#DuringWar

[dirtywartheatre]

Theatre during the Dirty War

Operation Clarity and Subversion in the educational field burning books.

Córdoba, April 4, 1976.

Th severity of the military’s actions and beliefs caused forms of expression, such as theatre, to “assure their [the public’s] disappearance” (Gambaro 1992) if found in possession. This being said, it was popular for public schools to have theatre and puppetry programs and not have to subscribe to more clandestine theatre practices during this time. The reason for these secretive theatrical productions is due to the dictatorship’s, Operacion Claridad (Operation Clarity), which sought to “purify society ideologically, to purify ideology” (Cocco 2018) by burning books, blacklisting actors and artists, and disappearing intellectuals. 

Members of the Taller de Investigaciones Teatrales.

From Marta’s archives

One of the most notable groups during this period was The Workshop of Theatrical Investigation (Taller de Investigaciones Teatrales, or TiT). TiT would have to work semi-clandestinely, renting out several homes and studios to create work, especially work that defied and made commentary on the dictatorship. Their mission to work against the military began as a political stance but slowly evolved into the members growing a deep passion for theatre. Marta Cocco, one of the group's founders, described “In critical theory, some academics describe this [political theatre] as a new way to do politics.” (Cocco 2018) and TiT demonstrated great impact on the government and its people. 

TiT not only was a place of political organization, but a place of gender studies, of racial inequality, and a place to make work that is more than “acting very nicely” but a place to provoke and question repressed issues. Cocco describes it perfectly here:

“The TiT was a provocative, transgressive, political and subversive theatre; a theatre which, in order to survive, privileged alternative spaces, going beyond the traditional theatrical hall and the written script. All this was written in manifestos. There was a programme, an ideology, parameters, and guidelines about how things should be done. We used different spaces, such as an abandoned museum. Many spaces were closed; we were reclaiming the spaces. We would go there, do a performance in five minutes and then go before the police came.” (Cocco 2018)

Members of the Zangandongo movement, 1979.

From Marta’s archives

In regards to run-ins with the police, TiT began to use their own “language” to avoid them. This is specifically seen in one of their infamously named surrealist movement, Zangandongo, an anti-capitalist production. You can stop your searches of Zangandongo now because it is not a real word whatsoever. TiT and its founders noticed that the junta approached their militant forces with certain words for certain things; they had created their own language and TiT decided to retaliate by making their own as well. This contributed to their ability to create work without being caught by calling their productions things that did not exist, and by default, become undetectable. The Police and TiT were not speaking the same language. 

[dirtywartheatre]

HowlRound & Double Edge Theatre join forces to conduct an interview with theatrical Argentine revolutionaries, Carlos Uriona & Jorge Onofri. The two men describe how they made theatre in such a supervised and violent time period in Argentina and how they reacted to and dealt with the disappearances of family, community, and their theatre company members. 

[dirtywartheatre]

Information for Foreigners by Griselda Gambaro

Griselda Gambaro.

Photo by Enrique Cervera.

Argentine playwright, Griselda Gambaro, quickly became one of the most prolific writers before, during, and after the guerra sucia. However, a work that’s made a significant impact during the war and today’s world is the deeply impactful, Information for Foreigners. Written in 1971, Information for Foreigners was written in service of audiences who came to see the show and be fully integrated into it. It is compiled of 20 scenes that are relatively short but impactful and give the audience the illusion that they are bystanders silently watch the effects of the junta attacking, murdering, and displacing hundreds of thousands of Argentine citizens. 

[deeperthanpoetry]

#isupported @GOP @RealBenCarson but #hopefully @tedcruz @HouseGOP or @Senate_GOPs @marcorubio #makeit in for @potus #orelse #iwill #vote for @HillaryClinton #shehasmore #tact than #scary @realDonaldTrump #backintheday #duringwar in #Iraq #Kirkuk @USArmy @USArmyEurope @173rdAbnBde #173rd #airborne