decline in the number of HIV cases in regions that have
undergone similarly intense programs.15 These plays cannot take all responsibility for impacting
people and making them think, but they do act as key catalysts in beginning important,
educational conversations for Indian communities.
Other cultures use street theatre to engage the public about current events and issues as
well. In São Paulo, Brazil, theatre groups have adapted Cervantes’s Don Quixote to address
thousands about the high-risk social situations for Brazilian youth today. On one corner of the
downtown district, Telma Dias and Robson Vellado’s Grupo Permanente de Pesquisa has
enacted more than 100 performances of this famous play, and this theatre is one of many in São
Paulo that utilizes streets and public squares for this purpose.16 The different groups stay true to
the original words of Cervantes’s Don Quixote, but they also incorporate problems of presentday Brazil into the dialogue. The music, visual aesthetics, word choice, and actors are carefully
chosen to appeal to a young Brazilian audience. In Grupo Permanente de Pesquisa’s version, the
play opens with the thin, tired Don Quixote reading a book.17 The actors emphasize the
protagonist’s desire to change society first begins through his own education. Don Quixote
writes his place in society on a piece of paper to show the “literary and self-created nature of
[his] new persona” as he moves toward his ideal life in a world of “knight-errantry.” The director
draws attention to Don Quixote’s self-awareness, which allows him to dream for himself a better
world and ultimately become part of that. Director Dias highlights the importance of education
because she believes learning is the primary vehicle to success and a better life for at-risk
15
Ibid., p.155
Rogelio Miñana, "“The Don Quixote of the Streets”: Social Justice Theater in São Paulo,
Brazil." Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America 31.1 (2011): 161. Web.
17
Ibid., pp.164.
16
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youths.18 This message’s impact is great in streets and public venues because it infiltrates the
spaces at-risk youth frequent and reaches them directly. By performing here, youth are able to
hear an important message at no cost, which is key since many of them likely lack the money or
interest to voluntarily attend one of these productions were it indoors. The streets broaden the
numbers of those with access and target those who most need to absorb this play’s message.
The Playing for Change musical project is one of the most visually and artistically
powerful examples of the unique and relevant role that street performance has today globally.
After hearing a street musician sing “Stand By Me” in Santa Monica, Mark Johnson dreamed of
using the music of street performers like this one to spread a message of unity.19 He is today
Playing For Change’s director and uses music “to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the
world…” and has created a website for his cause. 20 The organization has envisioned the street
performer in a new way: by traveling around the planet to get video and audio recordings, they
have been able to compile this material into music videos, despite language and geographical
barriers that exist among the performers. Johnson shows singers under street lamps, on
cobblestone streets, and in public squares in the United States, South Africa, Israel, France, and
many other locations. The videos and songs are available for purchase online and reach an
audience that is able to partake in a movement intended to unite mankind through music. The
campaign is for the masses and enables street performers to address people in their home country
and foreign ones, showing a worldwide interconnectivity through music. This altered form of
traditional street theatre supplies many with “world music, ” and the proceeds that the
organization receives build music and art schools in the communities featured in the videos.
18
Ibid pp.166-167.
Lily E. Hirsch "“Playing for Change”: Peace, Universality, and the Street Performer."
American Music 28.3 (2010): 348. JSTOR. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
20
"Playing For Change Explained." Playing For Change. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.
19
8
Playing for Change reinvents the street performer in ways but allows for one message to go even
farther. The attention that this project has given many of these musicians has helped them gain
prominence and respect in their own communities and draw in more crowds to hear them sing
hopeful and inspiring songs. The money that they earn from Playing for Change, in turns, helps
them give back to their communities and shows the power of music in their own region as well
as in distant places. Playing for Change provides a message of hope near and far by showing
everyday people performing everywhere. 21
Street performers today serve an important role in uniting, educating, and inspiring
audiences. The forms and goals of street performers and the organizations that endorse them vary
among locations, but in places with outdoor performances, this art plays a vital role in impacting
and bettering the lives of those fortunate to experience this powerful medium. From peaceful
scenes to loud actors demanding an audience’s attention, street theatre presents itself to unlikely
masses and curious onlookers in the hopes that a few in the crowd can receive inspiration,
knowledge, or greater understanding about the world around them.
20
21
"Playing For Change Explained." Playing For Change. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.
Ibid
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Works Cited
Cohen-Cruz, Jan. Radical Street Performance: An International Anthology. London: Routledge,
1998. Print.
Hirsch, Lily E. "“Playing for Change”: Peace, Universality, and the Street Performer." American
Music 28.3 (2010): 346-67. JSTOR. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
Mason, Bim. Street Theatre and Other Outdoor Performance. London: Routledge, 1992. Print.
Miñana, Rogelio. "“The Don Quixote of the Streets”: Social Justice Theater in São Paulo,
Brazil." Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America 31.1 (2011): 159-70.
Web.
Pelto, Pertti J., and Rajendra Singh. "Community Street Theatre as a Tool for Interventions on
Alcohol Use and Other Behaviors Related to HIV Risks." AIDS Behavior 14.1 (2010):
147-57. SpringerLink. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
"Playing For Change Explained." Playing For Change. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.