Identity: Performance in Progress

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

Join us for a non-dualistic, playful, philosophical workshop where we will explore the conflicted terrain of contemporary gender identity.

<h3>“Hi, who are you? Nice to see you again, what’s your story?”
</h3><h3>“Oh hi! We are glad to see you; we&#x27;re Ok. Who are we, what’s our story?”
</h3><h3>“Oh hey, look at them! Who are they? What’s their story?”
</h3><h3>
</h3><h3>Our assumptions around identity, and gender specifically, are being challenged. This fluidity opens previously unseen doors to create, explore and embrace new possibilities of being in the world, even as it has produced cruel and sometimes violent reactions. 
</h3><h3>
</h3><h3>Led by Marian Rich (USA), Aurelie Harp (France/USA), and Drazen Stojković/Horvatić (Serbia), creative identity benders and shape-shifters - a Baby Boomer, a Gen X’er, and a Millennial. This workshop is an invitation to build with the power and pain of creating new ways forward together.
</h3>

<h2>Presenters:</h2><p><strong>Aurélie Harp</strong> is a Relational &amp; Performance Coach and the founder of <a href="https://www.womanityplay.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Womanity Play</a>, a human development organization focusing on cultural growth in support of business growth, the sister company of <a href="https://womanityproject.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Womanity Project</a>, a nonprofit to champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion among youth and underserved communities. She graduated from Science-Po Paris with a BA in Sciences Politics &amp; History and a Master in Marketing Research and Strategy. She has 20+ years of experience in theater improvisation, oral history and relational management. She is a graduate of the East Side Institute’s International Class (2017-18). She is now training in Group Social Therapeutics at the Institute and has started women’s groups and family &amp; gender groups. She is also a filmmaker and a playwright and a founding member of Global Play Brigade. She believes that playing and arts can help us transform our culture and create new possibilities. All of it is at the heart of Womanity<strong>
</strong></p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p><strong>Dražen Stojković/Horvatić</strong>, based in Belgrade, Serbia is apparently having difficulties owning his identity at the moment. Here are some of his involvements, that are usually highlighted as crucial for who he is becoming:
</p><blockquote>- Graduated from Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, Serbia, Department of Scandinavian Languages, Cultures and Literatures in 2016 (BA degree) 
</blockquote><blockquote>- Graduated from Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia, Applied Theater program at the Department of Drama in 2020 (MA degree) 
</blockquote><blockquote>- Graduated from East Side Institute International Class in Social Therapeutics, Class of 2018 - 2019
</blockquote><blockquote>- Graduated from Soul Works, Psyche and Soma - Sesame method in 2021 (Lower Education degree) 
</blockquote><p>Dražen has also been connected to the existence and departure of a late Serbian identity bender, Dajana Ho (she despised being called a drag queen). 
</p><p>Before Dajana died, she gave birth to twelve s∞ns, twelve ephemeral phenomena that cannot be physically sealed. These s∞ns offer a traveling multimedia playground which threatens to question the structure of the entire society as you know it...that is, only if you find that kind of a question threatening.<strong>
</strong></p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p><strong>Marian Rich</strong> is a performance activist, comic educator and play revolutionary. Trained as an actress, improviser and theatrical director, Marian has spent over 30 years designing and delivering  improvisational social therapeutic workshops and programs. 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 The Applied Improvisation Mindset, Bloomsbury Press (2021). Marian has brought the transformational power of play and the joy of improvisational creativity to hundreds of people across borders throughout the Covid pandemic.  Her article about performance activism in 2020 - “A Year of Creating Heart in a Havenless World” - appears in POIESIS: A Journal of the Arts and Communication, Volume 18, 2021. 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>.</p>

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Identity: Performance in Progress

More events from East Side Institute

Discover more events from East Side Institute, from Community to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Identity: Performance in Progress

More events from East Side Institute

Discover more events from East Side Institute, from Community to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.