Theatre of the Oppressed

Theatre of the Oppressed focuses on helping communities of mostly spectators take action over political performance in a rehearsal performance setting. “Perhaps the theatre is not revolutionary in itself; but have no doubts, it is a rehearsal revolution!”

There are multiple sources that can be used to help communities and individuals express themselves without the necessity of language. E.g. photography, movement, image theatre

Theatre of the Oppressed requires spectators to be active and involved in the process of the performance in order to get a more personal approach and experience.

Theatre of the Oppressed helps people build confidence and new skills of communication that may support the base of a social revolution.

Where is the line drawn, within Theatre of the Oppressed, between performance of personal sharing and community therapy? Is there a line?

How does one involve communities who might feel afraid of telling stories due to oppressive systems and the consequences this might bring?

Comments

Jeremy Griffith - The Roof is on Fire

1. CONTEXT: What were the circumstances that framed the meaning and process of this project? There are many minority teens in low-income, low-opportunity areas who have unheard voices. Their self-esteem isn't cultivated and all of their portrayal in the media is negative. 2. CONTENT: What was the issue, need, idea or opportunity addressed by this project? Teen voices were unheard, opinions of them were based on negative media stereotypes, and many of them had very poor self-esteem. 3: FORM: What is the medium that was used to address or embody the content? Immersive theatre in the form of car-conversations that audience members could eavesdrop on. 4. STAKEHOLDERS: Which are the groups or individuals that were invested in the project? The teenagers were very invested because of their desire to free their voices. The adults who helped were invested because they wanted to help these kids start to change the narrative. And the d...

Geneva Heron Assignments

Assignment: Aesthetic Evangelists - Due 1/30 Three key ideas in the text that resonate with me: The first is the idea of the "new public art," or what we would call "community engaged art." The article discusses the transition from art displayed in public sites to community based projects that have the goal of collaboration and focus more on the process than the end result/outcome. This intrigues me because before this class I was honestly very unaware of this form of art-making and its growing prevalence. Another idea that resonates with me is when the author talked about community based public art of today drawing on the urban reform rhetoric of the past both consciously and subconsciously. This stood out because it's an old adage that history repeats itself and I think it's interesting that the times we live in now call for a callback to this type of work and a more curious examination of what this can do for people and their communities. Th...

Arts and Community Engagement 2018

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