"We are animals that have the privilege of being actors, because we are acting all of the time. But at the same time, we are spectators of our actions. (...) So we have theatre inside, because we act and we are the observer. We are the spect-actors." (Augusto Boal, 2007)
Forum Theatre as a tool for Community Development
"AUGUSTUS" is an intensive residential training designed to guide participants to plan, design and facilitate Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) and Forum Theatre social interventions in communities.
Facilitated by Roberto Mazzini, it is aimed to T.O. practitioners, Jokers/Kuringa, social workers, community developers, educators, psychologists, human rights activists. Preferred basic knowledge or practice of T.O. and Forum Theatre.
Outcomes
- Understand how Forum Theatre can be used as tool for Community Development in various contexts (Roma, migrants, convicted, mental/physical disability, marginalized youth, etc.), in the framework of Augusto Boal's and Paulo Freire's methods.
- Get insight and good practices on how to Design a social intervention in a community using T.O. and Forum Theatre.
- Macro-Design of an intervention: understand the complexity about how to plan a T.O. intervention that is effective in changing oppressions, keeping in mind the different forces that affect the situation.
- Micro-Design of an intervention: to create an agenda and to understand how to plan step by step a meaningful list of activities in a specific T.O. session.
- To establish and strengthen a network of community developers implementing T.O. in communities, also in the context of the "Home of the Theatre of the Oppressed for Hungary (HOTOH)" network.
Training Elements
Macro-Design: design an effective T.O. intervention in a community
Complexity of the oppressive situations. Ethical-political filters. Negotiation under 3 point of views. Analysis of the group's needs. Institution/organization’s objectives and its structure of power. The Freire’s levels of consciousness. Monitoring and effectiveness of evaluation.
Activities: participants’ cases analysis through debate and T.O. techniques; group work to plan, simulation of critical points, best practices for participants.
Micro-Design: plan an agenda for a specific T.O. session
Planning in a team. The typical stages in the T.O. process, critical analysis of design, agenda, risks of each activity and remedies, how to prepare to co-leading, preparation about the thematic, individual psycho, emotional, physical preparation.
Activities: writing agendas, their analysis, group work to create agendas, simulation of agendas, preparation, discussion.
Jokering: lead a Forum play
The Jokers’s main attitude and skills (Maieutics, to be able to problematize, to use Freirean dialogue, to deal with public’s emotions and conflicts, etc.).
Activities: some key theoretical points, exercises to strengthen the skills and improve the Joker’s attitude, simulation of Jokering.
We will have a public session in the local community, presenting a Forum play in Hungarian / English / non-verbal language.
Group creation, de-mechanization, closing
Game-exercises from Boal’s 5 categories; Boal and others. Active tools to close, discard emotions, evaluate, ritualize.
Reflection groups
Reflection and elaboration of the training elements, sharing the daily learnings and reflecting on possible applications in professional and personal lives.
Activities: at the end of each day, there will be a time specifically dedicated to the reflection in small groups about the activities of the day.
Download the AUGUSTUS info-letter HERE (PDF file).
