How can invisible acting through gender-free characters bring personal and social changes?
The idea that the terms “gender” and “sex” are interchangeable has become so common, particularly in western societies, that it is rarely questioned except by gender identity confronters and the ramification of professional from the areas, confusing people and the real meaning of the things around them. Many social problems are generated from gender aspects such as gender inequality, crimes against women, higher suicide rate for men and the inequities present to different sexualities.
Social norms are the accepted standards of behavior in social groups. We grew up not knowing that we had internalised gender norms, and unaware of consequences or alternative modes of expression building then a binary classification of the world and not understand how expression of gender reflects on ourselves and our social and political problems.
The research took personal experiences and creative thoughts related to my own background to begin Project Neutro, the scope of which has grown as I have conducted research focused on two main topics.
Drama Coaching as the behind-the-scene training practices for developing skills for a given role in a performance or circumstance. Focused on acting coaches and directors methodologies such as Stanislavski, Augusto Boal and Fatima Toledo. And Gender Spectrum as the representation of a more nuanced and authentic model of the human gender. Emphasising how gender is expressed, socially and culturally prescribed gender roles, ideas and behaviour settled as standards.
The project bases on the idea that each individual behaves in response to what they believe and with the support of my continuous research I questioned myself:
“What if we could change our beliefs related to gender by linking role-playing a character from drama to the way that we express our own identity?”
Answers to that question created the Project Neutro that aims to enhance the realisation of self-discovery and awareness of one’s role in society, both regardless of gender norms, through a series of tangible interventions and workshops, that coach the transformation of spectators into characters, capable of personal and social changes, by an invisible acting.
For the first intervention, after studying on a summer course in Drama Therapy, I invited groups of students to explore different archetypes. First we started testing the efficiency of Drama Therapy techniques, such as role-playing, in self-reflection. The participants reported their final state of self-reflection were five times higher compared to their previous check-in at the workshop and I learned that my role was not of a therapist but as coach.
The second intervention, tested how people relate to norms of gender expression. Consisted of one day of one-to-one workshops where each volunteer was introduced to the Androgynous look and the gender binary and asked to create an Androgynous Persona. The participants, through play, explored clothing and their vision on the norms of expression of each gender. Later that week, further testing took place at an LGBT-style party, where participants were invited to role-play their own Androgynous Persona. Although the freedom of choice, the majority avoided the characterisation and further discussions. I acknowledge gender as a social taboo.
For the third intervention a 5 steps workshop was created where volunteers focus was on creating and role-playing their own gender-free character. Application of techniques from Coaching, Forum Theater, Invisible Theater and others, allowed the achievement of personal development and prevention of frequent states of self doubt.
The workshop consisted of activities that encourage the creation of the characters’ appearance and mannerisms embracing their choices without being blocked and influenced by gender, and to role-play it in a daily life conversation to an unsuspecting public. Collaboration with researchers, coach, psychologist, drama teacher, androgynous and trans people took part to support the participants creation. They were asked to keep a personal reflective diary throughout the workshop as a way of recording the personal development process undergone.
With the analysis of the results in each testing I learned and reflected that this project has the potential to help personal development at the same time that it disrupts gender norms. To reach the aim, the knowledge of gender as a spectrum should be widespread to enrich the power of all the communities that have been fighting for human rights, not only for benefit of one single area of the spectrum, but for all populations.
This project is one step out of many that should be taken for a more diverse and expansive treatment of the social problem. It gave me the skills of a coach and knowledge of disrupting the norms, both of which I can apply to the creative industries, where I am certain that I can keep bringing improvement to the community.
YOU CAN BE PART OF IT.
YOU CAN HELP US.
PROJECT NEUTRO IS MADE TO ENHANCE THE BEST OF A COMMUNITY, AND PROVIDE INDIVIDUALS PRESENT ON IT WITH PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS. WITH OUR NETWORK, ITS SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION, THIS PROJECT CAN WORK ON IT’S BEST POTENTIAL.
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