Terri Dunbar-Curran
WHAT are the stories on your heart and mind at the moment, and would you be daring enough to share them with a room full of strangers? The Bonfire Theatre Project will invite audience members to share their tales and see them brought to life in innovative ways as part of The Cape Town Fringe Festival at Alexander Upstairs Theatre in Strand Street from October 2 to 4.
“I believe that stories are really born when people are brave enough to come on to stage and tell them,” says Bonfire director Heather Schiff.
Bonfire Theatre Project was formed almost a decade ago in response to the need to continue the work begun by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “Young South Africa has stories to tell,” says Schiff.
The concept is based on playback theatre, a form of improvisation which was developed in the US in the 1970s by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas. In Bonfire’s shows, audience members tell their stories which are then immediately transformed into a piece of theatre by four actors and a musician.
“They create a piece of theatre on the spot, having integrated the essence of the story. Giving the teller some further insight into their own story, not just rehashing it,” says Schiff.
Schiff and her team started out by only telling each other’s stories for about a year, before feeling they were ready to branch out. “The actors are trained to hear the stories that are difficult to hear, but we don’t do ‘therapy’. It’s entertainment, but through the process, many people do often find some kind of relief.”
Over the past few years they have heard and retold about 5 000 stories. In addition to their work with schools, orphanages and trauma centres they also have a couple of ongoing corporate contracts and are planning a prison programme. Schiff would like Bonfire to be seen as a resource that can be called upon to step in and assist in times of need.
Their Cape Town Fringe run will be their first public performances in two years. “Audience members will be able to bring the stories they’re burning to tell.”
Schiff believes that stories give insight into who we are, and that they can help bridge divides, geographical and otherwise. She is also adamant that everyone’s story is important. “I don’t think people know that their stories are stories.”
Audience members can either prepare for the show, or be spontaneous and wait to see if something is triggered in the moment, be it a memory, thought or feeling. “It doesn’t even have to be fully formed, we will help them to tell it.”
In addition to being thoroughly trained in the art of improvisation, the actors also have basic counselling skills and an understanding of emotions and stories. The Bonfire experience incorporates family constellations therapy, rituals, and drama and music therapy.
“The whole show is made up of rituals,” says Schiff. “That holds it in a very tight container. Makes it safe. There’s a certain way the actors come in and sit down and look at the teller. They create a beginning, middle and ending. And they always look at the teller after the story is complete.”
The team is well-prepared and to help keep their performances fresh they still also work with their own stories every week. “They have to trust their intuition and creativity. And they have to trust that they are chosen for a particular reason to tell a person’s story.”
Sometimes that means telling an anecdote that may resonate more than others, and on occasion actors have had to tells stories that deal with issues they have faced themselves. “They have to become a vehicle for the story without being overwhelmed by their own story,” says Schiff.
Aesthetic is also an important part of the therapeutic nature of the show and she explains that it’s not enough to just rehash it in a “role-play situation”.
“I would like not only the tellers, but the whole audience to have a sense of being heard, seen and witnessed. I want them to leave feeling that they have created their own community in the theatre. We want people’s relationships to change,” says Schiff.
While usually only three audience members get to have their tales brought fully to life, every show starts with a warm-up session in which everyone can participate and contribute ideas. “Then the first person to get up to speak is the person who is ready. Sometime we sit in silence for a while – but the stories always come,” she smiles.
Having started off with Bonfire as an actor before moving into the role of director, Schiff has been witness to many memories. At one of her first shows a woman told a story about her mentally handicapped daughter, and Schiff played the part of the young girl. “There were some very beautiful moments and the mother was visibly moved.”
She has shared in people’s trauma, loss, triumphs, joys and delights, and even recreated marriage proposals gone wrong. “I feel honoured that people trust us with their beautiful stories.”
Often people begin sharing and realise that there’s more to it than just telling a quick tale. She recalls one man who spoke about how as a young boy his group of friends weren’t allowed to talk to girls, and he began to realise that that experience was linked to underlying shame about how he related to women later in life. “It was so interesting to connect that eight-year-old to the 68-year-old,” says Schiff.
Bonfire has also worked with the victims of xenophobic violence in refugee camps, and travelled through Africa hearing Aids stories.
l Cape Town Fringe runs from September 25 to October 5. See www. capetownfringe.co.za for info.