Theater 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.
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" human statues -- still images representing their experiences, feelings, ideas, oppressions, and/or visions/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, educator/student, 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" dimensions of who we are.
Invisible Theatre - Issue oriented scenes
performed in public settings to inspire a dialogue involving the public
without them knowing it has been staged.
Legislative Theatre - An approach, developed by Augusto Boal when he was elected Councilman in Rio, to propose laws by using the above techniques to collect opinions directly from the people.