Ashlyn King

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Reid, Amy

Keywords

Theatre of the Oppressed, Boal, Augusto, Freire, Paulo

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

This thesis was divided into two main portions: a written thesis, and a practical/performative portion. The written thesis explores the work of Augusto Boal, who developed the Theatre of the Oppressed, the influences that shaped his work, and current adaptations of his activist theatrical technique. I also explored the praxis of Boal's techniques in a month-long Theatre of the Oppressed-style workshop conducted during the New College ISP period in January of 2012. The written thesis includes three chapters. The first considers the genesis and implications of Boal's theory, including the relationship of his work to the Pedagogy of the Oppressed developed by Boal's contemporary, Paulo Freire. The second chapter explores adaptations of the Theatre of the Oppressed, providing overviews of three diverse case studies of "successor programs," including Jana Sanskriti from West Bengal, India, Community Environmental Forum Theatre (CEFT) from Galveston, Texas, and Hippodrome Improvisational Teen Theatre (H.I.T.T.) from Alachua County, Florida. The third chapter provides a description, analysis and evaluation of the practical portion of the thesis, the Theatre of the Oppressed-style workshop I led in collaboration with Jamie Samowitz and Laine Forman, both New College alumna and professional T.O. facilitators. In this way my thesis moves from a theoretical frame to one of action, a progression in line with Boal's own assessment of his project as "rehearsal for revolution."

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