Jawhar CHOLAKATHODI, University of Calicut, India
The developments in modern technoscience dramatically altered our day to day life in different ways. In the recent period, innovations in the area of communication technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, gene therapy, stem cell research, nuero science etc. affected the social, ethical and political fabric of the society. Thus, it's important to understand how this socio-political development reflected in the domain of art and culture, especially in theater. In this paper I will explore the relationship between science and theater in the dissemination of scientific knowledge and there by engaging public in the issues and concerns regarding technoscience. This paper is result of the experience and involvement of the author in a theater workshop held in Nancy, Paris as a part of Science & You-2015, a public engagement of science and technology conference.
The workshop was an experiment to build a bridge between science and theater through exploring how theater can use as a forum to reach out to the public. By studying on-stage and off-stage performance of Science Theater, the paper looks at the role of the scientists, playwright, the performer, the audience, etc. in the knowledge dissemination and political action. The experience in the workshop shows that theater can reinvent the human aspects, such as moral, ethical, cultural and socio-political values and implication of science and scientist. The most important aspect of the theatrical performance of scientific ideas is that it is rooted in the socio-political and cultural context.
So, stage plays an important medium to communicate science to the public or increase public understanding of science and technology. And it also helps to inculcate 'scientific temper' among the public and it cognizance the public about the scientific controversies and issues. The inherent philosophy of the science theater is 'learning by entertainment'. How the process of taking science in to the stage and making the public engage with the scientific facts and technological artifacts is the main concern of this paper. And how theater can be considered as a medium to inculcate 'critical understanding' about science and technology among public? By critical understanding, I mean addressing different dynamics of the technoscience by including perspectives of all stakeholders. So other than seeing theater as merely a tool for educating the public or communicating science, the study argues that theater must see as a form of cultural and political action.