Embodied Futures
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Embodied Futures: Weaving Futures Thinking, Applied Theatre and Community Development in Creative and Participatory Embodied Practice Deanna Borland-Sentinella, BA (Hons) Creative Industries School of Creative Practice Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology 2020 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for IF49, Doctorate of Philosophy Keywords for cataloguing purposes: Applied Theatre, Causal Layered Analysis, Circle of Influence, Community Development, Forum Theatre, Futures Thinking, Futures Triangle, participatory, Process Drama, Timor-Leste. 1 Abstract When development agendas are dictated by a few, they often fail to address the interests of all members of a community. This research sought to find ways to assist communities to experience the value of thinking about the future and to develop confidence in creating and critiquing their own visions and roadmaps. The research drew on concepts from participatory Community Development (CD) and Futures Thinking (FT) to enhance Applied Theatre (AT) practice. The key theories framing the study are Inayatullah’s (2008) ‘six pillars’ of FT, which includes Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) as a technique, and Kelly and Westoby’s (2018) layered framework that progresses from implicate through micro, mezzo, and meta methodologies. The methodology of the study was practice-led, involving an evolving series of workshops in Australia and Timor- Leste, to reflect on these theories in practice using movement and drama techniques. The findings take the form of a new AT practice, named Embodied Futures. This exegesis outlines a framework for Embodied Futures, which sits alongside a guide detailing the practical activities to implement the framework in a range of contexts in the form of an Illustrated Exercises Book. The discoveries made through practice have implications for advancing all three fields on which it was founded. For CD, Embodied Futures provides a creative conceptual framework for considering meta method. From a FT perspective, the research offers further linking with participatory development practice and another suite of tools to embody futures concepts. Finally, for AT, this research extends how Forum Theatre and Process Drama can be thought about and delivered. The interweaving of these disciplines, through practice, can bring communities together to rehearse and re-imagine alternative futures that serve them. 2 CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 I LIST OF FIGURES AND DIAGRAMS ............................................................................................................................. 6 II LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 6 III KEY TERMINOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................... 7 IV STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP .................................................................................................................. 11 V A NOTE ON THE SUBMISSION DATE: 2020 .................................................................................................................. 11 VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY ........................................................................................................................... 12 VII ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ASSISTANCE ON MY RESEARCH JOURNEY ................................................................................... 13 VIII A NOTE ON THE COMPONENTS OF THIS PHD SUBMISSION ............................................................................................ 14 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 16 1.1 Overview of Thesis................................................................................................................................ 21 2.0 CONTEXTUAL REVIEW: FRAMES INFLUENCING PRACTICE .................................................................... 23 2.1 PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................... 23 2.1.1 Development History in the Global Context ......................................................................................... 24 2.1.2 Participation and Agency ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.1.3 The Social Learning Agenda ................................................................................................................. 29 2.1.4 Applied Theatre’s relationship with Development ............................................................................... 31 2.2 FUTURES THINKING ........................................................................................................................................ 34 2.2.1 Practitioner tools for Enabling Futures Thinking.................................................................................. 36 2.2.2 Concepts of the Future across Different Cultures ................................................................................ 38 2.2.3 Future Thinking’s Current Engagement with Applied Theatre ............................................................. 41 2.3 APPLIED THEATRE .......................................................................................................................................... 45 2.3.1 Individual Change: The Power of the Body and Mind .......................................................................... 46 2.3.2 Relational Change: Interpersonal Rehearsals ...................................................................................... 49 2.3.3 Structural Change: Imagining Utopia .................................................................................................. 52 2.4 INTERSECTING CONCEPTS ACROSS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, FUTURES THINKING AND APPLIED THEATRE .................. 55 3.0 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................ 58 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................... 58 3.2 THE RESEARCH APPROACH............................................................................................................................... 59 3.2.1 Practice-led Enquiry.............................................................................................................................. 59 3.2.2 Valuing Indigenous Ways of Knowing .................................................................................................. 62 3 3.3 PROJECT DESIGN ............................................................................................................................................ 69 3.3.1 Cycles of the Creative Practice ............................................................................................................. 70 3.4 PROJECT SITES ............................................................................................................................................... 74 3.4.1 Initial sites: Meanjin (also known as Brisbane) .................................................................................... 75 3.4.2 Protracted Site: Dili, Timor-Leste ......................................................................................................... 77 3.4.3 Extension Sites: Back to Australia ........................................................................................................ 82 3.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS........................................................................................................................... 83 3.5.1 Facilitator Reflection: Journal, Workshop Plans, Observations ........................................................... 83 3.5.2 Performative Data: Video, Photos and Drawings ................................................................................ 84 3.5.3 Participant Reflection Focus Groups .................................................................................................... 85 3.5.4 Contextual Interviews: Stakeholders, Translators, NGO workers ........................................................ 86 3.6 RESEARCH ETHICS STATEMENT ......................................................................................................................... 86 3.6.1 Research Considerations ...................................................................................................................... 86 3.7 LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH .............................................................................................................................. 90 3.8 SUMMARY OF THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES ............................................................................................ 91 4.0 PRAXIS LEARNINGS ........................................................................................................................... 93 4.1 EMBODYING CONCEPTS OF TIME AND THE FUTURE............................................................................................... 93 4.1.1 Effect of the Walking Time