feedback

Below are a number of ways of giving and receiving feedback, and feedback specific to situations current in the theatre community as a whole. As we will be discussing and using a number of these methods, you may want to chase down the links and get more information.

Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process

Choreographer Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process is a widely used method for responding to artists' work and a great tool to introduce to students.

The Process engages participants in three roles:

The artist offers a work-in-progress for review and feels prepared to question that work in a dialogue with other people;

Responders, committed to the artist’s intent to make excellent work, offer reactions to the work in a dialogue with the artist; and

The facilitator initiates each step, keeps the process on track, and works to help the artist and responders use the Process to frame useful questions and responses.

The Critical Response Process takes place after a presentation of artistic work. Work can be short or long, large or small, and at any stage in its development. The facilitator then leads the artist and responders through four steps:

Step 1 - Statements of meaning:

The Facilitator invites positive feedback from the Responders. These comments might include what was exciting, meaningful, memorable, challenging, compelling, evocative, unique, different, suprising, touching, and the like. Meaning is the essence of what people have discovered in the artistic practice just shared.

Step 2 - The Artist asks questions

The Facilitator invites the Artist to comment on an aspect of their work and to request feedback from the Responders. The process is most fruitful when artists are open to learning something of value from others that may apply to the future evolution of their work. Responders answer honestly, staying within the topic of the question.

Step 3 - The Responders ask neutral questions

Questions from Responders should remain neutral and avoid being leading or opinionated.

Step 4 - Permissioned opinions

With the Artist's permission, Responders can now offer opinions on what they have seen. Opinions need to be couched in a positive manner and give the Artist the opportunity to say 'no' to hearing the feedback should they choose. The Artist remains in control here. If the Artist is not open to hearing an opinion, it is not useful to continue a discussion around it.

Lerman has continued to develop the critical response process over the years, and has recently included an optional...

Step 5 - New thinking

The Artist is now invited by the Facilitator to share with the Responders what was helpful in moving them forward with their learning, or what they will take away from the session. The Artist may or may not choose to participate in this step.

From http://www.transformative121.com/liz-lermans-critical-response-process/

Not In Our House

As a response to multiple, long-term, serious allegations of abuse at a prestigious Chicago theatre company, a group of theatre makers got together to talk openly about what happens in theatre that is wrong and, more lastingly, what to do to prevent it from occuring and to give theatre makers resources if incidents do happen. The meetings grew into a movement and a document called Not In Our House, and the principles of the document created have been widely adopted internationally. You can read more about the inciting events and see the best practices agreements reached at https://www.notinourhouse.org.

We See You, White American Theatre

Locally, a huge number of micro and macroagressions, as well as privileged/racist producing decisions led to BIPOC theatre makers pushing back. From The Lamplighters' old Mikado to Marin Theatre Company's new Thomas and Sally, to the living document that started here and has spawned descendents worldwide, racism in theatre is finally being talked about. To that end, We See You W.A.T. is a thorough listing of all the ways American theatre abuses and exploits BIPOC and a set of demands to start to right the system.

The Count

The Count was started to gather data to be able to answer who was being produced in the United States. The Dramatists Guild has run The Count twice, recently a college course did a college version of The Count, and there have been numerous versions looking at Counting Actors (who is cast, by demographic groupings).

There are many good reasons for someone in theatre to know statistics.

Restorative Justice

RJ is a method for ending conflict and healing hurt. Asawa SOTA has a history of training in and using RJ.