A Force For Change
You Can’t Force Change, But It Works Through You
Theatre with motion, motive, and possibility
By Andrew Baker, Artistic Director
Everyone has their own answer to the question “What does ‘Theatre As A Force For Change’ mean to you?” - Here’s mine.
First off, it’s worth saying that there’s no right or wrong answer to this question. Your own feelings on the matter are just as valid as anybody else’s. I’d like to share what Theatre As A Force For Change means to me.
This question is really important. So much so, that I will always ask actors and creatives for their own definitions during auditions and interviews. Answers rarely disappoint and they’re often extremely unique. They often include challenges towards social injustices (Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Classism, Ageism), they’re often rooted in something deeply personal, and normally include something akin to “seeing themselves represented on stage”.
For me, ‘Theatre As A Force For Change’ means Theatre with motion, motive, and possibility…
Motion
Motion can simply be understood as the process of being moved. Theatre with motion cannot help but foster change, as it moves people to think differently about something. Note that word - differently - because changing minds is one of the hardest things for a piece of theatre to do. It has two, looming prerequisites. The first is Quality of Conviction - how compelling is your viewpoint and how convincing is your argument? The second is The Status Quo of your Audience - does your audience think differently from you and, crucially, why?
Nothing is gained by preaching to the converted, or by challenging a perception you’ve not tried to understand. If we want to see theatre as a force for change, it has to find its way to people who have the capacity for change. Also, we theatre-makers have to understand where these people come from and why their viewpoints are different from our own.
Perhaps it’s more helpful to view Motion as a proposition for discussion and resolution. Opening dialogues, posing questions, and laying the groundwork for personal growth.
Motive
Motive is the driving force behind Motion. It’s the ‘reason for doing’. Your subject. Your concept.
As with anything in life, the best motives are selfless ones, but it’s extremely hard to keep Self out of your reason for inciting change.
Let’s say, hypothetically, you’re an individual who suffered as a result of something that makes you “different”. You want to make some theatre that condemns that suffering, and those who perpetrate it. You want to do this for yourself and all those like you who have suffered in a similar way. That’s all very well, totally worthwhile, with as much right to be on a stage as anything else … But it isn’t a force for change. It’s self-motivated.
To truly incite change, you must be motivated by your audience, for your audience. Their needs and the growth they can achieve have to come first, even (and perhaps especially) if they haven’t shown you those same courtesies. “Just think how much better your life could be if…”
Turning friends into allies isn’t change. Turning enemies into friends is.
Possibility
Possibility refers to a promise for the future. It’s where your Motion and your Motive could take us.
Being specific and critical of your effect is key to successfully inciting change. Knowing what is possible, setting realistic targets, and preparing for alternative outcomes all help sculpt your work and make it more effective.
Perhaps most important is preparing for alternative outcomes. We can’t dictate how a piece of theatre will be interpreted by an audience, particularly a piece with challenging or confrontational ideas. Trying to imagine what it would be like to hear your ideas and not share them is a great empathetic exercise that strengthens our understanding of others. And the more we understand others, the better we are at reaching them.
What does the undying phrase “Theatre As A Force For Change” mean to you?