Augusto Boal

Moving on from Theatre for Development, we started to look at Theatre of the Oppressed founded by a Brazilian director, Augusto Boal.
Boal had lived through the dicatatorship in Brazil and thus created the Theatre of the Oppressed.

The first type we looked at was Image Theatre. The process we used was this
We had 2 groups (for now, call them A and B.)
A were asked to form a freeze frame (a tableau) of a particular aspect as a typical image. (We chose school)
B then had to input suggestions until A forms a tableau that satisfies everyone, according to experiences, thoughts etc. This is the "real image."
Then B creates their image of their ideal thoughts. This is the "Ideal Image"
From here, we used a slightly different method. We thought of the two images and created 3 more images as the process of getting from one image to the other.
Boal, however, puts the two images side by side and then change the real image until it gets as close as possible with the ideal image. This allowed the actors to break free from their everyday lives and have a chance of changing the "real image" of their lives, and therefore, breaking free from oppression.

Another type of theatre we looked was Invisible theatre. Invisible theatre is a performance, generally to educate people like TFD, performed anywhere. It is called Invisible theatre because the audience do not know that it is an actual performance. Boal liked to call these audience as "Spect-actors" because they are not just spectating but they are also acting since they are involved in the scene.
Often in invisible theatre, there is a "broadcaster." For example, in an invisible theatre performance Boal's group did on the metro about sexual harassment, there was a mother and child. The mother asked her child what was going on, and the child described the scene in a way that everyone on the carriage could hear.

The last type of theatre we looked at was Forum Theatre. Forum theatre includes spect-actors as well but instead, it is on a stage and the audience is aware that it is a performance. When they do watch it though, they have the opportunity to replace an actor and re-act the scene. There usually is a leader controlling what goes on so that nothing gets out of hand, which, in a way is similar to the broadcaster in invisible theatre.

During class, we were thinking even performing an invisible theatre. Maybe in the canteen or something. I think it's a good idea, but if we're after realism then I think it should be somewhere else. My argument against this is that the people at school knows us well enough to know that we wouldn't steal, we wouldn't fight etc. They don't necessarily need to know us really well to figure that out, so I honestly think we should either do something in public if we're up to do it, or if we do decide to do it in school, something not so extravagant, but with a good moral.