Oral History
Theatrical Series
Oral History Theatrical Series features poetic monologue plays based on the stories of people most deeply impacted by and at the heart of solutions to address marginalization and injustice. The series explores issues of race, gender, ableism, and class-based inequities through the lenses of personal narrative.
“There’s just something very vulnerable, honest, and mind-blowing about the whole experience of holding space and deeply listening to another person’s story.”
Methodology for Collecting Stories
Rather than using a personal interview where the interviewer asks questions of her subjects, and they respond, we collect personal stories by simply asking, "What would you like me to know about you." Then, the storyteller is given full attention with a malleable face of empathy and a gentle smile. As listeners, we must be present and encourage the storyteller to take charge. And listening is not just hearing what someone tells you word for word. We have to listen with our hearts. And sometimes, we hear what's not being said.
Oral history can be a rich source of material for devising or scripting performances. Narratives often contain memorable characters and plots with twists and turns that lend themselves well to dramatization. Juxtaposing thematically similar excerpts from different oral history narratives can create an implied dialogue or a choral effect.
Participatory Script Writing
Once the oral histories are collected, they are transposed into dramatic monologues. The monologue writers must use the materials collected ethically. While we retain some of the narrators' original words verbatim, we may add imagery and poetics for theatrical effect, being mindful that oral history involves real people and authentic stories, and it is crucial that their stories be retold with care. Once the monologues are completed, they are given back to the storytellers for clarification, editing and final approval. In many ways, we could call our process collaborative oral history, since we involve the storytellers in the production of new workers drawn from their narratives.
Staging Oral History Narratives
Once the oral history monologues are completed, they are given to a theatrical director who casts and coaches the actors and directs the performance. The storytellers are then invited to sit with the public to watch their stories performed on stage.
Evaluation
For some theatre scholars and practitioners, assessing the artistic merits of a performance is a way to gauge its value, and some oral history performances may achieve a high level of appreciation. In the past, we have gauged artistic success by critical reactions to our performances, inviting external reviewers to assess the productions, and having talkbacks after the productions with the actors, storytellers, and the audience.
For other projects, the process may be more important than the product. With our methodology, story recorders, writers, and actors have opportunities to explore the psychology or characters quite different from themselves. Our last production asked all of the actors to portray people more than three times their ages. Finding ways to identify with their characters required imagination, creative coaching, and, in some cases, dramaturgical research.
Talkbacks
Theatre offers a unique and powerful platform for exploring social issues. Its ability to emotionally engage, humanize, stimulate dialogue, challenge assumptions, raise awareness, provide context, and leverage artistic creativity makes it a valuable tool for deepening our understanding of the complexities surrounding social issues and fostering empathy and social challenge. And after-show talkback can connect the performance to its audience, deepen understanding of the work and make the audience fell more like a participant and not merely an observer. Our plays are very complicated events taking place in real time so we strive to give the audience an opportunity to rewind or to stop and reflect. Our talkbacks can be useful for people to sort our what they've just seen, how they feel about it and why. We see the audiences as our final collaborator, favoring nuanced conversation over simple audience feedback.
“Listening with my heart to the stories told in our class created an emotional connection. This allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of other people’s experiences.”
Community Oral History Resources
Southern Exposure’s twenty years of experience conducting ethics-driven oral history storytelling work is grounded in values of respect, dignity, empathy, transparency, collaboration, and equity. The goal of Southern Exposure’s oral history education project is to advance human rights by amplifying the voices of people who are disadvantaged, marginalized, or who have been impacted by injustice. We are grateful for our community of partners, storytellers, and advocates who help shape the following core tenets:
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We invest in relationships to build trust, mutual respect, collaboration, and co-creation at every stage of our projects. We demonstrate empathy and compassion and prioritize storyteller agency and dignity, supporting people’s ability to shape and tell their stories in a way that best reflects their truth. We also stay in touch with storytellers after the oral history process, developing the relationships further and connecting storytellers to organizations, movements, and more opportunities to share their stories if they are interested.
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We prioritize ongoing informed consent and transparency throughout the process and ensure storytellers have ownership and control over their stories.Before a project begins, storytellers are fully informed on the scope and purpose, their participation, how their narratives will be used or shared, and who the audiences will be, and communicate that storytellers have the right to opt-out or request their narrative be retracted at any time during or after the project. We offer anonymity and pseudonyms to protect privacy and discuss any possible safety concerns in advance. Finally, we provide multiple opportunities to share drafts, edits, and approval. Storytellers should always have ownership over their own stories.
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We honor authenticity, complexity, and the whole person rather than approaching a storyteller with preconceived expectations or framing storytellers as victims or heroes. We let storytellers take the lead in where the story goes, creating space for nuance and showcasing joy, wonder, strength, and humor in addition to any potential trauma or hardship. Our oral histories do not portray storytellers as one-dimensional victims or heroes but as oral history practitioners. We use the term “storyteller” rather than “interviewee” or “interview subject” to refer to the person sharing their story, as people are narrating their own experiences rather than simply providing answers to questions. During editing, honor and respect the storyteller’s authentic voice, syntax, and linguistic patterns.
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We use a trauma-informed approach. Our story collectors, writers, and coaches have completed the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training program conducted through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that enables individuals to identify and appropriately respond to warning signs for mental health challenges or crises and substance use concerns. Sharing one’s story with someone fully committed to deep listening can often be a healing experience. However, recounting traumatizing experiences can also be painful and lead to re-traumatization. We must be supportive and responsive, including avoiding potential triggers, soliciting ongoing input, and respecting storytellers’ self-determination and right to opt-out. We actively provide choices to storytellers, such as selecting the location of the story collection or specific whenever possible. We are equipped with specific trauma-informed strategies and referrals to professional support systems.
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We position storytellers as the experts. Storytellers are the experts of their lived experiences, and those most deeply impacted are at the heart of solutions to address injustice. Oral history storytelling can make space for stories that otherwise might not be heard and create a platform for storytellers impacted by— and fighting against—inequity to share their expertise. We approach projects with humility and an expectation of ongoing learning. This creates an opening for the storyteller to teach and the interviewer to listen deeply.
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We acknowledge and mitigate power dynamics and biases. An ethical approach to storytelling requires examining power dynamics within a project. Understanding one’s positionality and openly reflecting on power, privilege, and representation is vital to developing more equitable and inclusive ways to document and share stories. This includes addressing the social, cultural, and historical forces that shape the stories, understanding insider/outsider dynamics, and ensuring the storytelling process is mutually beneficial to storytellers by discussing their goals for the project. Based on the project and context, we consider compensating storytellers for their time.
UnMasking Deconstructed
Oral History Projects
Through our oral history projects, we collect, transcribe, index, preserve, and share stories, giving communities of all sizes greater ownership over their narratives. We are committed to helping people find their voices and experience the practice of really being listened to. We begin to listen by asking, “What would you want me to know about you?” As stories come forth, they touch on all aspects of human life, including moments of shame and loss and moments of courage and gratitude. People become real when we deeply listen, and over time, reality starts to show up, and a different experience of grace begins to pervade the room. Once we have listened to a story, it is crafted into a poetic monologue to be told back to the teller. When the teller and the listener agree upon a final piece, it is ready to be performed for the benefit of both and the listening audience. Once we have a collection of community monologues, we create a theatrical script that actors can perform for the storytellers and the general public. We believe sharing stories is one of the deepest, most transformative, and most pleasurable activities we do as human beings.
When our stories are performed for the community, they invite a deep reaction and a new awareness. We try to make that possible by drawing out the intimate stories rarely tapped in social settings. Feedback from the audience often reveals they become more compassionate toward others after hearing stories from their neighbors. Negative judgments about others are often replaced with humor, graciousness, awe, and wonderment.
Creative Writing and Theater Performance Coaching
Sometimes, individuals in a community are interested in writing and performing their own stories. We offer writing and actor performance workshops and coaching. Writing and sharing their stories allows workshop participants to see themselves more clearly, the value of the life they already live, and embrace the place from which more potential opens up. It clarifies the purpose.
As we frequently say, “You can’t see yourself by yourself.” We see ourselves through others, and they see themselves through us. Sharing stories offers a unique reflection of the world, and the world offers the tellers a deeper understanding of themselves.
UTC Ethnodrama Classes
Drs. Anne Swedberg and Peggy Douglas teach an Ethnodrama class to Honors students at the University of Tennesse at Chattanooga utilizing the liberatory pedagogy of Paulo Freire and the Highlander Folk School. The students collect stories from members of the Chattanooga community who share their experience, strength, and hope in overcoming a major life challenge. Douglas then coaches the students in the art of creating poetic monologues. In the project's final phase, Swedberg coaches the students in rehearsing and performing the monologues for the storytellers and the general public. The process allows students to connect more deeply with those outside their typical social group to reinforce the common bond of our humanness, which is fundamental to our cultural and social well-being.
“Good advice, even from a friend, doesn’t always shift my perspective. But listening to a story about when the storyteller overcame a difficult challenge came across as a personal truth. My beliefs often change because of a story that hits me in the heart.”