Theatre Without Borders

TWB and Coexistence International at Brandeis University have begun year one of a three year affiliation under the auspices the Alan B. Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence.

The purpose of this affiliation is to broaden the conversation and to deepen the inquiry exploring the intersections of theatre and peace building. TWB and CI will work together on the creation of an anthology documenting this intersection, a series of gatherings both nationally and internationally, and an intensive exploration of related topics with a core study group.

One of the first results of this project is the publication Focus on Coexistence and the Arts, a useful PDF document, which articulates many of the ways the arts and peace building work in complementary ways.

This project was initiated at the TWB Symposium in April 2005, which featured Dr. Cynthia Cohen from Brandeis University's Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence. On May 23, 2005 a small group of individuals had an exploratory meeting, called Theatre and Peace Dialogue (I), to discuss further initiatives for those especially interested in using theatre in contexts of building peace. The next scheduled Theatre and Peace Dialogue (III) took place at the California Institute of the Arts as part of the CalArts interterm events during a four-day symposium exploring the relationship between theatre and genocide in ARTS IN THE ONE WORLD: A CONSIDERATION OF GENOCIDE, the dates were January 26 - 29, 2006. Brandeis and CI next invited study group members to present case studies at the IPRA (International Peace Research Association) Conference in Calgary, Canada, June 29 - July 3, 2006. Work now continues in preparation of an anthology dedicated to the documentation of theatre & peace building interactions around the world, scheduled for publication in 2008.

Participants in the developing Theatre & Peace Building project include:

• Dr. Cynthia Cohen, Coexistence International at Brandeis University
• Jessica Berns, Coexistence International at Brandeis University
• Erik Ehn, Theatre Without Borders, Dean of the Theatre School, California Institute of the Arts
• Dr. Daniel Banks, Theatre Without Borders, New York University
• Jonathan Fox, Playback Theatre
• Dijana Milosevic, DAH Theatre, Belgrade, Serbia
• Kate Gardner, Theatre Without Borders, Community Theatre Internationale, BrooKenya
• Roberta Levitow, Theatre Without Borders, Director-Dramaturge-Teacher
• Lisa Lindstrom, Theatre Without Borders, Playwriting teacher, Theatre for a New Audience
• Joanna Sherman, Theatre Without Borders, Bond Street Theatre
• Catherine Filloux, Theatre Without Borders, Playwright
• Ruth Margraff, Theatre Without Borders, Playwright
• Roberto Varea, Theatre Without Borders, University of San Francisco
• Polly Walker, University of Wellington, Australia
• Charles Mulekwa, Brown University