Human Rights Education: The 4th R, Human Rights Education
and the Arts, vol. 7 No. 1, Winter 1996.
Theatre
Theatre
Collaboration is a key element in human rights education: a basic skill students need to learn and an essential element of any youth programs. This principle has been clear in “Conflict Resolution: Youth Visions,” one of a series of a classes offered every summer by Creative Theatre Unlimited to assist young people in focusing on important social issues through the arts.
The original idea came up in a meeting at The City, Inc., an alternative high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bob Hickman, currently Artist in Residence at The City, pointed out the positive changes that he has witnessed in students who have access to the arts for personal expression. Dr. Walter Enloe agreed that his experience as Principal of Hiroshima International School and with the 1000 Cranes Club (Origami for Peace) echoed the power of using the arts to change hearts and minds. As Director of Creative Theatre Unlimited in St. Paul for the past 14 years, Charles Numrich too has seen how young people can discover the power of community building through the arts. This initial discussion sparked the idea for a summer class to give high school students an opportunity to envision new models for conflict resolution as one of the basic areas of human rights that we all need to learn. As these individuals discussed their plan with other organizations, more and more people wanted to be involved. Searching for a creative space where students from a wide variety of backgrounds could gather and feel safe in expressing themselves led Numrich to The Minnesota Museum of American Art, whose Museum School agreed to sponsor the project and assist in finding funds to support it.
Numrich stated, “Although I was convinced we were preparing for a new level of creative expression, just before the first class began in 1994, I had a discouraging meeting with a Board member from one of the collaborating groups who doubted that all the collaborators could work together successfully. Two weeks later, in the middle of a dress rehearsal for what would be a one-hour stage production created entirely by our group of students, I recalled that conversation and realized how all of us had resolved our conflicts in the creative process. The theatre pieces had been adapted from a collection of 7 stories the group had written together and included segments of video tape that had been shot specifically for the production. The foyer of the theatre held a 10-foot tapestry created by the group. In 1995 we had a similar experience, with another collection of stories, a stage production, video projects, and a 7-foot mask. These visions grew out of a truly intercultural experience, to which everyone brought individual history and perspective, openly combining them in a spirit of collaboration and creativity.”
Some of the stories that students have created resemble Southeast Asian folktales. Several of the theatre pieces focused on homelessness, gang violence, family need, poverty, and the future. The tapestry was a multi-media piece that included painting, drawing, fiber, paper, and photography in a stunning display of group creativity. The huge mask is a striking vision of conflict. Beyond these artistic accomplishments, there were remarkable personal stories. When the mother of one of the participants died halfway through the 1994 class, the entire group created sympathy cards and an emotional videotape for their colleague. When another student experienced extreme family difficulties, some of which spilled over into the dress rehearsal, he received support and encouragement and ended the evening entwined in a family embrace.
For Numrich, the most exciting part of the whole process has been the clear message from all of these students that the arts provide a means for personal expression and a means of building community they could never hope to find otherwise. They have been able to work with their differences and use them to begin overcoming difficulties. They have also found common ground in being teenagers who had similar needs and concerns. The following story, created by a group process, provides a perfect example of how they looked for meaning and vision together.
Whatever else this story is saying, it is a genuine cry from young people to be taken seriously, cared for, and given a voice. In the past two years “Conflict Resolution: Youth Visions” has involved almost 40 students—African-American, Cambodian-American, Chinese-American and Caucasian, urban and rural—who have found new ways to speak about their needs, develop their common vision, and show the way for community at large. Through the other Youth Visions programs, hundreds more have found a similar outlet. The late Dr. Rollo May, a serious student of creativity wrote, “We are all struggling with the world—to make sense out of nonsense, meaning out of chaos, coherence out of conflict. We do it by imagination, by constructing new forms for a world in which we can survive and live with some meaning.” (The Courage to Create). In its report “The Role of the Fine and Performing Arts in High School Dropout Prevention,” the Florida Department of Education concludes “that the arts can be a powerful vehicle for motivating the student at risk to remain in school….” Youth Visions provides a vehicle for motivation, a context for the struggle to make meaning, and a model for anyone teaching human rights to young people. For more information about Creative Theatre Unlimited, call 612-647-5310.
The Streetfeet Women was founded in Boston in 1982 by Mary McCullough and Elena Dodd as a culturally diverse company of writers and performers. Drawing on family stories, they create theatre, prose, and poetry about women’s lives and relationships. They speak in powerful and distinct voices about issues common to all women.
Audiences may witness the tense encounter of a young African-American woman with the white employer of her dead mother; the fantasies of a rebellious Chinese girl identifying with the wild women in her culture; the anguish of a pregnant Puerto Rican teenager facing the decisions she must make; the self-discovery that evolves from a New England teacher’s commitment to care for her elderly mother; and the spirit of a feisty Puerto Rican immigrant refusing to be destroyed by poverty and loss. Streetfeet writings celebrate the dignity and creativity with which ordinary women live their lives.
In 1985 the group traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to take part in the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Forum of the United Nations Decade for Women Conference. The encounter with African culture and with an international women’s community gave the members a deeper understanding of their identity as Americans. In 1988 they published “Many Voices,” a journal of their experience.
In August 1995, they attended the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. They exchanged stories and participated in collaborative presentations with women’s groups at the NGO Forum and on their tour to Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Xi’an, and Guilin.
For more information, contact Mary McCullough, 30 Brastow Ave., Somerville, MA 02143, 617-628-4293 (evenings). Integrated Approaches and Resources
Once, a long, long time ago, there was an old man who had 12 children. He was so poor that he started selling his children to get money. After he sold them all, he felt as though he could do whatever he wanted to. So, he bought a big house with lots of rooms. But then he felt bad because now that he had lots of rooms, he no longer had his children. He decided to sell some of his things and try to buy back one of the children, but he found out that one child was worth more than he thought. “What have I done,” he thought. “I sold my 12 kids, but one of them is worth more than my whole house. What can I do to get them back?” He missed his children so much that he tried to think of all kinds of ways to get them back, even if it meant being poor again. The man was getting older and his health was getting worse. One day he was walking in the park and saw some children playing with their dad. He realized he was wrong to sell his children, so he made up his mind to try and contact them. He put an ad in the paper, asking anyone who knew about his children to contact him. Months passed and no reply came, until one cold day in November. The old man was seated by his fire, wrapped in a blanket. His chest was congested and his breathing was harsh. His butler came in carrying a small piece of paper. “Read it to me,” grumbled the sick man. The butler read: “To the man at 728 Oak Drive - I was your son once, but not anymore. I just wish that God will have mercy on your soul for doing the terrible deed you did.” The sick old man closed his eyes and silently wept. The next day, a second letter came; then a third and a fourth. They all said basically the same thing. None of his children understood why he sold them. “But why should they?” he thought. He knew he had done a terrible thing and somehow he wanted to show them how sorry he was. He wanted to show them that he loved them still and that he had looked for all of them after he finally realized how greedy he had been. The old man loved flowers. During his lifetime he had cultivated 12 of the most beautiful flowers in the world. After he received the 12 letters, he sent one flower to each child with a letter telling them how much he missed them. The day after they got the letters, he died.
Amnesty Interactive is a CD-ROM disc that uses multimedia technology to create a rich educational program about people, ideas, and events that have shaped the history of human rights, about human rights conditions worldwide, and about the work of Amnesty International. The disc also contains curriculum support materials for teachers, reference material for students, and a “What you can do” section containing tools for individual action. Produced entirely by volunteers, it can be used on both Macintosh and IBM-compatible computers, and is available for $10.00 from the Voyager Company at 800-446-2001.