Social Change Theater Activists Sanjoy and Sima Ganguly to Speak at Caltech

Hameetman Auditorium--Cahill Building Thursday May 24, 2012 7:00-9:00 PM Reception to follow

Internationally recognized Sanjoy and Sima Ganguly, two experienced and dynamic facilitators with decades of experience in theatre and in social-movement organizing, will deliver an exciting lecture/demonstration about the current cultural and political climate of India and the role of their organization Jana Sansrkiti (JS) with its over 200,000 members in sixteen states.

JS was founded in 1985 and has constructed theater teams of men and women who come together transcending divisive social and political affiliations to plan constructive action and provide dynamic leadership for social justice and community development. The plays of JS onstage and their political activism offstage feeds one another to mobilize around issues as wide-ranging as domestic violence to political violence, from reconstruction of public institutions to resistance against aggressive forms of development.

Jana Sanskriti uses theater to establish dialogue in society with informed critical thinking and thereby helps to prevent a human being from following blindly whether in pursuit of material things, an ideology, or a person. This form of dialogue is an aesthetic experience of life leading to internal transformation and external social change. The Gangulys will also present an acting workshop with Caltech students over two days (May 26-27) in Forum Theater whereby participants play theater games and select, construct, and narrate a social problem from their daily life. With artistic direction this play is taken to an audience who must now find a solution to the problem. Passive spectators then become engaged spect-actors. Spect-actors come on stage to enact the solutions they have thought of, debating with trained activists about the feasibility of the solutions suggested.

Supported by Theater Arts at Caltech (TACIT), this event is a local extension of the pre-conference of the 18th Annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference sponsored by Caltech Y, (ISP) International Student Programs, and Oasis To RSVP for Thursday night event/reception call 626-395-3295 and for more information contact Director of Theater Arts Brian Brophy at [email protected].