Developing
News July – September 1999
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PERFORMANCE
AND/IN PSYCHOLOGY
Lois Holzman
This has been a watershed
year for performative psychology 'in the mainstream' – at
least in the Americas. In Caracas, Venezuela, the XXVII Congress
of the Interamerican Society of Psychology introduced performance
in a series of four special 'surprise' activities. In Boston,
the 107th Convention of the American Psychological Association
had more performative sessions than ever before (including improv
and stand up comedy). Aside from the relief it provides from the
tedious lecture format, performance has begun to generate serious
interest among psychologists as a tool that might transform their
practice (and the institution of psychology as we know it).
Performative psychology
is based in an understanding of human life as something primarily
performative, that is, we collectively create our lives through
performing (being 'other' than who we 'are'). To some psychologists,
the human capacity to perform is vastly under-utilized, under-valued
and under-studied in our culture. We at the Institute, for example,
think it's key to growth and development and have been practicing
and promoting performative psychology and education for many,
many years. This year, we were gratified to find a great many
more psychologists in North and South America who had already
begun to experiment with performance (e.g., drama, improvisation)
as a way to transform their practices.
Performative psychology
also offers a new and different mode of presentation of ideas,
theory and findings, an alternative to the distancing discourse
of academic writing and speaking. Largely spearheaded by Kenneth
Gergen, performative psychology has become a fixture at the APA
convention. This year, Gergen chaired "Performative Psychology:
Knowledge and Representation" at which this rather heady topic
was 'discussed' in five different performative modes: poetry;
painting; dance; mime; and stand-up comedy. In the dialogue after,
audience members shared their desire that this kind of presentation
become more widespread at academic conferences and talked of using
performance in their teaching.
Additionally, for the
third consecutive year, an original play by Fred Newman (the Institute's
director of training and a playwright) written expressly for APA
at the conference's invitation, was presented. In "The Myth of
Psychology," Ludwig Wittgenstein and Lev Vygotsky come to social
therapist Bette Braun for help. Their first session was shown
on video (it was performed live at APA in 1996) and the second
session was performed live. Responses to the play were expressive
of how performative psychology is currently understood, as audience
members addressed how the play challenges the discipline –
in its conception of what human beings, therapy, development and
language are – and in its conception of what constitutes
knowledge and the presentation of ideas and findings. As one psychologist
put it, "I was laughing a lot at the satire of our field and,
at the same time, I was seeing a way to do therapy and pondering
the urge to be a revolutionary."
This issue of Developing
News offers further reflections on performance from newcomers
and long-time performance practitioners alike. If you'd like to
add your voice, just contact us.
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A
PERFORMATORY MANIFESTO
Fred Newman
Despite varied efforts
to describe the complex relationships between the two, psychology
and theatre are strategically at odds with each other. Modern
theatre remains, for the most part, the art of creating illusion,
i.e., of supporting human beings to be who they are not. Modern
psychology, in contrast, has been fixated, for much of this century,
on authenticity, a pseudo-science endeavoring to get people to
see who they really are. Moreover, the two human life activities
– psychology and theatre – traditionally differ in what
they are paradigmatically disposed to uncover: psychology as victimology
exposes the hidden evils of human beings and theatre as social
resolution reveals the romanticized virtues.
Obviously, there are
exceptions to these generalizations - indeed, many exceptions
– but they do, I believe, fairly accurately describe how
these two cultural institutions are broadly viewed within western
culture. It is an unfortunate and destructive dichotomy and has
led over the last 100 years too much bad psychology and much bad
theatre. Furthermore, it has left both institutions – profoundly
important developmental institutions – calcified. In the
spirit of overstated generalizations it is not unfair to say that
theatre tells us how humans should be while psychology purports
to tell us how we are. Yet in life we are neither who we are nor
who we should be; we are, as Vygotsky insists, who we are becoming.
But not only has becoming been under-studied in western culture,
it has been specifically negated in the name of objectivity. Hence,
in theatre the process of creating the illusion is self-consciously
hidden from view in the name of creating the illusion. In psychology,
the moral dimension of life activity is ruled out of order in
the name of good science. Fact and value are arbitrarily distinguished
even though in the "becoming" of life "ought" and "is" are dialectically
intertwined. And theatre and psychology have become, not surprisingly,
less and less relevant to human life and growth. A new science/art
is needed – a revolutionary science/art – to help us navigate
through the swirling waters of a new and complex millenium. What
shall it be called? I have no idea. What shall it study? What
is its ontology? Performance. How shall it study performance?
As activity. What method shall it employ? Dialectics. And the
duty of the psychologist is to make this revolution. Our task
is to neither interpret the world nor to change it; it is to perform
it.
Fred Newman is
director of training, East Side Institute for Short Term Psychotherapy,
and artistic director, Castillo Theatre. These remarks were prepared
for the 1999 Interamerican Congress of Psychology, Caracas Venezuela
and are available in Spanish, upon request.
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PERFORMING
IN KULASI REACHES INTERNATIONAL
AUDIENCE
As our colleagues in
Zdravo da Ste continue to create day-to-day performances with
refugees in the former Yugoslavia, Performing in Kulasi,
a video documenting the collaboration begun between Zdravo da
Ste and the East Side Institute nearly two years ago, has been
distributed to more than 70 psychology and education colleagues
throughout the world. Here's what a few of them say about what
they've seen:
"What a wonderful surprise
to receive this video Performing in Kulasi...It will
be viewed by social workers and staff of the (FAMSA) Marriage
and Family Society, nationally and regionally. Further viewing
will occur with the Student Counseling and support psychologists.
This is a great video and it will be shown and shared over and
over again..." Dr. Jenny Pretorius, Director of Research, Vaal
Triangle Technikon, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. "I watched the
video several times. It is very strong. Twenty very touching minutes!
It is great to see so many colleagues from Yugoslavia and Bosnia
performing, in spite of all efforts. It is also great to see how
it is possible (and necessary) to live and develop here and now,
through (but together with) circumstances and history that are
what they are. I liked seeing the mix of performance on the floor/the
stage and performance in the dialogues about important philosophical
themes (truth, friendship, etc.)..." Leif Strandberg, Psychologist,
Umea University, Department of Education, Umea, Sweden.
"Thanks for Performing
in Kulasi, which I viewed with interest. It is remarkable how
[this] respectful, empowering work in that war torn region anticipated
the current and future needs of other ethnic groups throughout
the former Yugoslavia, as NATO looks beyond the war to the repair
of human communities that must follow..." Robert Neimeyer, Professor,
Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
Performing in Kulasi has also aired on public access
television stations, including DUTV, Philadelphia, PA; BronxNet,
Bronx, NY; Brooklyn Community Access Television, Brooklyn, NY;
Downtown Community Television, New York, NY; Austin Community
Television, Austin, TX; Medway Cable Corporation, Medway, MA;
Municipal Public Access, Boston, MA and Milton Community Television,
Milton, MA.
Performing
in Kulasi is available free of charge to individuals and organizations.
If you would like to order a copy or can suggest a public access
station, call or write Mary Fridley at the East Side Institute
or email her at maryfrid@aol.com.
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THERE
IS ANOTHER APPROACH
By Stanka Nestorovic
As a clinical psychologist
in the former Yugoslavia, I practiced psychology in a variety
of clinical settings for over 20 years. I tried to do my best
by improving the methods of psychotherapy and assessment but I
was not satisfied with what I did, especially when the Civil War
started. It was then that I found myself useless by working on
somebody's personal problems while the whole country was in jeopardy,
and people 50 miles away were killing each other just because
they were of a different nationality, religion or political party.
I was stuck between life and psychology. When I could not work
anymore, I quit my job and moved to the USA. After a break of
a few years and some experience at the East Side Institute for
Short Term Psychotherapy, I am returning to the profession with
the belief that the limitations which I felt in psychology can
be overcome.
For years I tried to
understand the social processes that led to the disaster of the
Civil War in my country. I wondered if there was some other way
of practicing psychology or some other approach to human problems
that was more comprehensive and influential – in the sense
of growth and development – on a wide population. More than
ever I had a strong feeling that individualism, pragmatism, and
pathocentrism had separated psychology from important, ordinary
problems of human beings: relations between people and social
and political life.
Last summer I visited
my homeland and met my colleagues Jovan Savic and Vesna Ognjenovic,
who are working with refugees. I was deeply touched by what I
saw. I saw life growing and developing in the middle of the War.
All psychological theories and books paled in comparison to messages
about life, death, love, fear, and hope sent through poems, children's
drawings, and handicrafts that have been made by people in refugee
communities. Jovan and Vesna told me they were receiving support
from the people in the East Side Institute; they also told me
that I should meet them. And I did it. I met Fred Newman, Lois
Holzman, Joyce Dattner, Murray Dabby and many other members of
the East Side Community at a conference entitled The Meaning
of Reform in February 1999. Since then I have had the opportunity
to participate in some events in the community and become more
familiar with it. The more familiar I become, the more thrilled
I am.
My experience is that
the performatory social therapeutic approach challenges psychology
and social science in the most provocative and creative way. Fred
Newman, Lois Holzman and their colleagues successfully overcome
the ever-present problem of the clash between theory and practice.
By using the new methodology in a playful way, they create an
environment where concepts, activities, and people are constantly
changing through interaction. As a result of participation in
the East Side community, I am changing too. I am more optimistic.
If I had met them earlier, I would probably have organized my
psychotherapeutic work on the basis of using new experience through
performance. To be somebody else and act like somebody else gives
us a chance to release creativity, which has been held captive
in what is called "normal" behavior. Creating new solutions instead
of defining problems, performing instead of "talking about," developing
instead of fixing would be important changes in my work.
And not only that,
my involvement in community and social life would be completely
different. In a "socialist country" like Yugoslavia, people could
not actively participate in social and political life. Everything
that we needed was "well organized" and all we were supposed to
do was to obey and follow the rules. Social activities in most
cases were connected with prearranged, structured, boring meetings
either at the community, city or state level. Almost nothing could
be changed, so people became more and more passive. They denied
problems such as different ethnicities, interests, and cultural
backgrounds. They developed parallel social lives, worked together,
got along together, but these were more and more alienated from
the institutions and the system on which they have been dependent.
Most of the people were not aware of what was going on and what
the possible consequences could be. When the system broke, the
terrible Civil War occurred.
As a clinical psychologist
I was oriented to the individual's problems, so I could not see
a solution. I did not know what to do with people who were not
neurotic or psychotic, but were suffering because of the disaster
of the War.
Now after I have seen
Vesna and Jovan's work in Yugoslavia and have had experiences
at the East Side Institute, I can see some other approach to human
problems. Post-war confusion, bitterness and discontent with the
existing system have opened the door for social therapy. People
there need to redefine some concepts about social life, including
national identity, politics, democracy, etc. In order to achieve
that, it is important to create an environment where they can
express themselves freely through different activities. I am learning
that activity, creativity, and change are the essence of human
development and this is something I would like to pass to my people.
It will not be easy after many years of "passivity" and oppression.
But the old system collapsed, the former Yugoslavia fell apart,
and chaos is there now – a good chance for something new.
I do not think that
social therapy solves all human problems and that we will not
need clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and
other professionals anymore. I would rather say that I see these
different professionals working in different settings all together
with their clients and members of communities to create a new
environment in which they can develop and grow.
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JOYFUL,
SUNNY, CLOUDY, WAR INTRUDED VILLAGE*
A Report From Vesna Ognjenovic
NATO bombing disrupted
our everyday life. Shocked by falling bombs we froze our activities.
The strong and mixed feelings of helplessness, loneliness, despair,
grief and anger were very strong and lasted for awhile. We initiated
our activities step by step. There was discontinuity in it since
the disruption occurred when the bombing was severe and seemed
almost unbearable. In spite of it all we tried to live as humans.
Being in touch with friends in New York, Germany, Sweden, Japan
meant a lot to us. The visit of friends from Banja Luka [location
of a second Zdravo da Ste office] during the bombing gave us the
strength to continue.
What are we doing now?
Our activities are supported by UNCHR, Swedish Save the Children,
German Committee for Human Rights and Democracy, SV from Holland
and JVC, a small NGO from Japan.
We are meeting the
fourth wave of refugees since January 1992, the displaced people
from Kosovo. Most of them are Serbs and Romanians. We are trying
to do our best within given circumstances. Serbia is destroyed
and impoverished by sanctions which lasted for years; by 78 day/night
bombing – and now by floods. The political situation is unstable
and international humanitarian aid is diminished and uncoordinated.
Kosovo remains a painful and black spot for many refugees and
non-refugees.
These are the unavoidable
facts of everyday life here. Living with these facts we are developing
our relational activities with the local and international community.
The "old" refugees support newcomers, the newcomers support us
by stressing the relevance of human relations, the children initiate
the joy of life in all. Belgrade's Center for Culture recognized
the value of our overall activities and asked Zdravo da Ste to
begin a project of revitalizing the center. Next week 400 children
will go to summer camp on the Adriatic, 100 adolescents and 10
adults will join efforts to construct new programme activities,
etc. In one collective center for refugees new participatory activities
have been initiated; refugees and Zdravo da Ste people have joined
their efforts to improve living conditions in the center.
*The
children from the collective gave this title to the story they
created in the workshop held during the NATO bombing on April
24, 1999.
Vesna Ognjenovic
is the co-founder and director of Zdravo da Ste, a refugee organization
in the former Yugoslavia.
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EAST
SIDE INSTITUTE RECEIVES GRANT TO DEVELOP PERFORMANCE PROGRAM FOR
ABUSED CHILDREN
With grant support
of $71,000 from the Salomon Family Foundation, the East Side Institute,
together with our friends at Performance
of a Lifetime (a performance school and training center in
lower Manhattan), will develop Growing Up Performed, a performance
group program designed to support the emotional growth of young
people who have experienced sexual abuse in their lives.
Scheduled to begin
in late September, the program is open to girls and boys, ages
six to 12. Participants will include children identified as having
been abused and children who have not. The young people will work
with performance group leaders weekly to create a series of plays
and performances in response to what is going on in their lives,
including abuse.
The performance team
responsible for Growing Up Performed includes Project Director
Kim Sabo, Ph.D., who has consulted with the United Nations and
other organizations to develop and evaluate youth programs; performance
director Gena Bardwell, MFA, an actress who has worked with youth
programs in New York City and Kansas; and therapeutic consultant
Lew Steinhardt, MSW, a trained performance social therapist who
is a social worker at the Summit School in Queens.
Bringing together children
who have experienced abuse with those who haven't is key to what
the program is all about. Sabo and Bardwell share the Institute's
perspective for launching such a program: "The purpose of this
performance group program is to support the emotional growth of
young people who have experienced abuse in their lives. We are
doing performance work with children as a way of collectively
creating more developmental ways of dealing with issues of sexual
abuse. There is evidence indicating that in working with both
abused and non-abused children, the abused child – whose
role is often seen as the 'victim' – can be re-cast through
creative performance. For those young people who have been less
directly impacted on by abuse, participation in this program will
empower them to better recognize these issues – both for
themselves and for others – and to respond more sensitively
and effectively as their awareness grows. We are seeking to create
a supportive environment where all children can perform and reinitiate
their emotional and social growth."
Over the summer
months, Sabo and Bardwell have introduced Growing Up Performed
to schools, agencies and youth organizations throughout New York
City. If you'd like to learn more about Growing Up Performed,
contact Kim Sabo at (212) 941-8906 or kimsabo@aol.com.
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EAST
SIDE INSTITUTE WELCOMES NEW STUDENTS
The East Side Institute
for Short Term Psychotherapy would like to welcome six new students
to its therapist
training program:
Janet Bezman-Idema,
MSN – Ms. Bezman-Idema is Administrator of the Inpatient
Psychiatric Unit at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Island.
In addition to a private practice, Ms. Bezman-Idema is a holistic
nurse Amma therapist.
Louise Ellis,
MSW – Ms. Ellis is a social worker and member of an assertive
community treatment team at the Guidance Center in New Rochelle,
New York. Ms Ellis has worked for more than ten years with the
serious and persistently mentally ill population.
Nanette Harris
– Ms. Harris lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she has been
a long-time supporter of the development community. She credits
her development in social therapy as the impetus for beginning
a new career as a performance therapist.
Sheldon Lewis
– Mr. Lewis is a medical writer. He is the author of Stress
Proofing Your Child and co-author, together with Jimmie C.
Holland, MD., of the forthcoming The Human Side of Cancer
.
Stanka Nestorovic,
MA – Ms. Nestorovic is a clinical psychologist who worked
for more than 20 years in a variety of clinical settings in the
former Yugoslavia. Ms. Nestorovic now lives in New Jersey.
Manfred Straehle
– Mr. Straehle is a student of postmodern psychology who
is completing his MA in counseling at New York University. Mr.
Straehle will work as a clinical and research intern with the
East Side Institute.
They join the current
class, which will graduate in June 2000: Barbara DeFeo; Carole
Mosley; Ellen Peskin; George Spears; Cynthia Way; Patty Wilson
and our doctoral intern Carrie Lobman.
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