This study examines the life of Margo Jones and the creation of the Dallas Theatre, later renamed the Margo Jones Theatre.

Thesis (MPhil (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In the present chaos surrounding society, youth are in dire need of tools that will enable them to navigate life’s tests and help them understand their role in building a new world civilisation. It is not enough though merely to hear and profess grand ideals, action needs to accompany words. Action happens when ethics and spiritual principles are integrated at a deep level and become part of an individual’s character. The following mini thesis is a project proposal for the formation of a Drama Workshop called People’s Theatre. People’s Theatre aims to help youth become of service to humanity through the internalization of morals and through the realization of their spiritual identity and their oneness with the entire human race. The project proposal begins with an explanation of why the project is being implemented on a local level and where it fits in on a global level. The project utilises three component parts that are seen as necessary if the project is to be sustainable. There are dramatic, moral education and service component parts to the project. The dramatic component will focus particularly on the ZIPoPo method which has been chosen due to it being a powerful medium of expression as well as its focus on positive decision making and moral development. Following this, the project proposal goes into detail concerning the necessary steps needed to be taken in order to practically implement the project and make it a success. The format follows a typical project proposal format. Another factor that was decided upon in order to help make the project more sustainable was that the project would be divided into three main phases. These phases are talked about throughout the proposal. There is also an analysis about why certain activities were chosen and how to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise and lead to the further success of the project. Particular attention was paid to how to make the project truly sustainable and participatory and in this way enable it to succeed. Empowerment begins by teaching people how to walk their own path to development. The following project proposal provides a detailed plan on how to help youth to do just that.

In 1990 many in Colquitt, Georgia considered themselves to be a dying town due to the loss of jobs and outmigration that occurred when labor intensive farming transitioned to the machine. In response citizens brought in a theater director from Chicago who helped them launch a performance series of inclusive stories that were acted by local volunteers. The resulting series called Swamp Gravy has run from 1992 to present (2012), and has led to purported claims of community revitalization. The purpose of this study was to discover what this ongoing narrative community engagement meant to the people of Colquitt in regards to: community experiences that produced new relationships (including those between Blacks and Whites); personal empowerment; the coproduction of an emerging and diverse community identity; and institutional and economic development. Methods for this case study included narrative interviews of participants, attendees and local citizens, as well as observation of the town and the performances, and document analysis. Many participant volunteers and attendees became Swamp Gravy enthusiasts, and describe their experiences as coming out into a meaningful experience of community, which included forming relationships with diverse others (including those of a different race). The enthusiasts speak of growing into larger community responsibilities with others for the common good, and feel that ongoing and inclusive storytelling is very important to coproducing a diverse heritage that informs the future of their city. Other attendees (predominantly the business community) describe the benefits of Swamp Gravy as instrumental to having given the town recognition (identity) as an entertaining tourist attraction that exposed individual talent, boosted individual confidence, and enhanced social connectivity. Others in Colquitt were indifferent or resistive to the coming out that the performances invite. Most everyone recognizes that Swamp Gravy has attracted outside tourists which has boosted economic development, occasioned the renovation of downtown Colquitt square and the formation of institutions to continue to attract and accommodate visitors from afar. This case is theorized in terms of the emerging communicative turn in planning that juxtaposes the planner as mediator or facilitator, and stakeholders as co-producers. The findings in this case study support that the Swamp Gravy form of narrative process has some potential for guiding stakeholders to a just diversity in cities, neighborhoods and towns, and as such should be studied further. Urban planning in situations of urban renewal may be one place where utilizing this form of meaningful engagement could lead to discovery of new identities, which may both inform and motivate a just plan to be coproduced.