An interview with Konstantina Rodi, for Greek News and Radio FL
I have been following the actions of the "Technodromo" association for years, and it seems that now was the right time to discuss with Yannis Nikolopoulos, as in a few days a particularly promising Network will begin its journey, based on the association's initiative, but expected to have a positive impact throughout Greece.
You are the President of a very special association, “Technodromo.” I want you to tell us a few words about it, and especially about how the idea for its creation came about.
My status is an actor. After a while as a professional actor, I realized why I decided to become an actor from the age of 10 when I had no one to hire me. I realized that all of this worked for me therapeutically, psychotherapeutically. I worked through this myself, I got to know myself, I got on my feet, I felt that I was worthy, I was affirmed, and while I already had contacts with some organizations that dealt with vulnerable social groups, I thought that what I and many others in the field experienced, why not offer it to people from vulnerable social groups, who would never even think of joining a theater group, let alone when they don't have money. I created the association with this purpose, so that we could reach out to vulnerable social groups, such as prisoners, refugees, unaccompanied minors, the homeless, and create groups with theater, visual arts, music, in which they themselves could participate. This was the thought and the motivation, with the experience and feeling that I owe it to myself to give back as much as I can to people who I believed would offer them something similar.
The country's prison system seems to aim to socially exclude a person when they are locked up in an institution. Participating in something so creative helps them start to have a strong psychology and self-esteem again, therefore being socially functional. Right?
Correct. Our prison system is largely punitive, not custodial. And it excludes people, it punishes them. In recent years, with the second-chance schools that are being held in some prisons, and with cultural activities, something is moving, there is a small differentiation and this is very important. But the bad lies are not offered by the state but by Civil Society organizations, the state simply gives permission for them to enter.
How much have you seen the result of someone participating in the theatrical or musical rehearsal process change their life?
Most of the time, those who participate in these groups - and I'm thinking of the most recent program, in women's prisons this year - come to escape isolation, to socialize, some may have had some experiences outside and had become aware of everything that has to do with art and they find it as an opportunity - for them, they are moments of freedom. They feel like they are not in prison. What does it offer them? To the extent, of course, that each one is involved temporally and existentially, right? Throughout our lives, we may participate in some activity but with a percentage of our existence, of our mind - so a person who does theater or music, means that they go out to expose themselves on stage, to some people who are opposite, to an audience. First of all, the first meetings are to create a climate of trust and intimacy, so that the participant can begin to open up and express themselves. This is very important. And since prisoners are very suspicious in their first contact with anyone who enters the prison to do something, they are X-rayed for their intentions and their attitude towards them, it is a big part that takes time for us to trust our intentions, that they are selfless and - secondly, what I have realized over the years - they need to feel that you love them at that moment, and that you do not see them as delinquent people. Because this is important to them. They told us this year all the time: "we feel that you did not come here seeing us as people who have broken the law and deserve to be punished, that they are outside the social fabric". And this is the most difficult part, because you also have to keep the boundaries, that is another part. Then comes inevitably from the improvisation exercises and the texts, the contact with themselves, with their insides, their emotions, their experiences. They begin to have this communication that is often pleasant, but often unpleasant. To bring out feelings that they have not dared to express before, especially men through the stereotypes of the “macho” man who does not allow him to express feelings of sadness, love…
… sensitivity…
Yes, there is a shock inside them. I remember last year a kid from Albania who was involved in serious criminal acts, when through an improvisation he cried, suddenly left the room and never came back. For him it worked as a deterrent. I don't know how he handled it later. For some others who take sedative medication, or some soft drugs that - we know they circulate in prisons - we have seen them stop using the medication they take to suppress the symptoms of the lack of substances that they were taking outside, and they are clean and declare this, so that they can be consistent and have a clear mind, learn texts, and be cooperative with the rest of the group.
So true professionals!
True professionals. There are, (again I refer to the team this year), multilingual teams because we now have many refugees: we do not exclude someone who does not speak Greek. We try with translations, interpretations, with the help of English, someone for example who speaks Farsi but also a little Greek to function as an interpreter, not to exclude anyone, because this works….
… like another exclusion…
Exactly. Like an internal exclusion. This year, for example, we had a Romanian woman who was consistent from the beginning, didn't speak a word of Greek, and in the end we spoke Greek with the help of English, of course, and she told us that "initially I was excluded, I didn't speak to any other prisoners, I came here, I met the group, I started learning Greek and I made friends too". Therefore, the program also works in terms of socialization. So self-awareness, self-criticism - therefore, someone can then open another path in their life, see their path from a different perspective - socialization, social reintegration - when they feel that they are worthy of themselves, because the public comes and applauds them, which means that they have completed a process, worked with a group, collaborated and achieved a result. Many adults have this problem, that they don't complete something in their lives. They are confirmed and receive a round of applause. The audience that comes is usually buttoned up and in the end gets emotionally charged and takes it out on the prisoners, because it is a shock for the audience as much as for them. "Something is happening, maybe I should see my life differently? Do I deserve it? Maybe I should give my life other chances"? The cycle with the women's prisons ended two weeks ago and prisoners and animators were crying, because we have a meeting at the end to discuss how it went, the expectations we had, what impressions they have, etc. And every time it is shocking for us, and it confirms to us that we should not stop because the truth is that the difficulties are too many, and every time you say "is it worth doing another cycle again, with all these problems from the Ministry to the conditions inside the prison, shortages, understaffed services, etc."?
Aside from bureaucracy, what are the usual problems when starting such a venture?
The last three years have made things much more difficult in terms of bureaucracy. There are also practical problems, such as financial ones. Out of the 12 years, we have been operating with our own resources for seven of them. This year we were lucky and had funding. Say that you secure some resources, that the program is approved and you go to prison to work. There are many inhibiting factors in prisoners being consistent: the programs are constantly being overturned, there is a serious lack of medical care that keeps several prisoners inactive in their cells, because there are no doctors and medicines, many still work because their days are counted twice, etc., lack of coordination that prevents them from coming to meetings. Lack of basic necessities, hygiene items, clothes, heating, etc. Many problems that even if a prisoner has decided to participate, he does not have the courage to participate because he lacks basic things. Overcrowding on the other hand, in large detention centers, especially in Attica, they are overloaded in relation to their capacity. These practical problems depress them psychologically, discourage them and make it difficult for us in our work. We function more as animators than as directors in the group anyway. The first goal is not to demonstrate an artistic result, which you also want to come of course, as much as to function as animators. The participant must be in a good psychological state, able to function in the group, and to create in him a feeling that he is good and that he is worthy. Therefore, you must be well too, but with these factors around, it is not easy. For example, in the program we did in the women's prisons, we learned in one of the three dress rehearsals that one of the prisoners would leave with a transfer to Thebes. We overturned it, of course, and the director helped us, but you say, "why isn't this planned, why does one program have to overturn another?" Things like that constantly put you in a process of acting like a firefighter, of seeing more administrative problems than the project itself.
So, secretarial and administrative management.
They are understaffed services of course. They are running well beyond their hours, except for the security personnel who are strictly on their shifts. In addition to the fact that the financial resources are not enough. Shortages of photocopy paper for the printer until… we know it anyway in the country we live in, the conditions are bad. And let alone in these structures which, I don't think, are a priority for the state…
It's impressive because the utilitarian side of theater is something we don't usually discuss, as we're used to judging performances and performances in large theaters. However, theaters in Greece were originally built near clinics.
It was next to temples, to sanatoriums, combining theater with mental health for both spectators and actors.
How is the project selection done each time?
This is a big issue. It depends on the group. When the group is stable, you can choose a play from Greek or foreign dramaturgy. Unfortunately, in prisons, the inmates have a lot of mobility, and in a season, e.g. from February to December, up to 70 prisoners can pass through, and in the end you are left with five with an average of one month left each. This means that in order to produce a performance, we have decided in recent years that we must work with improvisations, autonomous texts, songs, because at the same time we also make music, and through their own texts (not exactly creative writing, but texts that they write themselves on a theme, from experiences or fiction)… and the final result is based on one axis. E.g. The June performance had thematic axis of "Women's Rights" and we had pieces from "All House, Bed and Church" by Franca Rame and Dario Fo plus improvisations and other texts, while the other performance had thematic axis of love, friendly, erotic, fraternal, maternal, etc. On one axis, we build a performance with pieces so that even if someone leaves, they can be replaced and there is unity in the performance.
What exactly does an inclusive theater group mean?
It is the group in which you include, in addition to the general population (in Greece, on average, for example, those who speak Greek and are healthy), those who are refugees, those who have a disability, for example, blindness, mobility problems, a homeless person - people beyond the general population, that is.
And you have proven that the scheme is functional and can produce a result.
Yes, it has worked and it has yielded results. It is difficult but it is functional. As long as the composition of the team has been prepared, we are not always ready. Someone can say "oh he now walks slowly, he does not walk fast like me", like the children at school, where someone may have, for example, autism. There you have to work a little harder to unify the team and make it function as a unit.
Tell us about the Reservation Store Connection Network you are creating.
This is the Network of Connections of Detention Facilities throughout Greece, with Civil Society Organizations, Universities, Art Schools, Theaters, with the aim, firstly, of raising awareness among the general public about what it means to be a "prisoner", to remove the social stigma a little. Secondly, to mobilize organizations and offer more cultural activities within detention facilities, and these facilities have not yet opened their doors to such activities, to raise awareness and to facilitate volunteers and organizations to offer more. Also, to slowly introduce a framework where people who do not know what we do inside prison in terms of this cultural program, can be trained. The detention facilities themselves should also set their own framework, how the people who will work there should operate, and so on. On February 6th we have our first founding meeting, with detention centers, three universities, the Thessalian Theater, the National Opera, which is also doing activities, and while we didn't believe it as "Technodromo" is not a large organization, we see that it is going well, that they need this thing to be organized, to become an institution, to be strengthened. Because the more organizations there are in a network, the stronger this network is and it can claim from both the state and sponsors. We are very happy about this because we have had a great response, and we are also very anxious for the 6thη February, for our first meeting. There will be a coordinating body and it will be run by all the agencies.
We want you to keep us informed about this action. The stronger a network is, the more it can demand, even for the conditions of detention inside prisons, right?
Yes, of course. And now we are able to do it because this year we also have a donation from the Martinou Foundation, because otherwise it wouldn't be easy. They helped us both with our action in women's prisons, but also with the establishment of the Network.
Working with these groups of people is two-way psychotherapeutic, right?
Yes. I don't know if it's psychotherapy, but it's a great filling, an exchange – like the act of love. When two people identify, one takes and the other gives. When it happens in such an environment, with all these negative conditions, where the need is greater for the prisoners to participate in such a process, you also put more of your energy, of your emotions – and something magical happens. That's how I see it, because I believe in it so much that otherwise I wouldn't do it under the current circumstances. I come out full and that compensates for the problems. You say "that's why it's worth it." I did a theater workshop at the Lighthouse for the Blind of Greece for about seven years. I went out and revised my views on my life, on my priorities, if I grumble about something I'm used to grumbling about. It's a love act that succeeds, because both sides come out with the best. A result of connection emerges. I am happy because I get things out of the prisoner that he wouldn't get under other circumstances, but he is also happy because he got them out of himself, he probably never expected that he would do it. There are people who never laugh, and there they laugh. People who don't love, there they love, or who don't touch each other, and there this happens, that's why I say it's like an act of love. It's a great gain. Volunteering, from this point of view, is not a 100% selfless act. That is, you offer something to the other, and when the other is happy because they needed it, then you are happy too. So you win too. You don't take something from them, but you win. An act like that in our relationships is always a give-and-take, that if it succeeds then you are happy, you don't want anything else.
If you want to help "Technodromo" and its actions, visit the website and see how you can contact it: https://texnodromo.gr/pos-na-voithisete/
gallery https://youbehero.com/gr/cause/technodromo, https://nevronas.gr/synenteyxeis/giannis-nikolopoylos-toy-technodromo-otan-enas-apaxiomenos-kanei-kati-dimioyrgiko-kai-kataxionetai-kai-cheirokroteitai-allazei-i-psychologia-toy/
