OnStage+ is an educational project that uses the Social and Community Theatre methodology aimed at students, teachers, and families on the topic of addressing LGBTQIA+ inequalities and promoting the plurality of existing masculine models.
Current research in Gender Pedagogy highlights the need to create specific educational interventions for young people, in particular male students, to counteract the widespread tendency to associate male identity with toxic, homobitransphobic, racist and ableist attitudes. The reasons for this tendency can be traced back to the limited exposure (in the contexts of formal and non-formal education) to socio-cultural models of masculinity that promote its plural dimension and alternative to the exclusive and oppressive one proposed by patriarchy. The absence of alternative models is particularly critical in puberty, when teenagers are looking for references to form their identity.
In response to this need and the current discrimination based on sexual orientation, in 2022 the SCT Center developed the interdisciplinary Public Engagement project OnStage – nON STAre a GuardarE (OnStage – don’t just stay there) in collaboration with the Departments of Psychology, Humanities, Law, Historical Studies, Political Culture and Society and Computer Science, Cirsde, General Management and CUG – Single Guarantee Committee of the University of Turin. The project addresses discrimination based on sexual orientation through an interactive performance resulting from a scientific research and a work process developed according to the methodology of Social and Community Theatre.
The performance, based on research, interviews and workshops with students and citizens, actively involves the audience, through performative languages and continuous devices aimed at sparking reflection on the theme of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The project started from the research results and performative outputs of the university project, updating them in relation to the specific theme of promoting positive and plural masculine models. It included a plurality of educational actions aimed at students, teachers and parents developed live and/or through online modalities in the school context in order to effectively intervene on the educating community that accompanies youth in the typical transformations of adolescence.
The educational intervention was divided into several actions aimed at students, teachers and parents, which each school could activate, allowing a scalable intervention adaptable to the needs and characteristics of its own context.
THE PERFORMANCE – AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT
The intervention included an initial phase of community engagement centered on the theme, through the viewing of the OnStage theatrical production for both youth and their adult counterparts (teachers, parents), with the possibility of separate showings for each group.
OnStage is an interactive theatrical performance (game-performance) of Social and Community Theatre aimed at stimulating critical thinking and countering LGBTQIA+ discrimination. In this specific case, the show was both a tool for raising awareness and activating the communities. The game-performance features 25 squares inspired by the format of the traditional Game of the Goose, 2 performers and 3 musicians who invite the audience – divided into two teams – to roll the dice and advance on the giant squares. Each square “activates” a different content: historical facts, quizzes, scenes from everyday life, monologues inspired by true stories.
WORKSHOP – TEACHERS AND PARENTS TRAINING
Following the initial engagement and activation phase, which involved viewing the theatrical performance, the project moved into schools to conduct workshops on non-toxic, plural masculinity. The following educational interventions were available:
WIDESPREAD AND AUTONOMOUS TRAINING – BOARD GAME AND DIGITALIZATION OF CLASSROOM CONTENT
To ensure continuity and scalability of the interventions to larger audiences, the creation of two additional tools to convey the content covered in the performance was proposed.
These resources acted as both educational tools for classes, teachers, and communities unable to attend the live performance or training sessions (distributed locally, regionally, and nationally), and as practical classroom tools for teachers who participated in the project’s training.
More specifically:
FURTHER INFORMATION AND DISSEMINATION MATERIALS
Publication – a theoretical/methodological manual to support teacher training, developed with both the scientific team of the University of Turin, which oversaw the OnStage project, and researchers from the same university, who conduct research on the topic of plural masculinity at the CiRSDE. The manual, published in the series of the Compagnia di San Paolo School Foundation, constitutes a scientific in-depth study of a divulgative nature and deals with content on the topic of discrimination based on sexual orientation and on the topic of masculinity models, with reflections on the use of artistic and performative practices for facilitation in the educational dimension.
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We conduct planning, research and evaluation, developing performing arts events and workshops that promote cultural and social participation through the Social Community Theatre methodology.
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