Week Two - The Roof Is On Fire

The artists of The Roof is on Fire focused on the topic of teenage stereotypes in the media, especially at Oakland, CA. Some community engagement strategies the artists and the collaborators used were the targets or victims of their issue, the open location, and the script. The topic dealt with people that we always hear about, but never hear, which are teenagers. They collaborated with high school students of Oakland, CA, to put together a raw performance. The performance consisted of the students sitting in cars of a parking lot and simply talking amongst themselves of issues they deal with. Throughout the show, audience members roam around the lot and listen in on the young people's conversations and thoughts. This allowed teenagers to directly deliver their thoughts and honesty with society without any stereotypes that adults put on them. This use of having real teenagers, who aren't actors, speak and perform proves the genuine and honest opinions teens have. The artists uses the roof of a parking lot as the location for this piece. The use of a parking lot provides the context of daily life into the piece. This definitely created the atmosphere and set the show as something in real time and space. The show was set on the roof of a parking lot to prove that this is every day life of what teenagers live through and the thoughts that runs through them at the time. Another method that relays the messages well was the use of no script. The teenagers were free to have note cards of topics they would like to talk about in the cars, but there was no lines to memorize or nothing set. The teens were given the freedom to say anything they would like during this performance and their voices were heard. Instead of hiring actors, putting up a show in a theater, or a film onscreen, this piece used real teens of the time, the roof of a parking at Oakland, CA, and no scripts. These strategies were effective in putting the spotlight on the teens themselves and their voices as well as bringing their honesty and genuine thoughts to the world.