Theatre of the Oppressed is the name for this remarkable piece of social activism invented by Boal in 1971 in Brazil. This lens looks at the resources you need to start performing this awesome theatre-craft in your country.
Making our Augusto Boal production company a profitable Open Source company
One of the things we're trying to do in our collective is to create a company that rewards its employees, and treats them as equals. We're contructing our own Open Source model, and we're making our model available to others to look at and adapt and adopt.
Please let me know what your feelings are on this topic.
This RSS feed follows the comments section on an article I wrote on the Open Business site. Please go to my article for a full examination of our thinking with regards to open sourcing our business.
The article is at: http://www.openbusiness.cc/2006/05/28/exploring-a-structure-for-an-open-source-business/
These comments show in reverse chronological order... most recent at the top, oldest at the bottom.
Thanks for reading!
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand bySites dealing with Augusto Boal's techniques
- Theatre of the Oppressed: Johannesburg
- On the 18th and 19th November, Geo Britto from Theatre of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro, hosted a workshop for a group of 15 participants on CTO methodology in Johannesburg. His visit has inspired a group of individuals to meet on a regular basis to explore these techniques further, and there is a possibility of more workshops in both Johannesburg and Cape Town for 2006.
I was one of the 15 participants, and it was a truly worthwhile experience. - The International Theatre of the Oppressed Organisation
- An Organisation dedicated to help all Centers to develop themselves, so that they can help other Theatre of the Oppressed groups to grow and develop.
This is the main resource for finding stuff out about Boal's work, from the horse's mouth. It's the place to look for organisations around the world using his techniques.
My Involvement in Boal's Techniques
- Teaching creativity to a group of ex-prostitutes in Berea, Johannesburg
- This morning I rushed off to Steve's Spar in Cresta, grabbed a basket full of brown wrapping paper, some glue, and some wax crayons, and sped through Hillbrow to Berea to the New Life Centre. There I met Linda-Michael, one of the dudes who works at the Hillbrow Community Theatre in Edith Cavell Street.
Read the full blog entry by clicking on the heading. - Coffee-Shop Schmuck: Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre for a group of ex-'ladies of the night' in Berea, Johannesburg
- Wednesday, 8 March 2006:
I'm waiting for my compatriots to arrive for us to go upstairs to the first floor of the block where we're going to do a Forum Theatre workshop with some ex-'laides of the night'.
And I spot Linda-Michael, Rosie, Bongani, Kenneth, and Louise walking up from the Hillbrow Community Theatre.
So the six of us head up to the first floor, where the New Life Centre has a drop-in office for women who are wanting to leave the sex-work industry. We're here to do a three-hour workshop with them, in which they'll dramatise how they came to be 'ladies of the night', and what they can do differently.
There are 28 women in total, and we do some warmup exercises. Lots of laughter. Lots of fun. Then we break into four groups, with one of us facilitating each group, and two roving facilitators. I'm the overall facilitator of the process, so I'm bouncing between groups, with Linda-Michael also roving.
The women tell each other a true life story of oppression, and the groups each choose one story to dramatise, borrowing elements from all of the stories they've told. Then we facilitate them doing some of Augusto Boal's 'Image Theatre'. They make a living sculpture out of the beginning of their story, the low-point, and the end. Then we get them to connect the three images into a five-minute play.
We draw lots, and the first group presents their play. This is what happens in it.
A young girl is studying with her classmates at school. She notices the time. 'Oh! It's late!!!' She rushes off home, where her mom is vehemently sweeping the floor. The mother is furious at her daughter's lateness. Screams at her. The daughter tries to tell her mom that she's been at school, but the woman turns on her with the broom, and beats her. The girl falls to the ground, crying. Next scene, she's at the hospital with a broken arm. The sister wraps it in a bandage and sends her home. The girl goes home, but asks her friends to persuade her mom to be merciful. The mom doesn't give a damn, and beats her daughter with the broom again. The daughter flees the house, and comes to the big city. The end.
Read the entire story at Coffee-Shop Schmuck: Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre for a group of ex-'ladies of the night' in Berea, Johannesburg
Essential Augusto Boal Books From Amazon
Games for Actors and Non-Actors 2nd Edition
On my shelf: Absolutely essential for you to get a quick and easy grip on Boal's method. Contains everything for you to be able to mount your own Forum Theatre productions.
Amazon Price: $36.07 (as of 12/03/2008) 
Theatre of the Oppressed
Important book. Give you the theory and background of how this exceptional method works.
Amazon Price: $11.37 (as of 12/03/2008)
The Rainbow of Desire: The Boal Method of Theatre and Therapy
Amazon Price: $44.95 (as of 12/03/2008)
Hamlet and the Baker's Son: My Life in Theatre and Politics (Augusto Boal's Memoirs)
Amazon Price: $37.79 (as of 12/03/2008)
Playing Boal: Theatre, Therapy, Activism
Amazon Price: $41.95 (as of 12/03/2008)
