The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory 122 West 27 Street, 10 floor New York, New York 10001-6281 (212) 924-1858 (212) 741-4563 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (e-mail) ***WHAT IS THE THEATER OF THE OPPRESSED? The Theater of the Oppressed, established in the early 1970s by Brazilian director and Workers' Party (PT) activist Augusto Boal, is a form of popular theater, of, by, and for people engaged in the struggle for liberation. More specifically, it is a rehearsal theater designed for people who want to learn ways of fighting back against oppression in their daily lives. In the Theater of the Oppressed, oppression is defined as a power dynamic based on monologue rather than dialogue; a relation of domination and command that prohibits the oppressed from being who they are and from exercising their basic human rights. Accordingly, the Theater of the Oppressed is a participatory theater that fosters democratic and cooperative forms of interaction among participants. Theater is emphasized not as a spectacle but rather as a language designed to: 1) analyze and discuss problems of oppression and power; and 2) explore group solutions to these problems. This language is accessible to all. Bridging the separation between actor (the one who acts) and spectator (the one who observes but is not permitted to intervene in the theatrical situation), the Theater of the Oppressed is practiced by "spect-actors" who have the opportunity to both act and observe, and who engage in self-empowering processes of dialogue that help foster critical thinking. The theatrical act is thus experienced as conscious intervention, as a rehearsal for social action rooted in a collective analysis of shared problems of oppression. This particular type of interactive theater is rooted in the pedagogical and political principles specific to the popular education method developed by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire: 1) to see the situation lived by the participants; 2) to analyze the root causes of the situation; and 3) to act to change the situation following the precepts of social justice. ***THE THEATER OF THE OPPRESSED LABORATORY The purpose of the Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory, founded in New York City in July 1990, is to provide a forum for the practice, performance and dissemination of the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. We work with educators, human service and mental health workers, union organizers, and community activists who are interested in using interactive theater as a tool for analyzing and exploring solutions to problems of oppression and power that arise in the workplace, school, and community--problems connected to AIDS, substance abuse, family violence, homelessness, unemployment, racism and sexism. Just as the principal goal of popular education is to change the power relations in our society and to create mechanisms of collective power over all the structures of society, so too the principal goal of the Laboratory is to help groups explore and transform power relations of domination and subjugation that give rise to oppression. Within this learning process: 1) all participants are learners; 2) all participate in and contribute equally to the production of knowledge, which is a continuous dialogue; 3) the learners are the subject and not the object of the process; 4) the objective of the process is to liberate participants from both internal and external oppression, so as to make them capable of changing their reality, their lives and the society they live in. Since 1990, through the auspices of The Brecht Forum, the Laboratory has initiated and organized intensive workshops led by Augusto Boal in New York City--the latest to be held May 18-23, 1995. It has also planned and led more than sixty public training workshops in the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. In this capacity, the Laboratory has brought together people from diverse backgrounds, occupations, and organizations, and functioned as a resource, information and networking center serving individuals and groups interested in theater for social change. In the past years, the Laboratory has given workshops in the New York City public schools, and has developed and conducted on-site workshops with different community organizations to explore problems specific to their particular work: the role of the arts in the struggle against racism at the North Star Conference; building solidarity among women at the Urban Pathways/Travelers Hotel Women's Shelter; AIDS prevention with the Shaman Theater-Pregones-ASPIRA coalition; and promoting health among homeless people with HIV/AIDS, at the Foundation for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The Laboratory also led a workshop at the recent teach-in in New York, "Out from under the Bell Curve: A Teach-in on Confronting Right-wing Ideology and Social Policy." Members of the Laboratory attended the International Festivals of the Theater of the Oppressed held in France in 1991 and in Rio de Janeiro in 1993, strengthening relations with theater activists from twenty-two different countries, while planning the creation of an International Association of the Theater of the Oppressed. The Laboratory also gives advice and support to individuals and groups who use the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed in their particular field (education, social work, community organizing, the arts). The Images Theater Collective, for instance, grew out of the meetings and study sessions led by the Laboratory on the political potential of interactive theater. In 1992, as part of the movement to counter the official Columbus Quincentennial celebrations, the Collective wrote and performed a play, based on Image Theater techniques, on colonial oppression and resistance in Latin America. In addition, as a result of Laboratory activity, Theater of the Oppressed theory and techniques have been integrated into the basic curriculum of both the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre Training Unit and the Education Program of the Shaman Repertory Theater. Finally, in 1993, the Laboratory became an independent affiliate of the Institute for Popular Education at The Brecht Forum, established to promote the Paulo Freire approach to popular education. ***** For more information, or for workshop schedules, please contact The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory, 122 West 27 Street 10 floor, New York, New York 10001 or call (212) 924-1858 or fax (212) 741-4563. //end
