“David Diamond’s work has been an inspiration to performers, artists, community leaders throughout Canada and beyond. The ideas in Theatre for Living are large, daring, challenging; but the steps by which Diamond follows and implements the ideas are precise and accessible. As I read I found myself being taken further and further into the life that is both theatre and the making of theatre, which is to say I was led into how life can be given its meaning.”
Hugh Brody, anthropologist and film-maker, author of Maps And Dreams,
Living Arctic and The Other Side of Eden
“Theatre for Living is an essential resource for anyone interested in the power of theatre to evoke community healing. The book has much to offer to theatre practitioners, social justice advocates, community cultural workers, educators and activists who are looking for ways to both improve and engage in a visceral and performative dialogue around community empowerment.”
Dr. Michelle La Flamme, Instructor, First Nations Studies Program and
Department of English, University Of British Columbia
“Theatre for Living by David Diamond (Trafford). Diamond, who has been
creating activist theatre in Vancouver for decades, writes about the
evolution of his approach to playmaking -- from studies with Brazilian
theatre pioneer Augusto Boal to his latest work, which lets communities
create and alter their own stories on responding to the environmental
crisis. Sounds a bit earnest, but the book, like Diamond's work with
Vancouver's Headlines Theatre, is lively and challenging -- especially his
quarrel with left-wing orthodoxies about the nature of oppression and the
oppressor.”
Tom Sandborn, Tyee's Guide to Book Giving
5.0 out of 5 stars Magical ride through the world of community-based
theatre, November 6, 2007
“Finally David Diamond has found the time and inspiration to write a book
about his groundbreaking theatre work with communities in Canada and around
the world. Combining thoughts about systems theory and theatre, Diamond
manages to shine a refreshingly new light on what is perhaps the most
transformative form of theatre. In addition, several case studies as well as
countless theatre games and exercises make this book a highly practical
guide for all those interested in the art that is 'Theatre for Living'.”
Hjalmar Jorge Joffre-Eichhorn, in Kabul, Afghanistan, via Amazon.com
REVISION OF Theatre for Living: the art and science of community-based dialogue
David did a workshop in Calgary in June of 2007 in which he ran a "Wildest Dream" exercise. During the work he had an insight into the technique that changed the way he does the exercise. The book had already gone to print. He feels the change is so fundamental to the exercise that he has revised the book file (now v.1.1) at Trafford Publishing to include the evolution of The Wildest Dream. For those of you who may have version 1.0, the rewritten pages are available as a PDF here
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