Theatre and technology against school violence
El Nus association creates show for youngsters to reflect on technology
Theatre as culture, entertainment and a place for reflection and conflict resolution. That approach took El Nus association to develop several theatre productions aimed at youngsters about the use of technology.
‘New violence’ features the institution’s performances and workshops, where, from the performing arts, a helping hand is reached out to youth in order to make aware of certain issues arising from a misuse of mobile phones and the Internet.
The combination of culture, technology and social implication, which El Nus work with, convinced Direcció de Creativitat i Innovació to grant them for an investment in Information Technologies -IT-. In particukar, they were granted 5,174€ to enable access to technological means in private places of cultural creation, open to the general public and to organizations in Barcelona, devoted to cultural and social innovation.
'1000' likes is the last show by El Nus, about whom they say ‘we felt the need to delve into cyberbullying and we intend to bring into coherence the contents of the issue and the methodology we mean to innovate’. ‘We are assuming the use of IT in a theatre can help to make it more attractive to young people and stimulate participation by diversifying formats’.
The presence of technological elements and participation of the audience are essential features of El Nus’s staging. A straight way to reach the audience and make them think of certain behaviours, cyberbullying in this case.
The project’s innovation consists in the fact that the action developing in the play depends on the virtual participation of the audience, contributing to the outcome -fatal or not- of the play. At the same time, the action takes place on stage, but also on the hall; in a tangible space, but also in an intangible space, which everyone can see if they have access, but kept unseen if it is not through a screen’.
‘That inclusion of mobile devices as part of the play, as another feature of the artistic event, stimulates the audience participation which we aimed at. As well as that, the virtual environment where nowadays youngsters have grown can help to get them closer to the artistic experience and motivate an audience of their kind.
'1000 likes' is a play directed by Caro Ferrer, of collective creation, featuring Mireia Scatti, Miquel Simó and Rocío Cabezas as main characters.