November 28th Meeting Minutes

PTO Toronto Organizing Meeting
Friday November 28th, 2008

Convene and Welcome
Welcome to the TLC Peace Lounge
Quick explanation of Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed in Toronto

Introduction

People at the Meeting: chris, jes, Emily, Adam, Robyn; Brendan; Hartley (Theatre @ York); Laura (Environmental Studies @ York U); Leah (Environmental Studies @ York), Jenny (Aiding Dramatic Change in Development); Stephen (Aiding Dramatic Change in Development), Hannah (Environmental Studies @ York); Stephanie (Drama @ University of Guelph); Katherine (Environmental Studies @ York); Jana (Environmental Studies @ York); Ainsley (Mixed Company Theatre); Simone (Mixed Company Theatre); Margo (evaluating community arts practices); Bonnie (homeless and disability issues); Hussan (No One is Illegal - Toronto); Ravi (OISE/UT?)


Background to PTO and their Board

Brendan gave a brief background to what the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Organization is and what the conference series has looked like in the past.
He also explained the shift from Omaha to Minneapolis and the attempt being made to produce a more “community-based” conference and possibilities for a lasting network.


Community Mapping: Who’s involved, who should be involved?

Hannah gave an introduction to community mapping and explained the process.

The group used this process to reflect on who is involved at this point and who is not involved but should be. The results of the process are available in a separate document prepared by Hannah.

Issues raised in debriefing:
Do people have personal contacts with the organizations mentioned?
Heavily represent the Toronto/Southern Ontario region.
Very few Francophone and/or Québécois organizations
Some of the ideas are very general (e.g. “Aboriginal communities of North America”)


Initial Funding Ideas for Conference 2010

Informal brainstorm of possible sources of funding (see “Funding Brainstorm” posted on blog)
Issues raised in debriefing:

Should this be a consideration so early?
Ideological/ethical implications of funding
Need to know more about what the conference will look like before funding proposals can be drafted.


Structure of the Toronto Group: How do we organize ourselves and make decisions?

Robyn and jes presented the group with some ideas for possible committees. People were asked to sign up for a committee if they desired or give their email address to be invited to the organizing blog.

What will this thing actually look like? .

Organizing committee ultimately needs to be accountable for decisions made.

The organization of the Toronto group will need to be an on-going debate (occurring on the blog) and we will hopefully have some structure that can be approved at the meeting in January.

Last Thoughts and Discussion

How long will the conference be?
Keep this downtown – exclusionary?
Working for years for one conference seems like a lot.
2010 organizing offers possibilities for solidarity/support
- Year of resistance
- 10 000 – 20 000 organizers coming for G8
- Free Schools organized by resistance 2010

What does this mean for organizing popular theatre in Canada?
Why did Canadian Popular Theatre Alliance die?
How do we address issues of the past in the future?

Next Steps, Next Meeting, and Closing

What will happen before next meeting?
People invited to join organizers blog to discuss themes for the conference, agenda for next meeting, organizing models, etc.
Meeting with Ellie Friedland at chris’ place between Dec 26th and Jan 3rd.

Next Meeting

Chris suggested the 16th or the 23rd of January at the same time and place. A ‘straw pole’ of the meeting set the date as the 16th



Next meeting will take place Jan 16th, 3pm in the Peace Lounge at OISE
Simone will convene.
Robyn will take minutes.