Mohammed Elmasry: Week 7 - Theater of the Oppressed and Augusto Boal.

I grew up a lot hearing and learning about Augusto Boal. Theater of the Oppressed is basically theater that brings about social change. In Lebanon, I grew up seeing a lot of street theater that would be heavily influenced by the country's political climate. As a child I had a vague understanding of what it truly meant to be performing the way they were. It wasn't until high school that I started to view Lebanese street theater/art differently. My theater teacher at the time was very aware of Lebanon's political state and introduced us to Augusto Boal and his practices. Since then, I started looking at theater, film and art in ways I could not have before. Almost everything for me became political from then on. I felt that the urgency of art that fits into Theater of the Oppressed is one that is necessary for social, political, and economic change. I try to emulate or reflect the Lebanese struggles of war, poverty and corruption in nearly everything I create, be it satirical or dramatic

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What a Riot - Bri Pattillo

I like the Theater of the Oppressed methodology of the Joker. It sort of reminded me of El Pachuco in “Zoot Suit”, like this narrator commenting on all the action. I thought the Joker methodology was a good way to introduce a Theater of the Oppressed tactic into the piece. A lot of the Theater of the Oppressed options that we read about last week have an element of questioning within in them, but I think the Joker was a good one to use with young people. It was nice and cool that she was able to include the students’ actual questions into the play. I did think her approach was rather problematic. She highlighted the problem herself and posed the question, “To whom and to what is the author beholden when writing a play for a specified population that has been invited to contribute to the playwriting process?” My problem was her answer, when she said that the students didn’t understand all of the references or language in the play. I don’t...

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