Workshop Leader:
Michael Rohd

Devising Civic Theatre: Performance, Social Practice & Dialogue
Now in it's 12th summer, this 3 day workshop/training offers participants from around the nation (and the world) an opportunity to explore the techniques & strategies Sojourn Theatre artistic director Michael Rohd uses in collaborative work with groups in a variety of settings to:
- devise performance material
- build community
- examine the potential of site-specific activity
- explore social & political issues through collaborative conceptual, improvisational & physical investigations

For information or to register, please email sojourntheatre@aol.com
22 slots; slots given as requests come in, so please register ASAP.

More information on the workshop
Civic theatre aims to bring an adventurous theatricality to a focused interrogation of contemporary issues by offering spaces for civic engagement throughout the process of developing new performance- it's a porous series of events combining research, participatory activity, and studio (artist-focused) sessions that allow, invite and demand community members and community expertise into the dramaturgy before and after production in a variety of ways. This institute offers sequences of physical activity, solo to group work, and devising strategies that are adaptable for the contexts in which you create, produce, teach and lead.

Influences reflected during the workshop/training week include Ping Chong, Pina Bausch, Cornerstone Theater, Augusto Boal, ensemble theater practice, Dwight Conquergood, the growing field of site-responsive/social practice performance, Lynn Blom, Dorothy Heathcote, Living Stage & Paolo Freire.

Workshop Leader Bio
Michael Rohd has been exploring the intersection of theatre and democracy for years with Sojourn Theatre and through his projects with collaborators and universities around the nation. He is founding artistic director of Sojourn Theatre in Portland, Oregon, a 2005 recipient of Americans for the Arts Animating Democracy Exemplar Award. His work there as creator/director/performer includes BUILT (presented as part of Portlands TBA 2008 Festival), GOOD (2008 Portland Drammy, Outstanding Production of the Season), The War Project (2005 Drammy, Best ensemble), 7 Great Loves (five 2003 Drammy awards including Best Production and Best Director), and Witness Our Schools (9 months of Oregon and national touring). Rohd is a recipient of Theatre Communication Groups 2001 New Generations Grant, and their 2002 Extended Collaboration Grant with Atlantas Alliance Theatre. An associate artist with Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles and an artistic associate with Ping Chong & Co in New York City, he is on faculty at Northwestern Universitys Theater Department with a focus on Devising Performance, Directing & Civic Engagement. His work has been supported by Ford Foundation, the NEA, Rockefellers MAP Fund, Doris Duke Foundation and Arts Councils in states around the nation. Recent projects as a creator and/or director include Chuck Mees Full Circle at Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington DC and his own Wilson Wants it All at The House Theater in Chicago. Current projects include creating Oregon Shakespeare Festivals first company devised, site-specific work titled Willful, a new Sojourn collaboration with The Team exploring civic discourse, and a commission at Kansas City Rep. He is author of the book Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue.