VI - Art is political
This week, I'm advocating for political courage in improv and the arts amidst global injustices.
Hello comrades! This week, I think we should have a serious conversation. It takes courage to speak up, I’m going to touch topics that may trigger to some readers. If you want to avoid the theme of politics feel free to skip this week’s issue.
I’m a very political person, this is one of the main reasons I got into applied theatre oriented towards communities. I’m very outspoken against fascism and the unhinged capitalism that is destroying, not only equity and social classes, but also the planet. And, of course, there’s the ongoing situation in Palestine.
The world is a effing mess and it doesn’t show symptoms of getting better. Unfortunately, it’s not up to us to heal it, but to the people in power. The only thing we can do is denounce, raise awareness, and give voice to those under any form of injustice and oppression.
We can do that… as artists.
🧠 On improv
The improv community is well known for being cordial, respectful and calling out any form of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Those things are not welcome on an improv stage. Rightfully so. You shall never punch down.
But what about punching up? The other day I saw a set by an improv group called Fulano-O-Sempronio, formed by a multicultural and multilingual cast, none of them with English as a native language. They were doing the living room format and they got very meta at certain point when they pointed out “in improv you don’t talk about politics, religion, and babies” and proceeded to make scenes touching that rule. They were hilarious satirising about that.
It’s true, though. In general, there’s a certain lack of courage about talking politics on improv, at least in the Western stage. “It’s not the place” some might say. I get that people want scapism and entertainment from improv and I totally respect that. What makes improv an art form then? When not tackling contemporary topics, is improv comedy transformative enough to be considered art?
Another thing to consider is our integrity as improvisers. Are we taking care of our values? What would your stance be if you have to share stage with someone you know holds and/or defends any kind of oppressive power against specific members of yours or others community?
A few weeks ago I posted on threads that I couldn’t do improv with Zionists or anyone apologetic to the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. I posted it because I mean it. The post got many likes and, of course, a lot of personal attacks from people justifying the genocide and conflating Judaism with Zionism, making of the comments a battlefield. I generally brush off any attack but it’s scary to think there are so many people defending the undefendable. It shows the need to be outspoken. Change and justice never can bloom from silence.
In general that’s the only thing that disappoints me of the improv community. This stance of “let’s be decent human beings, but let’s ignore those who aren’t in case we touch sensibilities.” I don’t get people who yields the oximoron of claiming they are not political.
I want to see more improv scenes about the housing crisis, right wing politicians or J.K. Rowling. We have the tools to use exploitative landlords, xenophobes, colonialists and transphobes as cannon fodder for comedy. Why not doing it?
I’d like to shout out to Not GSCE Drama, where we do a satire of getting political through the lens of teenagers. There’s always some of truth on the shows we perform.
Let me know what you think on this topic. Here’s a picture of my cats as palate cleanser.
🪑 On Playback Theatre (PT)
This section will be short this week because Playback Theatre is political. That’s it, that’s a fact. It’s creation was inspired by Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed that was also inspired by Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. PT lives inside the family of theatre for social change and there’s nothing to add on the topic.
There are few people, though, that would claim that PT it’s not political, focusing on the therapeutic and anthropological use of it. Not going to name them, but you can imagine that the ones making that claim are doing it out of convenience.
I found myself drawn to PT to address areas that improv simply won’t dare to reach. Working with specific communities has allowed me to be in reenactments about the most sensitive topics, exploring several ways to do it artistically. And I intend to keep doing it!
🎭 On Theatre
We cannot talk about political theatre without talking about Bertolt Brecht. I always have found his plays a marvel of stagecraft, narrative and sociopolitical awareness (with a dash of Marxism). I still have to go through all of his plays but I always remember fondly enjoying, through the years, Baal, The Good Person of Szechwan and The Treepenny Opera.
Last week I enjoyed reading The Caucasian Chalk Circle, set in the Soviet post-WWII era, showing a compelling story of class, love and motherhood. I loved the moral of the story: things should be entitled to those who cherish them instead of to those with legal claims. A thing that, sadly, can be mapped in several of the problems we are facing right now as a society.
The downside of reading Brecht is missing out on the staging. His work features large, choral casts, and without witnessing the theatrical movement of the ensemble during the play, the experience inevitably falls flat. So, despite having the complete work of Brecht’s on my shelf, I think I’ll save their enjoyment for any opportunity to get it as intended.
🗣️ Shout-out!
Paul Mone is an excellent improviser from Belfast. I met him in 2019 when he invited me to teach at the Belfast Improv Festival and later we shared the experience of attending the intensive at The Annoyance Theatre in Chicago that same year.
Paul is one of the few improvisers that I know very commited with politics and social justice. I really enjoy reading his substack, Kapital Ideas. I totally recommend it.
📆 What is coming up
Another reminder of the next London Playback performance. It’ll be the 8th of June at the Rosemary Branch Theatre. Will it be political? I guess you have to come to find out. Get your tickets.
📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert
The Bioshock saga is one of my favourites within gaming. Through their games, it tackles the idea of a society away from political collectivism, religion and market restrictions. “A world without kings or gods, only man” was the motto of Andrew Ryan, who led the construction of Rapture, a hidden underwater city away from the shackles of ideologies. Spoiler alert: it collapsed.
The first two games are a narrative driven first person shooter in where we got to explore the fallen city and uncover its past covered in ambition, decay and civil war.
The saga ended with Bioshock Infinite, exploring yet another society, this time in the form of Columbia, an oppresive theocracy. Something that might sound familiar to the current citizens of the United States.
Beyond the theme of politics and philosophy, the games are artistically stunning. Since 2008 I like to go back to them every now and then. I even have a tatoo as a nod to the saga.
The games are quite old now, so you can find them compiled on practically any system and device that runs games.
✨ That’s all folks ✨
Thanks for reading Playing Back an Improvised Life, a newsletter by Ferran Luengo.
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Ferran Luengo