[cma-l] Augusto Boal - Theatre of the Oppressed has no end

[Shawn Sobers]

Hi

Here are some quotes by Augusto Boal about his notion of 'Theatre of the 
Oppressed', taken from his 1992 book 'Games for Actors and Non-Actors' 
that I would like to share with you.   Augusto sadly died last week.

Inspired by Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed he understood the 
activist and emancipation role of culture for individuals and 
communities living in societies where power is in the hands of the few, 
where the majority are disenfranchised from being seen, heard or being 
in a position to affect change, which both Boal and Freire knew was 
basically every society in the world.  They both also understood how 
culture could be used as a tool to pacify and numb the masses.  For 
Freire his emancipation weapon was education – for Boal it was Theatre. 
  For community media education activists, it is essentially both.

"[In] its most archaic sense, theatre is the capacity possessed by human 
beings – and not by animals – to observe themselves in action. Humans 
are capable of seeing themselves in the act of seeing, of thinking their 
emotions, of being moved by their thoughts. They can see themselves here 
and imagine themselves there; they can see themselves today and imagine 
themselves tomorrow. This is why humans are able to identify (themselves 
and others) and not merely to recognise."
Page xxvi

"The 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!)."
Page xxx

"Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of 
transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than 
just waiting for it."
Page xxxi

"When does a session of The Theatre of the Oppressed end? Never – since 
the objective is not to close a cycle, to generate a catharsis, or to 
end a development. On the contrary, its objective is to encourage 
autonomous activity, to set a process in motion, to stimulate 
transformative creativity, to change spectators into protagonists. And 
it is precisely for these reasons that the Theatre of the Oppressed 
should be the initiator of changes the culmination of which is not the 
aesthetic phenomenon but real life."
Page 245

"In truth the Theatre of the Oppressed has no end, because everything 
which happens in it must extend into life….The Theatre of the Oppressed 
is located precisely on the frontier between fiction and reality – and 
this border must be crossed. If the show starts in fiction, its 
objective is to become integrated into reality, into life.

Now in 1992, when so many certainties have become so many doubts, when 
so many dreams have withered on exposure to sunlight, and so many hopes 
have become as many deceptions – now that we are living through times 
and situations of great perplexity, full of doubts and uncertainties, 
now more than ever I believe it is time for a theatre which, at its 
best, will ask the right questions at the right times. Let us be 
democratic and ask our audiences to tell us their desires, and let us 
show them alternatives. Let us hope that one day – please, not too far 
in the future – we'll be able to convince or force our governments, our 
leaders, to do the same; to ask their audiences – us – what they should 
do, so as to make this world a place to live and be happy in – yes, it 
is possible – rather than just a vast market in which we sell our goods 
and our souls. Let's hope. Let's work for it!"
Pages 246-247

Rest in Perfect Peace Augusto Boal – April 16, 1931 – May 2, 2009

A Luta Continua

http://beyondproject.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/augusto-boal-theatre-of-the-oppressed-has-no-end/

Shawn Sobers
Firstborn Creatives