I think the project "The Roof is on Fire" was very successful at bringing people together and listening to issues about the society that they live in. It is interesting to think that this was done in 1993/1994 and yet some of the issues brought up are still very relevant today in 2020.
I loved that the conversations the teenagers had took place at the top of a parking garage. One of the teens from the production team mentioned that it was "bringing people up to their level", and noting that it is almost a metaphor for teens being on the same level as others and having a voice. I think it was also a fantastic strategy to have the audience just listen to the conversations being had by the teens, rather than have audience members participate. The audience also wasn't being told what to think, or told what they should do in order to make changes. They just listened to actual teenagers and their stories and thoughts on important topics, and feel that that was more powerful than if something like this were in the form of a protest. A great artistic strategy used by this team was also that the conversations were in a car; almost as if to represent the teens taking hold of the wheel and sharing their voice as well as going in a new direction of change.
I felt that these strategies were very effective. Some audience members seemed to relate deeply to the teenagers, while others seemed in shock from their reality. I think "The Roof is on Fire" did a phenomenal job at not only being art, but being a very active and powerful form of activism.
I loved that the conversations the teenagers had took place at the top of a parking garage. One of the teens from the production team mentioned that it was "bringing people up to their level", and noting that it is almost a metaphor for teens being on the same level as others and having a voice. I think it was also a fantastic strategy to have the audience just listen to the conversations being had by the teens, rather than have audience members participate. The audience also wasn't being told what to think, or told what they should do in order to make changes. They just listened to actual teenagers and their stories and thoughts on important topics, and feel that that was more powerful than if something like this were in the form of a protest. A great artistic strategy used by this team was also that the conversations were in a car; almost as if to represent the teens taking hold of the wheel and sharing their voice as well as going in a new direction of change.
I felt that these strategies were very effective. Some audience members seemed to relate deeply to the teenagers, while others seemed in shock from their reality. I think "The Roof is on Fire" did a phenomenal job at not only being art, but being a very active and powerful form of activism.
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