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My Heart is in the East: Exploring Theater as a Vehicle for Change, Inspired by the Poetic Performances of Ancient Andalucía

Litwak, Jessica
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6187-9683
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1432152428

Abstract Details

2015, Ph.D., Antioch University, Leadership and Change.
This study addresses the research question “How Do I Inspire Personal and Social Change Through My Theater Practice?” I implement the theory and practice of H.E.A.T., a fusion theater system, combining use of theater arts as healing practice, educational asset, activist tool, and an art form. I research different ways that theater can affect change, focusing specifically on the use of history in performance. I dramatically interpret a period of history where performance and poetry contributed to change. I utilize qualitative methods including performance ethnography, auto ethnography, arts-based research, and historical research. I describe the fieldwork in conflict zones in the Middle East, which led to the scripting of a full-length play, and the presentation of the play, which included discussion groups and audience participation through post-show events. The dissertation is a bricolage, combining scholarly chapters, performative writing, and scripted theater. The work explores ways of employing theater as a change agent by using history as an inspiration. In the city of Cordoba, Spain, in the 10th and 11th century Muslims and Jews lived in a state of relative peace. Looking at medieval Cordoba I explore the Judeo-Arabic poetry of the time, asking: Can what happened in Cordoba be a model for performance and peacebuilding? Based on historical research, the Judeo-Arabic poetry of ancient Al-Andalusia, and the theory of performative peacebuilding, the dramatically scripted section of the dissertation will take place in two realms: Present-day conflict zones in the Middle East; and medieval Cordoba where two ancient characters convey a story of coexistence through poetic expression. In three decades of working as a theater artist, I have come to believe that my work must be dedicated to facilitating change. The sacred and ancient art of theater needs to be meaningful to 21st-century life so that we can use it to awaken, heal, educate and repair the world. This dissertation is accompanied by five supplemental MP4 video files. This Dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohiolink ETD Center https://etd.ohiolink.edu/
Carolyn Kenny, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Elizabeth Holloway, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
D. Soyini Madison, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Dara Culhane, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Magdelena Kazubowski-Houston, Ph.D. (Other)
331 p.
Aesthetics; Islamic Studies; Judaic Studies; Medieval History; Medieval Literature; Middle Eastern History; Middle Eastern Literature; Middle Eastern Studies; Performing Arts; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Theater; Theater Studies
theater; theatre; drama therapy; applied theater; history; Middle East; Muslims; Jews; poetry; social change; arts; performance ethnography; autoethnography; performative writing; arts-based research; playwriting; HEAT Collective;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Litwak, J. (2015). My Heart is in the East: Exploring Theater as a Vehicle for Change, Inspired by the Poetic Performances of Ancient Andalucía [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1432152428

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Litwak, Jessica. My Heart is in the East: Exploring Theater as a Vehicle for Change, Inspired by the Poetic Performances of Ancient Andalucía. 2015. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1432152428.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Litwak, Jessica. "My Heart is in the East: Exploring Theater as a Vehicle for Change, Inspired by the Poetic Performances of Ancient Andalucía." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1432152428

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1432152428
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© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.