Hi,
My name is Tobias; I've just joined this tribe. I am a software developer and educator which may seem like it has nothing to do with Commedia dell'Arte, but please read on.
I am interested in exploring some Commedia dell'Arte and mask work techniques in relation to some work I am doing these days around changing behaviors and cultures in corporate environments - especially software development and internet companies. The work I do is broadly focused on something known as Agile Software Development.
A transition to an Agile way of working is a transition away from the command and control, paternalistic, oppressive pattern of management so prevalent in most big organizations, towards a self-organized, team-centric way of working, where decisions are made at the grass roots level, and transparency, trust and honesty become the key requirements for success. This requires a profound and deep cultural change. Many organizations fail to understand the depth of change required for this model to be successful, and I am seeking ways to help make that more apparent.
I have found Augusto Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed" work to be surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly...) useful as a tool for exploring power relationships in such environments, and it occurs to me that Commedia - the little I know of it: the concept of prototypical/generic/archetype characters and improvisations around set scenarios - may be an equally useful tool for exploring the dynamics of corporate culture. People learn by being physical - by participating - far better than by being lectured at.
I'd be very interested in having some discussions with people who are intrigued by this idea and would like to investigate its potential further. I am very much at the exploratory stage at present, with no firm idea of how exactly I see this going, so contacting this tribe is simply part of that exploration. I hope to hear from someone out there. Feel free to respond here or to contact me directly. My contact email is on my web site, where you can also find out more about me and the work I do: agilethinking.net
Cheers,
Tobias
My name is Tobias; I've just joined this tribe. I am a software developer and educator which may seem like it has nothing to do with Commedia dell'Arte, but please read on.
I am interested in exploring some Commedia dell'Arte and mask work techniques in relation to some work I am doing these days around changing behaviors and cultures in corporate environments - especially software development and internet companies. The work I do is broadly focused on something known as Agile Software Development.
A transition to an Agile way of working is a transition away from the command and control, paternalistic, oppressive pattern of management so prevalent in most big organizations, towards a self-organized, team-centric way of working, where decisions are made at the grass roots level, and transparency, trust and honesty become the key requirements for success. This requires a profound and deep cultural change. Many organizations fail to understand the depth of change required for this model to be successful, and I am seeking ways to help make that more apparent.
I have found Augusto Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed" work to be surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly...) useful as a tool for exploring power relationships in such environments, and it occurs to me that Commedia - the little I know of it: the concept of prototypical/generic/archetype characters and improvisations around set scenarios - may be an equally useful tool for exploring the dynamics of corporate culture. People learn by being physical - by participating - far better than by being lectured at.
I'd be very interested in having some discussions with people who are intrigued by this idea and would like to investigate its potential further. I am very much at the exploratory stage at present, with no firm idea of how exactly I see this going, so contacting this tribe is simply part of that exploration. I hope to hear from someone out there. Feel free to respond here or to contact me directly. My contact email is on my web site, where you can also find out more about me and the work I do: agilethinking.net
Cheers,
Tobias
