Theater of the Oppressed

Theater of the Oppressed (TO) is a methodology developed by Brazilian artist Augusto Boal in the 1970s. This art form blurs the line between actor and audience. While audience members of traditional theatre productions can only respond to the work of the actors from their seats, Theatre of the Oppressed encourages them to respond through physically joining the actors and adding to the storylines and interpretations themselves.

In addition to teaching workshops, I create Forum Theatre plays, a type of theatre that allows audience to interject with suggestions and ideas as the actors perform—and even join the actors onstage mid-scene. The goal of Forum Theatre is to encourage audience members to think critically about the various forms of daily oppression they witness/experience, then imagine new possibilities for how they might re/act differently the next time they encounter a similar situation.

I also train “Jokers,” the neutral facilitators of Theatre of the Oppressed. These facilitators are critical in the success of TO theatre forms. The best Jokers lead activities, ask questions of the players, and guide participants through a variety of acted situations. All of this, of course, takes time and training, which is why I offer training sessions to ensure that new Jokers are able to continue the work of TO in their own groups as effectively as possible.

Although TO can take many other forms, the core goal is to provide tools for participants to explore collective struggles, analyze their history and present circumstances, and then experiment with inventing a new future together through theater.