A new collaborative project between South Texas College Theatre and Brooklyn-based Applied Theatre Collective (ATC) has created a new opportunity for community members to become involved in the creative process. The goal of the community-based devising project, We're Here Now: Bridging Gaps, Creating Dialogue, and Strengthening Community through Performance in the Rio Grande Valley, is to explore border life in the Rio Grande Valley through storytelling and theatre. The project is co-sponsored by STC’s Center for Mexican American Studies, History and Philosophy Departments.
Community volunteers are invited to attend devising workshops scheduled on Saturday, March 21, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday, March 22, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Monday, March 23, through Wednesday, March 25, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. All workshops will be held at the STC Cooper Center for Communication Arts Black Box Studio, located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. The final community sharing will be held Thursday, March 26, at 8:00 p.m. at the STC Cooper Center for Communication Arts Main Stage.
“This is a new venture for South Texas College Theatre,” said Jason Joel Rodriguez, chair of STC’s Drama Program. “We hope to bring the community together to share their stories and experiences to devise a performance which encourages reflection, dialogue, and action. This will also complement our May 2015 production of The Highest Heaven, which focuses on youth and immigration. This is all intended to create avenues for the community to give thought and discuss the celebrations and the challenges of border life.”
ATC is a group of peacebuilders and artists who use applied theatre techniques to establish creative space for dialogue, understanding and relationship building at the grassroots level. ATC believes in participant-centered pedagogy that is heavily influenced by Brazilian writer, activist, and educator Paulo Freire. This approach places participant interests first and puts them at the center of their own quest for change. ATC will use storytelling, devising, improvisation, and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to create We’re Here Now.
In addition, the project follows STC’s Women’s Studies Program’s 10th Annual Human Trafficking Conference March 25-26, and precedes the college’s annual Communication Arts Festival on March 27.
For additional information regarding the We’re Here Now devising workshops, please call (956) 872-2639 or email jrdoriguez@southtexascollege.edu. Information on community performance, please call (956) 872-2301 or email namaro1@southtexascollege.edu.