Introduction
Theatre of the Oppressed is a group of theatrical forms created by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. Boal uses theatre as a means of promoting social and political change. In Theatre of the Oppressed, the audience becomes an active member in the story. They cease to be ordinary spectators and become what Boal called a “spect-actor”. As a spect-actor audience members explore, show, analyze, and transform the reality in they are living.
The essence of Theatre of the Oppressed is cultural activism.
Task
The essence of Theatre of the Oppressed is cultural activism! Your task is to work in groups of 4 and create a piece of Invisible Theatre. Your scene must deal with a topic of social relevance in our school. You will use your improvisation skills to create a scene and practice it during class. Once your group is ready, we will pick a time and location in the school and your group will perform its Invisible Theatre scene.
Use the following Websites to help you complete your project:
Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed
Process
Step 1: Perform a web search and find out more about Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed, and Invisible Theatre and answer the following questions:
- Who was Augusto Boal and why did he create the Theatre of the Oppressed?
- What are the major branches (techniques) of the Theatre of the Oppressed?
- What is Invisible Theatre and what are the most important elements of a piece of Invisible Theatre.
Step 2: Make a list of social/political issues that affect our school (i.e. bulling, LGBT issues, drugs and alcohol, racism, etc.). When you make your list make sure to provide examples of why each topic is a social/political issue in our school society. Your group will need to select one topic to explore for your Invisible Theatre scene. When selecting your topic be sure to know what your group hopes to accomplish by exploring your topic. What do you want to bring to light? What are your objectives? (Provide 3 objectives to be turned in with your outline and working script)
Step 3: Once your topic is selected, brainstorm a scenario and create an outline of your scene. These scenes should grow from improvisational exercises into a well polished piece. Remember that the situation and characters you create for this project should be as realistic as possible. The entire point of Invisible Theatre is that the audience doesn’t know that it is a piece of theatre! That means that you can’t act as you would onstage or tell friends to make sure they are watching. Don’t OVERACT! Since the individuals observing your work will not know that it is a staged project and considering we will be dealing with “hot topic” issues in the school, be aware that peers might take an active role in the drama. Your group should have a “safe word” in place to let me and others in your scene know that your improvisation has escalated to a level that you are uncomfortable with.
You will want to pay special attention to the following details in the planning and rehearsal of your piece:
- How will your scene begin?
- How will your scene end?
- Where will your scene take place within the school?
- How will you handle spect-actors who elect to take part in your scene?
- What will your “safe word” be?
- Remember that you are performing these scenes at school so under no circumstances should you violate any school policy or the code of student conduct.
Remember that your scene should include the following:
- Goal: A goal is what your POV character wants at the beginning of the scene. The Goal must be specific and it must be clearly definable. We need a goal to be proactive in the scene.
- Conflict: Conflict is the series of obstacles your POV character faces on the way to the goal. You must have Conflict in your scene. If your goal is reached with no Conflict what’s the point of watching?
- Disaster: A Disaster is a failure to let your POV reach his Goal. When a scene ends in victory, observers will not continue the discussion. You want your audience to be hooked…if everything ends happily ever after no one will talk about your issue and then what’s the point?
*SUBMIT A TYPED OUTLINE OF YOUR INVISIBLE THEATRE OUTLINE, WORKING SCRIPT, AND WHAT YOUR GROUP HOPES TO ACCOMPLISH BY EXPLORING YOUR TOPIC. MUST BE SUBMITTED BY THE END OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY*
Step 4: Once the details of your scene have been worked out and your group is ready we will perform a practice run in the classroom. Each group will run their scene two times. Once with no interaction from classmates and once where classmates can interact if they so chose. After each run we will come circle center and feedback will be given by both me (the teacher) and your peers. If an interaction from a spect-actor escalates to a point that you are uncomfortable with
Once the all groups have rehearsed and shared their scene twice we will designate a time and place for each Invisible Theatre scene to take place. School administrators and other teachers will be aware of where and when our projects will be taking place. I will also be present at each of the presentations. If I hear the safe word, or if I feel that the drama has escalated to an inappropriate level, I will intervene and stop the drama.
Evaluation
Invisible Theatre Project Assignment Grading Breakdown:
Project Facilitation (graded with rubric as guide): 20 points maximum
Typed outline, objectives, and working script: 10 points maximum (2 points eliminated if draft is not received by end of class on Wednesday)
Peer Evaluation: 15 points maximum (average score from your peers’ evaluations)
Self Evaluation: 5 points maximum
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Total point value: 50 points
Invisible Theatre Evaluation Rubric
|
Criteria for Assessment |
Needs Improvement (0-1 point) |
Adequate (2 points) |
Proficient (3 points) |
Excellent (4 points) |
|
Group Dynamic & Teamwork
|
The facilitation is not shared among the group members. Some members of the group are leading the session while others are following. |
Each group member facilitates a portion of the lesson, but they do not appear to have rehearsed together. |
The group appears unified and the facilitation is shared equally. |
The group works together as a cooperative ensemble and supports each other throughout the session. |
|
Organization, flow, and efficacy of Scene
|
Session does not have all required components (Goal, Conflict, and Disaster). None of the project objectives are met. |
The session has all required components. There is progress toward objectives but they are not met. |
All required components are present. One or two objectives of the lesson are met. |
All components are present and executed well. All of the objectives of the lesson are clearly met and reinforced during the session. |
|
Originality & Approach to Story
|
The project team fails to focus on any one theme or skill. The use of drama in the lesson is commonplace. |
The project team only marginally connects to the selected theme, and uses just one or two drama structures to explore the theme. |
The project team connects to a rich theme and creatively uses a variety of drama structures throughout the lesson. |
The project team uniquely captures the characters and ideas presented in the theme, and uses challenging drama structures to explore the theme in an original way. |
|
Facilitation
|
Facilitators lack a positive attitude while presenting. Theme is not evident. |
Facilitators sporadically show a positive attitude during the session. Theme can be followed, but may not be clear to all viewing. |
The facilitators maintain a positive attitude throughout most of the session. Theme is clearly present but could be revised to be more age appropriate. |
All facilitators demonstrate a positive attitude throughout the session. Theme is clear, present, and age appropriate. |
|
Enthusiasm & Energy |
All facilitators in the group lack enthusiasm and energy throughout the presentation. |
Some facilitators show energy and enthusiasm during the presentation while others are disengaged. |
All facilitators show energy and enthusiasm throughout the presentation, but it may occasionally feel false or over-the-top. |
All of the facilitators in the team possess warm energy and enthusiasm, engaging participants without overwhelming them. |
Peer Evaluation: Invisible Theatre Project
Evaluate each of the peers in your group in accordance with the scale below. Please support your evaluation with descriptive comments in the space below each section.
1=Unacceptable
2=Poor
3=Average
4=Good
5=Exceptional
Name:____________________________________
Significance of contribution to project: 1 2 3 4 5
Shows responsibility in performing assigned duties: 1 2 3 4 5
Collegiality (easy to work with): 1 2 3 4 5
Name:____________________________________
Significance of contribution to project: 1 2 3 4 5
Shows responsibility in performing assigned duties: 1 2 3 4 5
Collegiality (easy to work with): 1 2 3 4 5
Name:____________________________________
Significance of contribution to project: 1 2 3 4 5
Shows responsibility in performing assigned duties: 1 2 3 4 5
Collegiality (easy to work with): 1 2 3 4 5
Invisible Theatre Self Evaluation
In a paper no longer than two typed pages, double-spaced, reflect on your experience as a facilitator and team member for your Invisible Theatre presentation. It is important that you do not just "report" on what happened in your presentation, but take some time to thoughtfully reflect on the experience.
Describe with specific moments that you thought were especially effective and/or that you especially enjoyed in your presentation.
Discuss problem areas, how they were handled and how they might be handled better in the future.
What did you learn from this experience? What skills were improved on and what skills do you want to concentrate on improving for future presentations?
Apply the above examples to the entire class plan. Include your evaluation of your own contributions as a teammate and your evaluations of your co-facilitators.
DUE: At the beginning of class on the class meeting day immediately following your story drama facilitation.
Conclusion
Just as you have demonstrated in the performance of your Invisible Theatre Projects in our school, Augusto Boal’s techniques have been used to encourage social change all around the world. Invisible Theatre allows you to go out into the public and raise awareness without the audience knowing. How could you use Invisible Theatre in our community at large? What social/political issues do you feel individuals should be made aware of?
Theatre as an art form is more than just entertainment. Theatre is a tool to effect real social change in a community. But in order for change to occur participants, both actors and spect-actors, have to active members of the drama not passive. How would you use the Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to create social/political awareness in your community or neighborhood?