Open Collections

Making the headlines : the evolution of Headlines Theatre Company

University of British Columbia

This thesis documents the history of a Vancouver theatre company from the time of its inception in 1980 to present day. Headlines Theatre Company formed with a mandate to create socially relevant theatre. This thesis also examines Headlines' life and evolution as a political and popular theatre company; specific plays and productions were selected for examination which were found to be representative of the development of the company's work. The thesis is divided into six chapters. The first chapter explores the formation of the collective and the company's successful initial work, which employed agitprop techniques. This chapter also highlights Headlines' follow up venture into the medium of film using material from their theatrical work. The company's next theatrical project, which resulted in a national tour, is also documented. This theatre company's direction underwent an enormous change subsequent to their second theatrical production. Chapter Two introduces the company's move from a collective to a traditional organizational structure while it continued to produce agitprop theatre. As well, this chapter investigates Headlines' introduction o f the theories and practices of Brazilian director Augusto Boal into its new work, Power Plays, to create both conventional and forum theatre. Chapter Three looks at the further development of Headlines' forum theatre productions, the Power Plays, and its experiments with this theatre form. This chapter examines the company's search for an even wider audience through the innovative merging of live interactive theatre with the medium of television. Headlines' brief return to a more conventional style of theatre is discussed in Chapter Four. In both of the productions reviewed in this chapter, the company faced funding obstacles due to the content of the play or the discussion following it. Chapter Five surveys the progression of Headlines' work as it incorporates the later work of Augusto Boal. The company's Theatre for Living programmes and methods of operation are further explored. The final chapter reveals some of Headlines' recent collaborations with other theatre artists as well as with artists in other disciplines, a direction the company will continue to pursue in the future. Headlines is shown to be a small, professional theatre company that is a well-established member of Vancouver's theatre community. B y documenting their history and examining selected productions and projects, this thesis chronicles an extremely active theatre company whose work has evolved greatly over a period of eighteen years. With its evolution in content, form and function, Headlines has been an innovative popular and political theatre company.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-05-28

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8351

Theatre

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace