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Theater of the Oppressed Brayson Williams

“I believe that all the truly revolutionary theatrical groups should transfer to the people the means of production in the theater so that the people themselves may utilize the. The theater is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it.”

When one compares this style of theater with Brechtian theater I do not take that comment lightly. This comparison was EXTREMELY helpful for my understanding of this style because I have done my fair share of research into the Brecht style of theater. After reading the article I do see many correlations. Although Brecht never outright stated that his goal was to change the people or even make theater for the people. You can definitely see the influence that his work had. This idea of creating theater whilst the audience gives influence isn’t an entirely lost in today's culture and even vaguely reminds me of how many of our improve troops are set up today. By no means do I mean to sound like I am putting “theater of the oppressed” on the same level as improve. I am merely saying there seems to be a hint of influence/similar idea. The concept that the audience acts with the actors immediately causes for immediate engagement that could spur this behavior to go beyond this experience as well.
It makes me wonder how this style of theater could work today when we have such a culture of “followers” and people that would rather sit and watch.

“The Joker system is used both in conventional plays and participatory methods as a way to disrupt fixed roles. The Joker – named after the card of the same name (and not implying humour) – can substitute for actors for purposes such as explanation and disruption, or to do magical things that other actors cannot.”



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