Forum/Boal

Boal



Boal's teachings

• His teachings were extremely controversial and he was seen as a threat
• 'Mainstream theatre aims to sedate the audience'
• The audience become the actors on stage

Theatre of the oppressed

• The work must wake up the spectator, and engage them through addressing social problems helping them to find strategies for change.
• Must include:
  PROTAGONIST
  ANTOGONIST (or oppressor)

Exercise 1.

First of all, we began by doing activities that were fun, as well as involving the senses. We did 'the handkerchief game' in which two lines of four stood on each side of the room with the handkerchief in the middle of them. Natalie would shout numbers, and the numbers would race eachother into the room to get the cloth first. For example is 1 picked it up, 2 would then tap 1, and 1 would have to drop it, and so on. The one that got the cloth back to 'home' gained a point. This game required listening, touch and sight as well as focus.

Exercise 2

We played glass cobra. We got into a long line. We then had to close our eyes, which removes our the sense of sight, instantly putting our trust in our teachers. The line was altered and switched around, having to remember our place by touching the person in front of us. They then placed us in various parts of the room, and told us to, without opening our eyes or talking, to make our way back to the line. We did as we were told having to use touch and listening to return. The use of the sun light was helpful as a base of boundaries. We completed the task, despite the disappointment we received about the amount of talking!

Exercise 3

For this exercise we had to create an improvisation around the stimulus of bullying- relating to the key addressing of social problems Boal talks about. We created a piece that showed a girl being attacked for her clothing, her wealth and money. We chose this as it is always a relatable situation, as in every life scenario, there is someone of more superior wealth. Natalie then introduced the boal's idea of a 'forum'. This is when a SPECTATOR intrudes in the performance by shouting 'STOP' in order to stop the protagonists actions. Frequently, people stopped the performances in order to fight back against the bullies and give various alternatives and versions. For example, I stopped the opposing groups performance, to introduce the character of a teacher, giving the reasons that 'there needs to be some control taken in the situation, and the reality of a teacher getting involved in this bullying is very likely.


TO ACT= TO PERFORM & TO TAKE ACTION.