GRUNDTVIG LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (2009)

The Malta Drama Centre’s Antenna Park Project, organized in collaboration with Austrian and Greek partners under the auspices of the Grundtvig Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union, was recently featured on the Malta University’s radio station Campus FM. The project applied the Forum Theatre method devised by the practitioner Augusto Boal to explore the risks posed by the installation of mobile base-station antennas on Hortiatis Hill in Asvestohori, Thessaloniki. Prizma, the arts magazine programme produced and presented by Joyce Gullaimier (JG), touched on both Marvic Doughty (MD) and Yvette Buhagiar’s (YB) participation as two actors in the project, and on their views on theatre and their work in drama. What follows is a free transcript of the most salient points of the interview.

JG : I’ve known Marvic for years both as a broadcaster and as an actress. I’m not so familiar with Yvette. Today they’re going to discuss the Malta Drama Centre and the Forum Theatre project they were involved in together with Austrian and Greek partners. To begin with, what is the Malta Drama Centre’s contribution to local drama? What does its work consist of?

MD: The Malta Drama Centre is a state drama school. Lessons are given in the evenings and on Saturday mornings. Those who attend are not necessarily interested in a stage career but are looking to develop their personality and social skills. Drama is an excellent vehicle for team building practice, for example. Our students range from kids as young as 7 to adults over 40; there’s no age limit for adults.

JG: I’m aware that you don’t focus solely on drama. Is that correct?

MD : That’s right. We offer classes in ballet, flamenco, costume design……

JG : So you also offer training in backstage skills?

MD : Yes, we do. We even offer a script writing course. However, it wasn’t held last academic year due to a lack of interest. Those who are interested in scriptwriting should contact the Drama Centre and let us know, as we can’t hold a class for 3 or 4 persons. If the interest is sufficiently high, the course will be held.

JG: I’ve always sought to publicize the Drama Centre’s courses and activities both in the print media and on radio…

MD: Our website is easily accessed or one could always phone the Drama Centre up. Nowadays when you ask kids why they’d like to get involved in drama the inevitable answer is they see themselves on TV. This is fine, however, we don’t just encourage children to act but to develop their imagination, get a sense of movement, improve their coordination and spatial skills. This is evident in our motto: Theatre as a Rehearsal for Life. So drama is a way to connect, get away from rigidity, to get out of one’s shell and present oneself with a certain amount of confidence.

JG: How many tutors does the Drama Centre employ?

MD : I don’t know the exact number, but I do know that close to 500 students are presently attending our courses. The Principal, Mario Azzopardi, has been very enthusiastic in introducing new classes. We even offer a course in community theatre, which specifically trains students in a method of theatre that is socially committed to applying drama in hospitals, prisons and schools, for example.

JG : Besides being actors you are also drama tutors. I’d like to know which you prefer.

MD: Well, my main profession is banking. However, besides acting, which I’ve been involved in for quite a number of years now, I’ve been teaching drama to 12-14 year olds for about 4 years. If you had to press me for an answer I’d have to say that deep down my first preference is acting. Having said that, teaching brings out a different role and I get a sense of deep satisfaction when I see the students’ enthusiasm. Exams are not compulsory; however, we prepare our students for LAMDA exams from grade 3 up to diploma level.

YB : I find it difficult to choose. Acting is something an actor lives with and as an actress I transmit to students experiences I’ve gathered in the theatre. I also teach drama full-time, so my life is steeped in theatre.

JG: Talking about this project you worked on, what exactly is Forum Theatre?

YB: Forum Theatre is a different method of doing theatre. Many were the theoreticians who have come up with a philosophy of theatre. Forum Theatre presents the public with a tangible reality that it’s living through. The audience doesn’t watch a pre-scripted production in a passive manner but rather it is encouraged to get on stage and take on the actors’ roles themselves and suggest different ways for the performance to evolve in. Augusto Boal, the creator of Forum Theatre, believed that every individual has the potential to take action to transform his/her life.

MD: The process is one where you don’t have a prepared script. A lot of research is carried out on, for instance, the economic and social problems a particular group has to grapple with in their daily lives.

JG : This means the problem is real; it isn’t a fictitious one, right?

YB : Yes, it’s real. For example, in the Antenna Park Project we worked on the health risks posed to a Greek community by electromagnetic fields as a result of the proliferation of antennas in the region.

JG: How did you learn of the problem?

MD : Through the Grundtvig Lifelong Learning Programme theatre groups from Malta, Austria and Greece identified a problem in their community. An observer then travelled to Greece to explore the problem.

YB: The 3 countries identified an issue and we were in constant contact with our partners before we actually travelled to Greece. The Maltese group chose the issue of illegal immigration, the Greeks chose the issue of the health risks involved in the installation of mobile base-antennas on Hortiatis Hill and the Austrians focused on the problem of loneliness in society.

JG: Has the production from Malta about illegal immigration been held?

MD: Yes, it has, and our partners had the opportunity to meet the Maltese actors. Six of us travelled to Greece, where we researched and discussed the problem. We came up with the idea to devise a sketch that explores the problem of electromagnetic fields and possible solutions to it. It should be stressed, though, that our ultimate aim was to raise awareness in the issue.

YB: It’s precisely for this reason that in Forum Theatre the public is referred to as "spect-actors". We know that the town’s Mayor is aware of the issue, which has also attracted the EU’s attention. It’s vital to realize this isn’t just a Greek problem, here in Malta we are full of these antennas and we’ll face similar health risks to the ones the Asvestohori community are suffering.

JG: What you’re underlining is that Forum Theatre is a means to improve people’s lives. Does this mean it’s political?

MD: It’s more social than political in the strict sense of the term. The Austrians chose a social issue that was quite abstract because people experience loneliness in unique ways.

JG: And it’s also subjective…

MD: We invited people from the community to our performance. The town’s mayor was present and the "Joker", who in Forum Theatre has the specific function of acting as a mediator between the actors and the "spect-actors", interrupted the performance so that the public could get involved. The mayor himself got up on stage.

YB: I’d qualify this kind of theatre as democratic rather than political. In fact, a legal ordinance was published calling for the removal of some of the antennas.

Patricia Gatt B.A. (Hons.)