APRIL 15-19, 2024

plus a preparatory session and follow-up session within 6 weeks after the course is complete.

Time: 2:30-6:00pm Central European Time including a 30 minute break. *Find the training time in your time zone* Please note that the training is virtual, live, and interactive. Check the time to make sure you are able to attend.

Description: In this session, participants will learn and practice skills for using theatre and drama with people in a range of settings to address issues of gender equality and social inclusion. The facilitators will introduce the theory and roots of applied theatre and how this can contribute to broader projects of social transformation.  Participants will have the chance to try out developing their own activities to implement in their specific contexts. This will enable them to situate their own emergent/ developing practice within a wider understanding of the applied theatre field.

Why applied theatre? Applied theatre as a field of social intervention is well established. From Agusto Boal’s work in Brazil, to Janam and JanaSanskriti’s work in Indian villages, the application of Applied Theatre cuts across social locations and contexts. Applied Theatre holds immense potential to sensitize a community on priority issues, unblock persistent challenges; offer new ways of thinking about issues; and help teams to create alternative imaginaries of how they can move forward.

This training course emphasises practical application through deconstruction of real-world projects with community partners, backed by robust theory. Additionally, the curriculum focuses on unpacking themes of power and decolonising facilitation methods, to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the complex social and political issues that theatre can address, as well as develop the skills and knowledge needed to facilitate inclusive, culturally responsive, and transformative theatre interventions.

Click here for the course agenda

At the end of this course, participants will:

• Understand the basic theory of applied theatre

• Combine theory and practice in exploring theatre and social change, particularly gender and social inclusion

• Discover key practices in applied theatre

• Examine specific community work, on gender issues via Applied Theatre methods

• Establish how they could integrate applied theatre into their current practice

Trainers: Aanchal Jain is the founder of India-based research and training organisation Thought Project. She is a trained Gender Consultant and Applied Theatre Practitioner. With over 10 years of experience, she has impacted more than 10,000 participants and collaborated with various organisations, including Cambodian Living Arts, Asia Europe Meeting Foundation, German Embassy and Deutsche Schule Bombay, Playback Theatre Nigeria, Oxfam India, Ashoka University, Mumbai University, Rotary Club of Mumbai, and Brihanmumbai Corporation. Aanchal's expertise lies in feminist leadership, women's issues in India, gender equality, queer affirmative, disability-friendly, and anti-caste frameworks. Her methodology is based on intersectional pedagogies that unpack privilege and power and their manifestation in interpersonal and professional spaces. She holds a Master's degree in Women's Studies from TISS Mumbai and has received training in theatre from Yale University and Trinity College London. These experiences inform her work and uphold her feminist principles and ethics.

Lucy Ferguson is is a trainer and consultant in gender equality. She has collaborated as a gender trainer with a wide range of international organisations, including UN Women, Commonwealth Secretariat and the European Commission. Lucy has also worked as a trainer and researcher for the UN Women Training Centre since 2013, and produced the Working Paper Series. She is the author of "Gender Training: A Transformative Tool for Gender Equality", along with a range of academic publications in the field of feminist knowledge transfer and feminist pedagogies. She is passionate about training as a vehicle for feminist change at the individual and organisational level. Lucy is also the trainer for How to be a Gender Trainer on Cynara’s Gender Training Platform.

Fees: We use a redistributive pricing model which means that organizations and individuals with more resources pay more money so that we can fund scholarships for organizations and individuals with less resources. Tier 1 and Tier 2 rates are higher in order to help cover the costs of Tier 3 and Tier 4 scholarship rates. Please note that when we offer a scholarship, we are accepting a reduction in fee for our labor. There is currently no separate scholarship fund that covers the difference in cost.

• Tier 1: $995 for institutions with annual budgets of greater than $4 million USD. Early bird sale! Take $125 off if you sign up early. For a limited time.

• Tier 2: $825 for (a) Individuals who work for institutions with annual budgets that are less than $4 million USD; or (b) individuals who are consultants, freelancers, or otherwise self-employed; or (c) individuals who are employed but self-paying. Early bird sale! Take $125 off if you sign up early. For a limited time.

• Tier 3 Scholarship: $385 for students and early career professionals who are self-paying. Scholarships are limited. Apply here.

• Tier 4 Scholarship: $100 for those who need financial aid. Scholarships are limited. Apply here.

• Accommodation Scholarship. This scholarship covers the cost of an accommodation a participant may need to fully participate, such as translation or sign language interpretation. It does not cover the cost of participation. The scholarship amount depends on the accommodation that is needed. Apply here.

Group discounts and payment plans available. Email trainings@cynara.co.

Tailored trainings internal to company employees are available upon request. Email trainings@cynara.co.