Theatre of the Oppressed   What is Theatre of the Oppressed?     As created by Brazilian visionary, Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) is a form of popular community based education that uses theater as a tool for transformation. Originally developed out of Boal’s work with peasant and worker populations, it is now used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and government legislation. Inspired by the vision of Paulo Freire and his landmark treatise on education, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, T.O. invites critical thinking. It is about analyzing rather than accepting, questioning rather than giving answers. It is also about "acting" rather than just talking. In T.O., the audience is not made of spectators but "spect-actors". Through the evocative language of theatre, everyone is invited to share their opinion on the issues at hand. Boal's books have been translated into over 35 languages and the work radiates from his centers in Rio de Janeiro and Paris as well as Vancouver, Toronto, England, India, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Holland, Italy, Korea, Burkina Faso, Puerto Rico, and many others. In the U.S., active centers can be found in New York, Omaha, Los Angeles, and Port Townsend, WA. It is also practiced on a grassroots level by teachers, social workers, therapists, and activists all over the world. Some of the major techniques include:   Image Theatre - A series of physical exercises and games designed to uncover essential truths about society, culture, self, etc. Using their own and others' bodies as "clay", participants "sculpt" statues -- still images representing their experiences, feelings, ideas, oppressions, and/or dreams.   Forum Theatre - A problem solving technique in which an unresolved scene of oppression is presented. It is then replayed with the audience invited to stop the action, replace the character they feel is "lacking power", and improvise solutions. This structure can be used to explore past and current situations, or as a rehearsal for a future event.   The Cop in the Head - Techniques that help individuals explore the internal voices, fears, oppressions that prevent him/her from living fully. Rather than focus on external oppressors ("cops"), these techniques bring to light the "cops" inside one's head.   The Rainbow of Desire - A technique which deconstructs one person's story of tension in a relationship - parent/child, employer/employee, lovers, friends, etc. Using Image Theatre, we then identify and bring to life the various conflicting emotions -- the fears and desires that are happening inside the characters. The process very quickly goes beyond the individual story into an exploration of the group experience and the "rainbow" of who we are.   Invisible Theatre - Issue oriented scenes performed in public settings to stimulate a dialogue involving the public without them knowing it has been staged.   Legislative Theatre - An approach, developed by Boal when he was elected Councilman in Rio, to propose laws by using the above techniques to collect opinions directly from the people.   A Selected Bibliography Back to Top   Theatre of the Oppressed:     Boal, Augusto. Theatre of the Oppressed. New York: Urizen Books, 1979. (Republished by Routledge Press in New York/London in 1982.) Boal, A. Games for Actors and Non-Actors. New York: Routledge Press, 1992, 2002. Boal, A. The Rainbow of Desire. New York: Routledge Press, 1995. Boal, A. Legislative Theatre. New York: Routledge Press, 1998. Boal, A. Hamlet and the Baker's Son: My Life in Theatre and Politics. New York: Routledge Press, 2001. Boal, A. Aesthetics of the Oppressed. New York: Routledge Press, 2006. Schutzman, Mady and Cohen-Cruz, Jan (Editors). Playing Boal: Theatre, Therapy, Activism. New York: Routledge Press, 1994. Schutzman, Mady and Cohen-Cruz, Jan (Editors). A Boal Companion: Dialogues on Theatre and Cultural Politics. New York: Routledge Press, 2006.   Other Related Texts:     Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1970, 1993. Fox, Jonathan. Acts of Service: Spontaneity, Commitment, Tradition in the Non-scripted Theatre. New Paultz, NY: Tusitala Publishing, 1994. Salas, Jo. Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre. Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1993, 1999. Rohd, Michael. Theatre for Community, Conflict, & Dialogue. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998. Johnstone, Keith. Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre. Theatre Arts Books, 1989. Spolin, Viola. Improvisation for the Theatre. Northwestern University Press, 1983. Wirth, Jeff. Interactive Acting. Oregon: Fall Creek Press, 1994     Back to Top