Acting, reacting and adapting
View(s):Using performance as a tool for change, Act4 hopes to help stop violence against young people
By Aanya Wipulasena
She falls unconscious to the floor. Her mother runs to gather her in a tight embrace, screaming ‘my child’ as the brother watches in shock with a wooden box clutched in his hand. The girl next to me grasps the handle of the chair she is sitting on and murmurs something in distress under her breath.
We are amongst an audience of mostly students, watching a performance about a 16-year-old who is seduced and left helpless, wretched and pregnant. It shows how, in a normal household, children are compelled to turn to strangers when their friends and family members fail to listen to them.
This is the fate that befalls many school children. According to police reports, at least four rape cases take place every day in our country and most of them involve children below 16 years. It is also understood that 90 per cent of these incidents take place with the consent of the victim.
Act4 is hoping to put a ‘stop to violence’ by taking the message to young people. “We use forum theatre to reach out to the students and help them find the right solutions to get out of daily stresses and hazards. With this we are able to talk to the targeted group (students) empower and create awareness amongst them,” said Artistic Director and Trainer of Act4, Nalinda Premaratne.
The play is simple. No lighting effects, no special costumes or even special music. It is simply created in a way to stimulate audience participation through discussion, interaction, role playing and sharing experiences.
How do they achieve this target? When the play reaches its climax, Nalinda asked the audience if they want the protagonist’s story to have such an unfortunate end. Of course the answer was a loud ‘no’. “Then we’ll give you a chance to change the plot,” he said requesting the audience to think and explain how they wanted to alter the play.
“This is the place where we get our audience thinking what they should do and how they could change any unpleasant situation. Our goal is to make people aware of the problem and let them think for a moment and come up with a possible solution for each of these problems,” Nalinda explained adding that students fail to see how they could intervene to change a situation without falling a victim in it.
Chandana Gunawardane, Managing Director of the Centre for Operating Mind and Self Empowerment Training, and a consultant to the group, says Sri Lanka is in eighth place among countries with the highest number of suicides. “Most of these victims are between the ages of 12-32 years. Sadly the reason for this is because our children are not able to tolerate issues and other daily stresses,” he said.
“Students use mobile phones but how many of them use them for the right reason?” he asked. “In the play they emphasise this very aspect. Through this we are also able to teach the students how to use such technologies with care and how to build strong relationships with family members and healthy relationships.”
The Police Women’s and Children’s Bureau also works in collaboration with Act4 and together they strive to increase awareness on child abuse amongst students, identify and refer the students who need help to capable institutions which have expertise in the field and develop their life skills.
The project with the sponsorship of the British Council is to be conducted in 403 schools and the group plans to expand it to other parts in the country as well. If you wish to bring them to your school or join the group to make a change you can contact Act4 on act4.change@yahoo.com
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