TYPE OF WORK
Practice, research and consultancy in theatre and social development and the use of the arts in participatory monitoring and evaluation. Theatre and development, participatory theatre, adaptations of participatory rural appraisal, forum theatre.

TARGET GROUPS
NGOs engaged in participatory development/popular education in urban and rural settings, exploring issues ranging from sexual health to citizenship.

GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
UK, South America

COMPANY POLICY

Practice generally focuses on process rather than performance, through workshops which provide the tools for the group to share and explore their knowledge, to investigate strategies for change in their lives and to evaluate projects. This has included the facilitation through theatre of international planning and evaluation seminars in the UK and workshops in South America addressing issues such as sexual health, urban development project planning, child rights, citizenship and gender.

Experience of training arts professionals, development professionals, community activists, youth workers and teachers in the use of the arts for social development.

SCALE OF PROJECTS
Number of practitioners: 1–150
Number of participants: 5–400
Preparation Time: Varies
Contact time: 2 days – 2 years

ARTPAD Project (UK/Brazil/Peru 2000–02)
Aim: To produce a resource for theatre-based participatory development techniques for development workers through participatory research in Brazil and Peru.

This was achieved through practical training and subsequent participatory research with NGO staff in Brazil and Peru. The resource was distributed to 2000 organizations in Latin America and the UK.

The participatory research showed that the integration of theatre into NGO practice facilitated the relating of development issues to participants’ own lives, greater participation in development processes, including greater engagement by stakeholders and more equal power relationships between participants.

The project resulted in changes in working methods of stakeholder organizations and subsequent changes in project outcomes. A secondary outcome was the creation of a Latin American network of NGOs interested in using the arts for development/rights (RISA).

Funded by the Department for International Development. Partners: 18 NGOs based in Brazil.

Creative Literacy
Researching the application of the arts in adult literacy work. (UK/Brazil, 2003–05)

RISA
Latin American meeting of ACD practitioners. (2004)

Dança da Moda
A training and development consultation working with young women through Afro-Brazilian culture. (Olinda, Brazil, ongoing)

Julie McCarthy
7 Auburn Road
Old Trafford
Manchester M16 9WS

T/F +44 (0)161 876 0895

E juliemccarthy@onetel.net.uk
W www.art.man.ac.uk/DRAMA/department/index.htm

“My life has changed. I didn’t know what human rights were. I didn’t know I had the right to a pencil. I didn’t know what prejudice was. I was prejudiced against myself!”
Female participant of ARTPAD (Centro Cultural Luis Freire, Olinda, Brazil)

“I used to think that theatre was nothing more than learning a lot of lines and then blurting them out. But theatre is much, much more. It’s about the daily lives of each one of us.”
Male participant of ARTPAD (Novaes Filho men’s group, Recife, Brazil)

“Theatre lets you express things through the body and gestures…you hide less and speak more directly, not just about objective things, but about your feelings.”
NGO facilitator and stakeholder in ARTPAD

Return to top