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According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, the word “community” derives from the Latin roots: communitas and communis meaning “fellowship” and “common,” respectively. The word “amateur” derives from the Latin roots: amator meaning “lover.” A community of amateurs, who love to put on plays, exists within the Denton Community Theatre. Their first attempt at classical theatre was the January 2006 production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Brad Speck. The film follows two actors (through observational shooting) - Kevin Wickersham, a waiter who is trying theatre for the first time, and Jeffrey Johnson, a theatre college student trying Shakespeare for the first time - as they relate to a process and community that is new to them.

The major objective of this thesis is to study the processes of traditionalisation that are being enacted in relation to both the external and internal production of the play "The Power and the Glory" that has been performed in Alvastra Abbey ruin since 1988. During three weeks in July the ruins and their environs are transformed into a rehearsal area, and a live stage, with lay actors performing different roles, a supporting staff and an audience. The thesis asks questions about how the staging of the play is impacted by a politics of culture, why this particular site or topography can be read as a story about a nation, what mediating connections there are between the yearly productions and, finally, how the rehearsals activate and reproduce the accumulated memory of the play and the place. The thesis connects with discussions on how "space" is charged with symbolic and cultural meanings, the use of history and cultural heritage, and story-telling. These approaches are combined with analysis of how participants in interaction use multiple resources (talk, spatial organisation, gestures, gazes, movements and postures) to invokethe spatial aspects of the play as well as to put the story of the play in place. The methodological approach of the thesis combines fieldwork (personal observations, videotaping and audio-recordings) with analysis of written material, press cuttings, archival material, and books and illustrations about the area and its history. In conclusion, this dissertation makes visible how Alvastra Abbey is associated with imagined cultural, political and social entities such as a nation, a province, and a local community. "The Power and the Glory", it appears, constitutes one agent among others in a long term meaning making process. One point made in this book is that although the story of the play is legitimised through references to a past that already has become meaningful in earlier processes of traditionalisation, the work of the Association of Alvastra Chronicle Play and the rehearsal process also creates a traditionalisation process of its own.

This thesis seeks to examine the nature of political theatre within the postmodern context. I distinguish between the historical alternative theatre and the paradoxical alternative theatre in my work. The historical alternative coincides with the alternative theatre movement developed in Britain between the late 1960s and late 1970s, while in Portugal this movement was mainly designated as independent theatre between 1974 and the 1980s. I start by analysing the narratives of birth and death of the historical alternative theatre movement in the British and Portuguese contexts from the establishment of the movement in the late 1960s to the present. I go on to propose that beyond the historical alternative and within a post-ideology framework, contemporary theatre may still engage with politics by exercising a localised and temporary paradoxical alternative. For my research I selected four long-running and state-funded theatre companies, o bando, Kneehigh, Foursight and Escola de Mulheres, chosen according to two of the categories prominent during the historical alternative movement, community theatre and women's theatre. Through detailed analysis of productions of the four theatre companies, I assess the characteristics of a postmodern political oppositional theatre. My methodological approach covers the longitudinal context of the companies and productions by looking at past productions, funding statements, reviews, practitioners' interviews, theatre programmes and the rehearsal, performance and reception stages of the theatrical process. I start by analysing each company's history and their own mythologies of the alternative, before focusing on two of the central traits of the theatre developed during the historical alternative theatre movement, non-traditional spaces and non-traditional audiences. Each of the four companies has, out of necessity or choice, positioned itself outside of traditional theatre and entertainment circuits for some of its productions, negotiating symbolical and ideological independence side by side with large productions in repertory and/or commercial theatres. Each of the companies fosters, in addition, in their non-traditional places mechanisms that subvert circumstantially the hierarchical values imbued by neoliberal thought. The oppressed take centre-stage. Exposed to the vagaries of the weather, to exiguous or improvised audience spaces, expected to, forced by circumstances or incentivised to interact with fellow spectators and actors, audiences rediscover in the moment of the performance their shared humanity and form fleeting and secular communities of faith.

An emphasis in political debates and much print media in the United Kingdom (UK) on perceived issues with ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity has contributed to a narrative of worry and fear. Despite such hostile discourse, people find ways of living together with diversity every day.  The encounters which I am concerned with in the following degree project are taking place through community theatre with Mafwa Theatre in Leeds where women from asylum seeker, refugee, and wider communities are socialising and cooperating over fun and simple drama activities. The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the different participants’ lived experiences of the theatre space, how they view their role in the group, and how they perceive diversity in the group. The research questions are explored with qualitative research methods of individual interviews with Mafwa members, the facilitators, and a volunteer, participant observation during the weekly drama sessions, and document analysis of printed, online, and audio materials. With this degree project, I aim to contribute to the discussion about everyday multiculturalism and living with diversity in the UK. The theoretical framework consists of the concept of hospitality which helps me explore how hospitable spaces are shaped and negotiated by different contributors, and conviviality which embraces the complexity of social relations without romanticising them and can help us reach a better understanding of how to live together without a fear for each other’s differences.  The findings show that the different participants view the drama group as a hospitable community of acceptance and respect within a hostile environment for asylum seekers and refugees at the national level. The space offers a well-needed opportunity for the women to have fun, develop their creative skills, and escape day-to-day concerns. Moreover, the study shows that besides being proud co-producers of artistic practice, all participants are also active co-creators of shaping the hospitable space and a ‘convivial culture’. Finally, despite misunderstandings and disagreements in the group, the participants express having bonded over similarities and learned from differences rather than describing diversity as something to fear.

Denna uppsats har sin utgångspunkt i hållbar stadsutveckling - med särskild inriktning på socialhållbarhet - och studerar konsekvenser av den segregerade staden Malmö. I fokus stårbostadsområdet Almgården och dess betydelse som kontext för barns identitetsarbete ochsocialisering. Med utgångspunkt i teorier om socialt hållbar stadsutveckling, boendesegregation,grannskapseffekter, samt barns socialisering och identitetsarbete ges en förståelse förbostadsområdets betydelse för barns uppväxtvillkor. Uppsatsen innehåller en nulägesbeskrivning ochhållbarhetsanalys av Almgården som kontext, baserad huvudsakligen på intervjuer med boende ocholika företrädare för den kommunala verksamheten i området. Sammantaget indikerar situationenpå Almgården sämre förutsättningar för god hälsa och välfärd och medför faktorer som kan påverkabarns uppväxtvillkor negativt. Ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv är den centrala utmaningen på Almgårdenatt motverka brister i jämlikhet och delaktighet. I uppsatsen görs bedömningen att så kan ske genomatt stärka individer och deras anknytning till området och genom att stärka tilliten och förtroendetinom bostadsområdet och gentemot det omgivande samhället och därmed stärka den kollektivaförmågan. En del av uppsatsen är en förstudie till ett projekt, som är tänkt att bidra till ökad socialhållbarhet i Almgården. För att ta vara på barnens perspektiv på Almgården, på barns villkor, och påett sätt som samtidigt stärker barnen föreslås projektet Communityteater Almgården. Projektet kanbidra ytterligare till förståelsen av bostadsområdets betydelse för barn och ungdomarsförutsättningar samtidigt som det har en gynnsam effekt för den sociala hållbarheten på Almgården. / The focus of this master’s thesis is socially sustainable urban development and investigates theimplications of segregation in the city of Malmö. It focuses on the neighborhood of Almgården andits significance as a context for children's identity and socialization. Theories of socially sustainableurban development, housing segregation, neighborhood effects and children’s socialization andidentity making contribute to enhance our understanding of the neighborhood’s importance forchildren's living conditions. The thesis includes a presentation and a sustainability analysis of thecurrent situation in Almgården, mainly based on interviews with residents of Almgården andrepresentatives of the municipal administration. Overall the situation in Almgården indicatesrelatively poor conditions for good health and well-being which may affect children's living conditionsand development in a negative way. From a sustainability perspective, the key challenges inAlmgården would include promoting equality and inclusion, for example by strengthening theindividuals and their identification with the neighborhood, and promoting the collective efficacy bybuilding trust and confidence among neighbors and towards citizens in adjacent neighborhoods aswell as towards the municipal administration and its staff. The thesis also includes a feasibility studyproposing the project Community Theatre Almgården. While giving voice to the children ofAlmgården and supporting a socially sustainable development of the neighborhood, the project mayalso contribute to improve our knowledge of neighborhood effects on children’s living conditions.

This thesis investigates the expertise of applied theatre practitioners and proposes a concept of 'responsivity' to define their skills, knowledge, qualities and understanding. Practice-responsive research methods were devised to analyse how artists make decisions in-action in a range of applied theatre practice in community, education and health contexts. Research included the use of reflective dialogues following observations of practice, stimulated by joint researcher-practitioner reflection on a video recording of the observed session. Working from detailed analysis of this observed practice and dialogic reflection, new vocabularies are introduced and developed, with the aim of better articulating particular skills and approaches. The role of applied theatre practitioners is multi-faceted and primarily focussed on facilitating positive outcomes for the participants. Planning activity is informed by projected outcomes for the work and the context of practice, such as environment, nature of the participants, individual identities, etc. Practitioner skills build on art form knowledge and the ability to guide activity to create performance outcomes, alongside a concern for aesthetic and ethical issues of the work, as well as social and political awareness of the context. Adaptations to moment-by-moment activity reflect their ability to facilitate engagement and nurture interactive exchange. I suggest that, to manage these multiple demands, practitioners demonstrate heightened attendance to issues of inter-subjectivity and empathy, thereby developing an enhanced expertise in response to the work and the people and contexts involved in that work. The thesis proposes that responsive approaches are common to practitioners and enable her/him to make good choices within the moments of practice. Applied theatre's responsive-ness is indicative of a prioritisation of participant experience, however, the research also revealed the way in which a responsive ethos impacted and enriched the practitioners through supporting their own generative engagement with the work. The critical framework of responsivity proposed in this thesis acknowledges the importance of impact for all participants, including the artists. Whilst the methods and outcomes of applied theatre have received scholarly attention, this research focusses on how practitioners themselves define their expertise, embracing a consideration of skills learning and development. The concepts of response and dialogue informed this investigation in a number of significant ways, and as a result responsivity is proposed as a key methodological imperative for applied theatre research as well as the substantive focus of my thesis. This mode of operating as artists and researchers is particular to applied theatre's overarching aims to be socially responsive, politically engaged, ethically considerate and emancipatory. Responsivity is offered as a way to distinguish applied theatre practice from other performance participation and as an underpinning ethos for understanding the expertise of applied theatre practitioners.

This thesis is a monograph on The Play about the Norberg Strike 1891–92, a pioneering project and performance relating to working-class cultural expressions. The project was initiated in the summer of 1975, and the first successful performances were held in June and July 1977. The democracy of cultural life was very positively manifested in The Play and in Swedish media, it was described as the first working-class play. It served as a model for other similar productions, set in many places in Sweden. The investigation began with field studies, which facilitated the choice of a suitable theory. A starting-point was that a specific working-class culture exists, subordinated to the dominant middle class culture. Social class distinction is an underlying concept for hegemony, and also for the spanning theoretical framework used in my investigation. It comprises a public sphere theory, formulated by Oskar Negt and Alexander Kluge in their book Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung (1972). Their concept counter-public sphere is applied to The Play. The main purpose was to describe the characteristic features of The Play, by delineating and analysing the production phase, particularly the aesthetically elaborated parts, i.e. the script production, the staging, the performance, and the reception, all consistent with the working-class culture and the local conditions in Norberg. A more subordinated purpose was to complete the common definition of the term working-class play. The Play about the Norberg Strike succeeded in putting the negative influences of the bourgeois public sphere aside, replacing it with positive categories. The work processes were of vital importance, as was the forming of new platforms and communication channels based on the local working-class experiences and lives. Consequently, The Play became a genuine expression and a solid breakthrough for working-class experiences.

This thesis documents and presents a critical study of an adversary tradition of culture in South Africa. Through a detailed study of the Pietermaritzburq Community Arts Project, analysing cultural activities developed in opposition to established forms, themes and techniques, the writer documents the growth and development of a concept of popular culture which posits conscious cultural challenges to white hegemony as well as the conventional notion of bourgeois culture of, for example, "going to the theataah." (Tomaselli, 1987 :2) In addition, this thesis explores the potential of culture as a weapon in the liberation struggle in South Africa, in terms of mobilising and conscientising people. Chapter One focuses on the theoretical framework, rationalising salient features of contemporary materialist critical theory. The chapter goes on to posit a critical strategy which analyses the discourses of culture in relation to ideology. Chapter Two tackles the problem of 'cultural hegemony,' using the Gramscian concept of hegemony, where the ruling classes are able to induce the masses to consent to their subordination. Chapter Two is also a discussion of the much contested question of a "working class culture". We have seen, for example, that opera and poetry as specific facets of culture have often been dismissed as a ruling class indulgence (German, 1991 :12). Yet the relationship between culture and class is rather complex. Nor is it one that socialists can afford to ignore. Questions of culture have often been central to revolutionary politics. Hence Chapter Two will explore the Marxist tradition in attempting to ascertain whether there is such a thing as a specific working class culture. In particular, the ideas and writings of Leon Trotsky will be heavily drawn upon when debating the question. Chapter Three provides an historical overview of the Pietermaritzburg Community Arts Project, and explicates the modus operandi of the project. A brief consideration is also provided of two other cultural projects that have been singled out for mention as they are of particular significance to this study. This chapter also provides an analysis of the actual study conducted. Here the methodology, findings and results will be discussed. Finally, Chapter Four summarises the preceding sections and attempt to arrive at certain conclusions. This thesis attempts to contribute to the advancement of cultural studies in South Africa by focusing on a particular cultural project that is currently in operation in Pietermaritzburg. This thesis also shows that historians, social scientists as well as political activists can benefit by supplementing their work with some knowledge of the manner in which culture is linked both to social consciousness and strategies of resistance in a country where normal channels of communication have long been suppressed. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.