Augusto Boal (1931-2009)
Augusto Boal, born in Rio de Janero, was and still is an international force for change. His Theatre of the Oppressed creates a safe space in communities to directly confront issues of oppression and inequality. He became involved in theatre as a twenty year old, and in 1952 studied Dramatic Arts at Columbia University while finishing his Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering. In 1956 he was hired to work at the Arena Theatre in Sao Paulo, Brazil where he directed a number of plays, and introduced Stanislavsky's method of acting to Brazilian Theatre. This was also around the time that Brazil experienced a long period of military dictatorship, and in 1964 a new military regime surfaced. Boal became very involved in writing and producing political commentary theatre. Because of this, the Brazilian military considered him a threat and in 1971, Boal was kidnapped, tortured in jail, and exiled to Argentina. He was unable to return to Brazil for the next fifteen years. In 1973 he wrote the book Theatre of the Oppressed, which started the entire movement that we know today. Between 1975 and 1981, Boal started to implement Forum Theatre, his democratic approach to dialogue through the arts, Peru and Equador. In 1986, he finally returned to Brazil and established the Center for the Theatre of the Oppressed. In 1992, "Theatre of the Oppressed was a candidate in the city elections in Rio de Janero; Boal, with his theatre company, ran successfully on the Workers' Party ticket for City Councilman, thus instituting what he calls "legislative theatre." (Schutzman 14) He continued to write and lead workshops around the world until his death in May of 2009.
"Imagine a theatre show in which we, the artists, would present our world view in the first half, and in the second half the audience could create a new world, invent their own future by trying out their own options...Actors and non-actors - we are all human, we are all artists, we all are actors!" (Games for Actors and Non-Actors, Boal 17)
This diagram that Boal himself created, illustrates the relationships and interconnectedness of his work, theories, and publications. He explains, "On the trunk of the tree grow, first, the Games, because they bring together two essential characteristics of life and society; they have rules, as does society...but they also require creative freedom...Without rules there is no game, without freedom, there is no life." (The Aesthetics of the Oppressed, Boal 4) In his book Games for Actors and Non-Actors he writes, "Theatre of the Oppressed is theatre in this most archaic application of the word. In this usage, all human beings are actors (they act!) and spectators (they observe!). They are spect-actors." (Boal 15) Image Theatre is the practice of developing one's other forms of perception through the body, objects, distance, and color. At the top of the trunk we find Forum Theatre, which is the best known and most practiced dramatic form in this illustration. Although Forum Theatre is a performance, it looked at as a "rehearsal" for taking action in real life.
"The objective of the whole tree is to bring forth fruits, seeds and flowers: this is our desired goal, in order that the Theatre of the Oppressed may see not only to understand reality, but to transform it to our liking. We, the oppressed." (The Aesthetics of the Oppressed, Boal 7)
