The How of Performance Activism - Fall 2022

An international center for the study of social therapeutics and performance activism — bringing human and community development to the forefront of culture change and social transformation, and promoting alternative and radically humanizing approaches to psychology, education and community building.

East Side Institute

Spend a weekend with ESI director Lois Holzman & the Institute faculty, exploring conceptions and practical tools of performance activism

Over the past four decades we at the East Side Institute have led a practice in which play, performance and philosophizing are uniquely combined to support people to grow themselves and their communities, to humanize the mental health field and the social sciences, and to effect social change and global cultural transformation. As it turns out, we were built for this historical moment of social upheaval. We and our colleagues around the world are putting our tools to work for collective development in ways we never imagined and are making new discoveries along the way.Join us for a weekend dive into the conceptions and practical tools of social therapeutics and performance activism. We will explore how play and performance can break through social barriers, unleash imaginations, and open doors to new possibilities. See how these tools can work for you, your teams, communities and projects. Perfect for experienced organizers and newly becoming activists. Led by a dynamic, diverse and experienced team of Institute faculty: educators, therapists, theater artists, social entrepreneurs–activists all!We will explore how to:<ul><li>Approach your activism as a performance and your play and performances as activism.</li><li>Create supportive ensembles in all sorts of social, political, artistic and educational environments that generate individual and collective development. </li><li>Get past arguing, agitating and aggravation and create conversations that build bridges.</li><li>Learn from your project’s successes and failures, and avoid becoming satisfied and stagnating.</li><li>Navigate and engage your country’s established institutions while maintaining your independence.</li><li>Generate happiness and use it as a force for social change.</li></ul><h3></h3><h3>Dates &amp; Times﻿</h3>Saturday &amp; Sunday October 15th &amp; 16thEach day starts at 10:00 am EDT (UTC-4)

<h3>What 'How' Enthusiasts Are Saying</h3>Cinthia Duran (Critical Dance Studies PhD Student)<blockquote>As a dancer and artist I’ve been exposed to the idea that in order to perform you ought to have a polished technique and long-term training; that to be an activist you have to engage in very specific ways of community organizing or taking the public space in manifestations and protests. What we explored at The How of Performance Activism is that playing and performing can be a revolutionary activity in itself. It allows for possibilities to reveal themselves: new emotions can be created, new ways of dealing with old problems (like racism, colonialism, gender violence, ableism, and many other “isms”) can be imagined, performed and thus created. I discovered that we can build community even if we are far away, that we all have something to share and that we can build strength from sharing our vulnerability. There is a community out there willing to co-create with you, hold you and receive your contributions in order to create a space that holds us all and allows us to grow.</blockquote>Myung Jin Kim (Education Activist for Better Teaching-and-Learning)<blockquote>As an educator, I have studied how vital play is to children; in the How workshop I discovered play is also effective in growing myself as a human being with multiple roles (e.g., educator, woman of color, spouse, and life-time learner). If you want to refresh your experiences and are eager to break the box, and dream of a better you and a better world, you should join this workshop right now!! The facilitators did not simply position me as an audience or student but embraced me as an interactor and contributor. And if English is not your first language, don't worry. This community knows how to interpret other forms of communicative tools if you are willing to share yourself.</blockquote>Sarah Filman (Leadership Coach and Facilitator)<blockquote>The How of Performance Activism weekend was an incredibly mind-expanding and connective experience while at the same time offering rich language for a set of values that it turns out I was already practicing and performing in my life. The continued emphasis on the “process” - the How - of growing, developing, and relating to others was so refreshing in a world that focuses on goals, outcomes, and destinations, often at the expense of how you get there. Getting to play and reflect with people across the world, including the world-class faculty, was such an impactful experience, in particular as I was laying the foundations of my own coaching practice.</blockquote>Morgane Masterman <blockquote>The How of Performance Activism gave me a better understanding of the history of the East Side Institute, its community, and its many diverse facets. It was engaging and stimulating, and broadened my horizons when it comes to fundraising and money inside the not-for-profit world. It was the first step in reshaping my relationship to asking for help in the context, and as a form of organizing, which has been an extremely valuable development as a human and an activist.</blockquote>

<h3>Faculty</h3>Lois Holzman is founder (with Fred Newman) and director of the East Side Institute, an international center for social therapeutics and other humanizing approaches to the learning and development of people and communities. As an activist-scholar, her work is political-philosophical, community-located and international. She is a founder and the chair of the <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Mai2epbZR2n0k7343ySza4HmrjYtGDbSl1oL-z_AHpCYA4M3HKMOA7h8N9MC89R3aIPX1hNHJepiDSWUJwvVlvTzZzCdDQT6fbEVQhS1MpROzBzdlQFhz1ENZNjTj8lI0h8m3N7Ih0nhmywLNfSDZcZHdUhkUjaN&amp;c=ZePhIEQfiDUSEcXb6MK3gMNTdynCsv_YW6vX3hkJZJNmgs2TwW7tUw==&amp;ch=51Q49r6NEHURpGpLCsdmV9aqMUX4QW-iy0_7S20NuJ0kQ9O2xHWbdA==" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Performing the World</a> conferences and a leader in the social change movement known as performance activism. Lois introduces performatory approaches to human development and social change to hundreds of grassroots practitioners and supports their home-grown initiatives to develop people and their communities in order to engage poverty, violence, conflict, underdevelopment and environmental destruction. Lois is the author of 10 books – including <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Mai2epbZR2n0k7343ySza4HmrjYtGDbSl1oL-z_AHpCYA4M3HKMOA7h8N9MC89R3d-apuMs1H4Ky7pwlShCuLNLmxf8fhYRPU2XnqBU3xm_PJbGZCybk-DKhEa1ksZoPAgGEPrwOFC5zXVTkH8iwoPpBERoRTc6b_TMSQ7kgHZOVpQmDNhb2_ryOSTtnUm9KU6MqMmBM3R0XsA1CkceOHidgCSu3lrdodhbnYgu09iU6ITQTpo8AnekC9oEOf6DYw9PPidH6j5hPXfZ3DBl9nmjEC1k71xICb3iey90Z-bi7AYWqbv6JJhcXkbpLUSmga_5lP1ihqsJTRuUln2uWTAzbTpamqB-u&amp;c=ZePhIEQfiDUSEcXb6MK3gMNTdynCsv_YW6vX3hkJZJNmgs2TwW7tUw==&amp;ch=51Q49r6NEHURpGpLCsdmV9aqMUX4QW-iy0_7S20NuJ0kQ9O2xHWbdA==" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Overweight Brain</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vygotsky-Work-Play-Lois-Holzman/dp/1138937851/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3NK7B0RW7VR3D&amp;keywords=vygotsky+at+work+and+play&amp;qid=1645789814&amp;sprefix=vygotsky+at+work+and+play%2Caps%2C68&amp;sr=8-2" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Vygotsky at Work and Play</a> and dozens of chapters, articles and essays, some featured in <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Mai2epbZR2n0k7343ySza4HmrjYtGDbSl1oL-z_AHpCYA4M3HKMOA7h8N9MC89R3NkkOQVV-Nht70Qe7itcN4ferDIyTxLqVwKvewgJ2ar7kb9cer9YYDCJvI6tMi3BNels8xdZK-CirKd-zcogVsDBwtZJtk6QrHbW6oOQtT0g6Z29VcrSXT8Tvzbp0Grra4Q287dEULqrYnIk9f4xtpHCM-KqO_jHQHZa7OgtOLiG47JpOJX4E0sjpdfZY6TQdbXIB6GthxgooI6KFh_hIAOnFp1Sb8jfjBG8Lpcp8vkcd9pMDP6YYj403aJOMLJLyPYlrhA2HPAYcyWoSvDptprsvsC26UFlR7tIeh71rvbN4fYKLy36gLJFaUXQhSq9knkxY4YQ01vk=&amp;c=ZePhIEQfiDUSEcXb6MK3gMNTdynCsv_YW6vX3hkJZJNmgs2TwW7tUw==&amp;ch=51Q49r6NEHURpGpLCsdmV9" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Big Ideas and Revolutionary Activity</a>. She recently started a thought-provoking advice column on everyday developmental dilemmas, <a href="https://loisholzman.org/the-developmentalist/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Developmentalist</a>.Carrie Lobman is a sociocultural scholar and play movement leader. She is the Leader of Education and Research at the East Side Institute and associate professor and chair of the department of Learning and Teaching at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. She facilitates the Institute&#x27;s &quot;Play, Development and Social Justice&quot; webinar series and co-leads the <a href="https://eastsideinstitute.org/study/international-class/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">International Class</a>, its flagship program. She serves as a mentor to emerging performance activists around the world and is on the national board of directors of the <a href="https://allstars.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">All Stars Project</a>. Carrie is the author or editor of three books: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unscripted-Learning-Improv-Activities-Curriculum/dp/0807747971/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Unscripted+Learning%3A+Using+Improvisation+across+the+K-8+Curriculum&amp;qid=1595422991&amp;sr=8-2" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Unscripted Learning: Using Improvisation across the K-8 Curriculum, Big Ideas and Revolutionary Activity: Selected Essays, Talks and Articles</a> by Lois Holzman and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Play-Performance-Culture-Studies-Cultural/dp/0761855319" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Performance and Play: Play and Culture Series, Volume 11</a>. Cathy Salit is a social entrepreneur, speaker, coach, improviser, and performance activist. She is the founder and lead organizer of the <a href="https://www.globalplaybrigade.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Global Play Brigade</a>, a newly formed coalition of performance activists that is offering free play sessions around the world during the pandemic. As a founder and now CEO Emerita of the award winning leadership consultancy <a href="https://performanceofalifetime.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Performance of a Lifetime</a>, she led the growth of the company for over 23 years, working with thousands of leaders and teams in top brand companies across the globe. She has been active as a community organizer since she was a teenager; working on many grassroots projects including alternative schools, teen pregnancy prevention programs, independent political campaigns, the <a href="https://allstars.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">All Stars Project</a> and the <a href="https://www.performingtheworld.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Performing the World</a> and <a href="http://www.appliedimprovisation.network/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Applied Improv Network</a> global conferences. Cathy is the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Breakthrough-Radical-Approach-Success/dp/0316382485/ref=sr_1_1?crid=4NL1OYT7929N&amp;dchild=1&amp;keywords=performance+breakthrough+a+radical+approach+to+success+at+work&amp;qid=1595357482&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=performance+breakth%2Cstripbooks%2C134&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach to Success at Work</a> (Hachette 2016). She’s an artistic associate at the Castillo Theatre in NYC, on the advisory board of Lin Manuel Miranda&#x27;s <a href="https://fls.academy/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Freestyle Love Supreme Academy</a> and an occasional jazz singer; recent performances include The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, LI and the San Sebastian Jazz Festival in Spain.Dan Friedman is the managing producer of the East Side Institute’s podcast, “<a href="https://eastsideinstitute.org/resources/multimedia/podcasts/all-power-to-the-developing-podcast/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">All Power to the Developing</a>,” and project manager of <a href="https://honorscollege.uncg.edu/news-events/lets-learn/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">“Let’s Learn!”</a> a global community-engaged educational project of Lloyd International Honors College of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in collaboration with the East Side Institute. He is a co-founder of the <a href="https://www.castillo.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Castillo Theatre</a>, where he served as artistic director for over a decade. He is a playwright, theatre director and theatre historian. His book, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-80591-3" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Performance Activism: Precursors and Contemporary Pioneers</a> has recently been published by Palgrave.Marian Rich is a social therapeutic coach, performance activist, and play revolutionary. Trained as an actress, comedic improviser and theatrical director, Marian has spent over 30 years designing and delivering improvisational workshops and programs in which people come together to grow and develop. As a faculty member of the East Side Institute, her playful and philosophical sessions during International Class residencies have impacted activists, educators and scholars from around the world who are looking for ways to infuse their work with the power of performance. She is the co-author (with Carrie Lobman) of “Playing Around with Changing the World,” a chapter about this work in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Applied-Improvisation-Mindset-Transforming-Organizations/dp/1350143618" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Applied Improvisation Mindset</a>, to be published by Bloomsbury Press. Her article, “A Year of Creating Heart in a Havenless World,” chronicling performance activism in 2020, appears in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/POIESIS-Journal-Arts-Communication-2021/dp/1777681707" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">POIESIS: A Journal of the Arts and Communication, Volume 18, 2021</a>. She is a founding member of the <a href="https://www.globalplaybrigade.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Global Play Brigade</a>.Raquell Holmes is a pioneer in the use of improvisation and performance to advance scientific research communities. She is founder, director of <a href="http://improvscience.org/welcome" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">improvscience</a> and founder of the arts, humanities and STEM conference <a href="http://cultivatingensembles.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Cultivating Ensembles</a>. Trained formally as a cell biologist at Tufts Biomedical and Harvard Medical schools, she uses her training in human development and performance from the East Side Institute to help scientists build collaborative learning and research environments. In May 2020, Raquell created <a href="http://improvscience.org/events" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Uncomfortable Independent Conversations</a> (UIC) to bring together individuals who, independent of institutional locations, are interested in having conversations that transform their experiences of race, class and gender in America and move us closer to one another.

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The How of Performance Activism - Fall 2022

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The How of Performance Activism - Fall 2022

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