Performance
workshop confronts social issues
By Monica Levette Clark
On-line Forty-Niner
Confronted
with the issue of racism and sexual assault,
students at Cal State Long Beach were challenged
to find ways to counter-attack these social
issues through interactive performances.
InterAct, a performance workshop that was
organized three years ago by communication
studies professor Marc Rich, has been presenting
these issues to students at CSULB, and throughout
the world.
Rich, who obtained his doctorate at Southern
Illinois University, specializes in cultural
studies and performance. After doing
these types of workshops throughout the
country, in prisons, homeless shelters and
in Japan, Rich said he wanted to bring it
to CSULB when he was hired as an associate
professor in 1999.
“InterAct hi-lights what our department
can do to bring about social change in the
university and in the community,” Rich said.
These performance workshops are a more effective
way to get people involved in the racial
and sexual assault issues that exist in
the world without preaching to them or showing
educational videos, Rich said.
“Our scene on racism combines scripted and
interactive components in order to help
audience members better understand the complexities
of racial issues,” Rich said.
The sexual assault scene was developed with
the assistance of the Sexual Trauma Team
at the Long Beach Veterans Medical Center
Rich said.
“It helps students recognize the warning
signs of abusive relations and better understand
how individuals feel after being assaulted,”
Rich said.
Pilar Diaz, Harold Fisher, Tim Hydzu and
Susan Valdez are CSULB students who have
been involved with the workshop as peer
educators.
InterAct creates senarios of sexual assault
and racisim so students who participate
are forced to figure out strategies to resolve
conflicts proactively.
The racial issues that were enacted were
more tacit than overt, Fisher said.
“We never use blatant racism such as racial
slurs, but the racism is implied,” Fisher
said.
Fisher, a film and English major, said the
racism scene was especially significant
this semester after tensions flared in response
to the advertisement featuring a noose the
graphic design department placed around
campus earlier this month to publicize their
first art show.
“We call our workshops interactive performances
because the audience members are on stage
with us, creating parts of the scenes with
us,” Rich said.
The sexual assault scene is comprised of
student journal entries taken from classes
taught by Rich, which are used for its script.
Students were able to experience these issues
in a realistic setting.
“It showed them that there were not always
happy endings and people sometimes don’t
go away from the situation liking one another,”
Fisher said.
Hyzdu echoed Fisher’s sentiment.
“The important thing is that [people] leave
with the issues that we address on their
minds,” Hydzu said.
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