Innovative Community Theatre for Integrated Rural Development (C.T.H.I.R.D.) in Sierra Leone: The Telu Workshop Experience, 2 - 16 November, 1986

The failure of Ru developmental programs is blamed on isolated Ur bureaucrats who develop them & in turn blame their failures on the lazy or tradition-bound nature of villagers. A solution is proposed in Theater for Development (TFD), in which participatory drama is used to bring community members together to critically discuss issues & to collectively act on community decisions. The history of popular theater in Africa, in particular the TFD project in Sierra Leone, is described. The experiences of a two-week TFD workshop are summarized & considered to be valuable for demonstrating: (1) the native ability of villagers to investigate, analyze, & solve their own problems; (2) the potential of theater for breeding intervillage as well as intravillage solidarity; & (3) the utility of theater as a developmental tool. J. Anderson