Unraveling Religion

A one-day workshop facilitated by 
Magda Scharf and Morgan Andrews
Saturday • June 8th • 10am-4:30pm
at the Friends Center • 15th & Cherry
in Center City Philadelphia
Tuition $15-$55 sliding scale
Pre-register via "tophilly@gmail.com"

T.O. Philly partners with Action Service Reconciliation for Peace for a participatory one-day workshop about religion. We'll begin with the group defining what significance faith and/or religion have for each of us: What are our associations with religion? How and when are these associations positive? Negative? Oppressive? Or empowering?

Through theatre games and exercises we’ll share our personal experiences and family histories to delve deeper into discussion about religion in social and political contexts, both as a force of coercion as well as for liberation. We’ll also weigh how different faiths, and their practitioners, are perceived our world(s).

To reserve a spot, please email "tophilly@gmail.com".  Tuition is sliding scale, $15-$55. No one will be turned away for lack of funds and work-trade is also available.

About the Facilitators:

Magdalena Scharf was born to German and Spanish parents, grew up in Iran and Brazil, and currently divides her time between Philadelphia and Berlin.  She has been involved in bringing LGBT youth from Germany and Brazil together for cross-cultural exchange, and works for the NGO Action Service Reconciliation for Peace, which fights racism, discrimination and social exclusion internationally.  She has been involved with Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed since 2011.

Morgan Andrews is a North American activist-artist from a Muslim-Jewish-Catholic-Unitarian family.  He co-founded Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed in 2008 having trained at TOPLAB in New York, with Jana Sanskriti in India, and with T.O.'s late founder Augusto Boal. In addition to hosting workshops in West Philly, Morgan has jokered T.O. extensively for LGBT youth in Philly, with activists in Brazil, and with university students and faculty around North America.  Morgan also teaches at Studio 34 and Maha Yoga, and creates plays with the Medium Theatre Company.

June 2013 Events

Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed is co-hosting two events in June: a workshop on June 8th about religion, and a party on June 21st to raise funds for a summer camp for transgender and gender variant youth.  Check back here within the week to see more details.  In the meantime, mark your calendars and get psyched for what's to come!
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UNRAVELING RELIGION
A one-day workshop with Magda Scharf
Saturday • June 8th • 10am-4:30pm
at the Friends Center • 15th & Cherry Streets

T.O. Philly partners with Action Service Reconciliation for Peace to host Magda Scharf from Berlin for a one-day workshop about religion.  Save the date, and reserve a spot by emailing "tophilly@gmail.com".  Click here for the full event description.
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CAMP ARANU'TIQ BENEFIT PARTY
Friday • June 21st • Doors open 7:30pm
at Studio 34 • 4522 Baltimore Avenue
Click here for the Facebook event page

This summer, T.O. Philly facilitators travel to Camp Aranu'tiq (a Chugach word for a person thought to embody both male and female spirit) to bring Theatre of the Oppressed to youth leaders in the transgender and gender-variant community.  We're inviting you to get involved through this fundraiser party featuring a drag show and silent auction.  More details soon to come!  (And if you want to donate but can't make the party, click here to donate to Camp Aranu'tiq online.)

About T.O. Philly

Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O. Philly) is a network of people using the tools of theatre and popular education to dismantle oppression. Much of the work we do is based on the writings and teachings of the late Augusto Boal, who developed the Theatre of the Oppressed in Brazil over 40 years ago. We also draw upon other theatre games and movement traditions, as well as models of popular education like those put forth by Paolo Freire in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

T.O. Philly offers classes, workshops and trainings for groups in Philadelphia and elsewhere. To book a workshop, get in touch with us by calling 215-730-0982 or email "tophilly@gmail.com"

Workshopping Gender

Tuesday • April 23^rd 2013

at Studio 34 Yoga|Healing|Arts

On a Tuesday evening in April, Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed gathered a couple dozen people together for an evening all about gender facilitated by Qui Alexander  We mapped gender with charts, diagrams, and by moving ourselves around the room, and Qui led group exercises whose aims were to...

• define differences between sex, sexuality, gender identity and gender expression.

• talk about different gender expressions, both inside and outside of the gender binary.

• learn about trans and genderqueer identity and how to be an ally to gender-variant people.

• think critically about our own genders and assumptions we have around others' genders.

One tool that helped people understand these concepts was the Genderbread Person.  A quick internet search yields loads of Genderbread People, though this one might have the most panache:

About the facilitator:

Qui Alexander is a queer Black Latino facilitator, trainer, consultant, organizer and yoga teacher who describes himself as a laugh-loving, shape-shifting and nerdy ball of fire.  Qui began LGBTQ advocacy work during his undergraduate years at Bryn Mawr College and continues to do that work in Philly with the Attic Youth Center and nationally with the Brown Boi Project.  Somewhere along the way, Qui accidentally got into yoga, wellness and social justice.  He has since committed himself to volunteering at his local community acupuncture clinic and teaching yoga to queer, trans and POC communities.  Qui combines all of these experiences to hold space for folks in different capacities, striving to affirm identities and open people up to the deeper places learning can take them while inspiring others to embrace change in all parts of their lives.

T.O. Philly News: Spring 2013

What an amazing winter it's been!  We had a great turnout for a day-long workshop on the Rainbow of Desire technique, and did some work with students at Haverford College and dancers at University of the Arts.   Ariel Morales and Morgan Andrews led a month-long curriculum on race and interrupting racism that included games and theatre pieces, as well as readings and videos, all of which are posted on this blog—See the Unpacking Race tab on the right for easy reference.  The series proved so popular that we will offer an expanded version of it again in the near future.

On April 23rd Qui Alexander led an evening workshop about gender, and on June 8th Magda Scharf visits from Berlin to lead a one day workshop about religion.  To sign up, send an email to "tophilly@gmail.com".  We're also seeking proposals for other workshops in spaces around Philly, as well as input and ideas for another summer retreat.  Please give us feedback by leaving a comment below.


In April, Morgan went to North Carolina to lead a free workshop for people interested in cooperative economics and food justice in Durham, and then an artistic development weekend for Paperhand Puppet Intervention, a theatre company that does incredible stuff around Chapel Hill and Raleigh.  He also went to Washington, DC and worked with 21 German volunteers who are in the U.S. for the year through Action Reconciliation Service for Peace.  Morgan also uses Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to make devised work with the Medium Theatre Company—Read about their latest project here.