John O'neal, a founding member of the Free Southern Theater and Junebug Productions, will deliver a Keynote Address and teach via workshops utilizing the Story Circle Methodology used by Junebug Productions. 

About the Speaker:

John O'neal earned a BA degree from Southern Illinois University in 1962. Upon graduation he became a Field Secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. From this involvement came the Free Southern Theater, which began as the Tougaloo Drama Workshop, founded by O'neal and Gilbert Moses at Tougaloo College in 1963, and grew to become a theater of national significance. Settling in New Orleans in 1965, the Free Southern Theater combined a touring repertory company, a community engagement program in New Orleans, and training workshops in Black Theater. (Often, communities touched by the touring Theater developed their own Black Theater programs.) FST's purpose was "to use theater as an instrument to stimulate the development of critical and reflective thought among Black people in the South" and to support the efforts of those involved in the Civil Rights Movement. The FST expired in 1980. That same year O'neal organized Junebug Productions, an arts organization based in New Orleans which he now serves as Artistic Director. Junebug Productions operates a nationally acclaimed touring theater company, a presenting program and a community cultural development program in New Orleans.

Story Circle Methodology:

JUNEBUG PRODUCTIONS STORY CIRCLE METHODOLOGY

"When we tell stories, we are sharing with each other how we put things together.  When we share stories, we share parts of ourselves. The use of a circle where everyone can see each other is critical, as it implies an equal, active and democratic role for each participant." - John O'neal

“When a group of people sit in a circle and really listen to each and every person tell their story, it reminds me of the preparation of an excellent gumbo. Each ingredient is absolutely essential; each no more so than the next. Each ingredient added to that round pot at its own time; and then, after ALL are added, not one ingredient left out, then the wholeness, or, if you will, the TRUTH, of the gumbo comes alive. The same occurs in a story circle; as the circle proceeds each story is placed into the CENTER, into what becomes a round, holding pot for all those stories and images. When the circle is complete, when all the stories are told, there is a very different concoction in the pot; it is only in the combining of all the stories, in their actual mixing, that a new truth emerges that becomes the new story for everyone, one that is nutritious and whole, educational and enlightening.” -Theresa Holden

Junebug Productions