"Games for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and bestselling book by the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles and practice of Boal's revolutionary metho
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d, showing how theatre can be used to transform and liberate everyone - actors and non-actors alike! This new third English edition includes recently uncovered interviews and essays from the 1970s, some of which featured in the earliest Portuguese edition of this book and a new essay by the theatre director Sergio de Carvalho, which looks at Boal's work in the context of Brazilian theatre and politics over the past fifty years. This is a vital handbook for theatre makers and activists of all kinds who want to deepen their understanding of the theory and practice of Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. It is also an excellent introduction for those new to the system." (Publisher description)
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"This article proposes to view Freire’s thinking beyond a pedagogical method and rather as a model or even paradigm of development and social change. To build this as an original argument we firstly outline Freire’s ontological call, presenting and discussing his underlying five principles, of w
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hich one in particular, dialogue, situates Freirean thinking within communication theory. Secondly, we trace Freire’s legacy by presenting and discussing how Freire inspired three significant Ibero-American thinkers and practitioners within performing arts (Augusto Boal), communication (Juan Diaz Bordenave) and epistemology of change (Boaventura de Sousa Santos). This analysis underscores Freire’s significant legacy along global intellectual pathways both within humanities and social sciences. Finally, we deepen our analysis of Freire’s vision of development and social change, unpacking how he navigates between a normative vision grounded in a utopian aspiration for change, and a very systematic and rigorous methodology, his liberating pedagogy." (Abstract)
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"This dynamic book offers a comprehensive companion to the theory and practice of Theatre of the Oppressed. Developed by Brazilian director and theorist Augusto Boal, these theatrical forms invite
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people to mobilize their knowledge and rehearse struggles against oppression. Featuring a diverse array of voices (many of them as yet unheard in the academic world), the book hosts dialogues on the following questions, among others: Why and how did Theatre of the Oppressed develop? What are the differences between the seventies (when Theatre of the Oppressed began) and today? How has Theatre of the Oppressed been shaped by local and global shifts of the last forty-plus years? Why has Theatre of the Oppressed spread or "multiplied" across so many geographic, national, and cultural borders? How has Theatre of the Oppressed been shaped by globalization, "development," and neoliberalism? What are the stakes, challenges, and possibilities of Theatre of the Oppressed today? How can Theatre of the Oppressed balance practical analysis of what is with ambitious insistence on what could be? - How can Theatre of the Oppressed hope, but concretely? Broad in scope yet rich in detail, The Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed contains practical and critical content relevant to artists, activists, teachers, students, and researchers." (Publisher description)
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"Seit März 2007 organisieren lokale und internationale Aktivist*innen in verschiedenen Teilen Afghanistans beinah täglich Aktivitäten mit den unterschiedlichen Techniken des Theaters der Unterdrückten (TdU) des Brasilianers Augusto
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Boal (1931-2009) sowie anderen emanzipatorischen Theatermethoden. In diesen rund zehn Jahren kontinuierlicher Anwendung hat sich das sogenannte „Applied Theatre“ als zentral für die systematische Arbeit mit dem Thema Straflosigkeit bzw. Aufarbeitung von mittlerweile knapp 40 Jahren des ununterbrochenen gewalttätigen Konflikts erwiesen. Hauptzielgruppe der verschiedenen Theateraktivitäten sind die direkten Angehörigen der nach Schätzungen etwa drei Millionen Menschen, die in den unterschiedlichen Konfliktperioden ums Leben gekommen sind. Einige wenige waren bereits zuvor in offiziell registrierten Opfer- oder Witwenverbänden organisiert, während die meisten mit ihrer Trauer allein blieben und isoliert um das bloße Überleben kämpften." (Seite 52)
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"This one-volume encyclopedia features around 250 essays on the varied experiences of social movement media over the planet in the 20th and 21st centuries [...] The guiding principles have been to ensure that experiences from the global South are given voice; that women are properly represented amon
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g contributors; that the wide spectrum of communication formats is included; that further reading is provided where relevant; and that some examples are provided of repressive social movement media, not exclusively progressive ones. Thematic essays address selected issues such as human rights media, indigenous peoples' media, and environmentalist media, and on key concepts widely used in the field such as alternative media, citizens' media, and community media. The encyclopedia engages with all communication media: broadcasting, print, cinema, the Internet, popular song, street theatre, graffiti, and dance." (Sage website)
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"Participatory theatre is an approach in which the actors interact with the public. Throughout the event, the public participates to adapt, change or correct a situation, an attitude or a behaviour that is developed during the show. The NGO “Search for Common Ground” combined forum theatre techn
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iques initially developed by Augusto Boal in Brazil in the 1960s with its own approach aimed at seeking collaborative rather than adversarial solutions to conflict in war-torn Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This training manual first gives a brief introduction to participatory theatre and conflict transformation in general. Then, based on the experiences of over 600 performances, it presents practical guidelines for developing a participatory theatre process. They include: information collection; compiling information; scene development; character development; preparation of the performance location; interaction with spectators; and the skills of the conductor. Also some risks of participatory theatre are very briefly touched upon. This publication may not be sufficient to be put in practice by persons without theatre experience, as it does for example not offer practical advise on acting itself. Nevertheless, this is a very helpful introduction to the underlying principles of participatory theatre." (CAMECO Update 1-2010)
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"Drawing on the work of scholars and practitioners such as Augusto Boal, Gloria Anzaldua, and Trinh Minh-ha, these essays advocate oral history and oral history-based performance as means to chall
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enge and expand upon traditional ways of transmitting historical knowledge. The contributors' central concerns are performative aspects of oral history itself and the theatrical or classroom "re-performance" of oral history. The essays detail classroom and public pedagogies, community-based interventions, processes of developing interview-based performances, and the ethical and political implications of oral history as an embodied form of representation." (Publisher description)
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"This work is an attempt to use theatre in a political context to create a truer form of democracy - a method to engage the populace. At the heart of Boal's method of Forum Theatre - which is already used in diverse contexts - is the dual meaning of the verb "to act": to perform and take action. In
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'Legislative Theatre' he takes one stage further his concept of the "spect-actor" - the spectator who intervenes in an unresolved scenario on stage and attempts to break a depicted cycle of oppression. As a politician in his native Rio de Janeiro, Boal demonstrated that his ideas of mixing theatre and politics could generate needed legislation and social change. This amazing work includes full explanation of the development and principles of legislative theatre and a description of the process in operation in Rio. Also included are essays, speeches, and lectures on Popular Theatre, Paulo Freire, cultural activism, and the point of playwriting that Boal has written since his involvement with Brazilian Parliament." (Intermediate Technology Bookshop 2000 catalogue)
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