NYC 6/2-Theater of the Oppressed Workshop for Activists Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit The Brecht Forum 122 West 27th St. 10th Fl. NYC (Betw. 6th & 7th Aves.) 1,9,N,R to 28th St. F to 23rd St., PATH to 23rd St, C/E to 23rd St. 212.242.4201 info@brechtforum. www.brechtforum.org The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory Presents A Workshop for Activists: Introduction to the Techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed A Special Benefit for The Brecht Forum Sunday, June 2, 2002 - 10 am to 6 pm at The Brecht Forum - 122 West 27 St 10 floor (6 & 7 Aves) - Manhattan Come join the Brecht Forum and members of the Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory for a special eight-hour workshop in the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. If you have been wondering what this is all about, now is the time to find out. Workshop attendees will discover and practice some of the techniques in the repertory of the Theater of the Oppressed in a lively, participatory manner and come away equipped to use them in their ongoing social action work. Wear loose and comfortable clothing. The Theater of the Oppressed, established in the early 1970s by Brazilian director and Workers' Party (PT) activist Augusto Boal, is a form of popular theater, of, by, and for people engaged in the struggle for liberation. More specifically, it is a rehearsal theater designed for people who want to learn ways of fighting back against oppression in their daily lives. In the Theater of the Oppressed, oppression is defined, in part, as a power dynamic based on monologue rather than dialogue; a relation of domination and command that prohibits the oppressed from being who they are and from exercising their basic human rights. Accordingly, the Theater of the Oppressed is a participatory theater that fosters democratic and cooperative forms of interaction among participants. Theater is emphasized not as a spectacle but rather as a language designed to: 1) analyze and discuss problems of oppression and power; and 2) explore group solutions to these problems. This language is accessible to all. Bridging the separation between actor (the one who acts) and spectator (the one who observes but is not permitted to intervene in the theatrical situation), the Theater of the Oppressed is practiced by "spect-actors" who have the opportunity to both act and observe, and who engage in self-empowering processes of dialogue that help foster critical thinking. The theatrical act is thus experienced as conscious intervention, as a rehearsal for social action rooted in a collective analysis of shared problems of oppression. This particular type of interactive theater is rooted in the pedagogical and political principles specific to the popular education method developed by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire: 1) to see the situation lived by the participants; 2) to analyze the root causes of the situation; and 3) to act to change the situation following the precepts of social justice. "Brecht was a Marxist; therefore, for him, a theatrical work cannot end in repose, in equilibrium. It must, on the contrary, show the ways in which society loses its equilibrium, which way society is moving, and how to hasten that transition. [He] contends that the popular artist must... go to the neighborhoods, because only there will he find people who are truly interested in changing society: in the neighborhoods he should show his images of social life to the workers who are interested in changing that social life, since they are its victims. A theater that attempts to change the changers of society cannot lead to repose, cannot re-establish equilibrium.... Brecht wants the theatrical spectacle to be the beginning of action. 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 them. The theater is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it." --Augusto Boal, The Theater of the Oppressed To register, call Liz Roberts at the Brecht Forum at (212) 242-4201. Tuition is on a sliding scale, $50 - $150. For more information about the Theater of the Oppressed and TOPLAB please visit our website at http://www.toplab.org ___________________________________ Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory 122 West 27 Street 10 floor - New York, NY 10001 (212) 924-1858 - e-mail: toplab@toplab.org http://www.toplab.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrad-05.07.02-03:00:27-31841