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The theatre techniques used by us are predominantly influenced by the work of Brazilian Director and Educationalist, Augusto Boal. The overall name of this body of work is called "Theatre of the Oppressed" or TO for short.
The techniques within this body of work are always participative and include:
Games.
 Augusto has been collecting games from around the world for many years, and we've invented and found some along the way too. We find them invaluable as ice-breakers, for team building and encouraging co-operation, for increasing sensitivity of the senses, for kinaesthetic development, co-ordination, sequencing, etc. The games are far too many to list, but a good place to start is with a copy of "Games for Actors and Non Actors." (Augusto Boal, Published by Routledge).
Image Theatre.
This technique speaks for itself. It facilitates non-verbal expression. It works well with all ages and particularly well with people who find it difficult to articulate emotions or experiences. It encourages understanding of body language (which we all read before any words are spoken) and is summed up in the saying "a picture paints a thousand words." Image Theatre is a tool which is also uses when developing work in the other TO techniques.
Forum Theatre.
 In the conventional model of theatre the drama depicts a conflict which is eventually resolved either through tragedy or triumph. In its most pure and basic form, in Forum Theatre the drama depicts actual problems, issues that negatively affect the community to which ideally the actors and the audience belong. At the end of the play the problem presented is not resolved and the audience is invited to attempt to do so. The play is performed a second time and on this occasion the audience can shout "Stop!" come up onto the stage and change places with the character with the problem and show what they would do in such a situation. A person called 'the Joker' mediates the whole process, and just as the joker in a pack of cards has no suit he/she is impartial.
It is the epitome of experiential learning, summed up in the old adage, I look and I see, I hear and I know, I do and I understand. It is also the technique that we have found stimulates the most empathy.
Legislative Theatre.
This is an extension of Forum Theatre where the problem can be resolved only through a change in policy, law or guidelines either in an institution, organization or society (government). The play then becomes an opportunity to dynamically and democratically investigate and rehearse what would be the 'ideal' law.'
Cops in the Head.
A technique for identifying and dealing with internal oppressions such as negative "put-down" self talk. The techniques help externalize these oppressions into images and even characters. Although the 'cops' are in our heads the headquarters are external to us and by bringing them out into the open we can see which are useful and which are not to a given situation.
Rainbow of Desires.
This is an extension of 'the cop in the head' technique and provides the opportunity for investigating the many desires that we may experience in any one moment. A way of recognising what we want within specific relationships and rehearsing ways of achieving that.
There is something fundamentally human and humanizing in the way these techniques work. And this might explain the strange fact that although Boal is credited with formalizing and creating a theory of this revolutionary and powerful approach to theatre there seems to have emerged almost identical techniques in the continents of Africa and Asia. Boal acknowledges as much himself -
"In its most archaic sense, theatre is the capacity possessed by human beings - and not by animals - to observe themselves in the act of seeing, of thinking their emotions, of being moved by their thoughts, they can see themselves here and imagine themselves there, they can see themselves today and imagine themselves tomorrow."
Nevertheless, the global community who use such participative methods generally use the term TO or Forum Theatre and pay homage to Boal. There is a wide variety of application and innovation in the use of these techniques which is encouraged by the global TO community. We ourselves are developing different approaches and techniques combining TO with Open Space Technology, Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness practices. But there are some shared principles which are expressed in the Declaration of principles which guide the work and are published and updated by the international TO organization. The declaration is not easy reading so below are quotes from Boal that capture the essence of TO for us.
"Theatre is a form of knowledge: it should and can also be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it."
"This is theatre - the art of looking at ourselves."
"Theatre has nothing to do with buildings or other physical constructions. Theatre- or theatricality - is the capacity, this human property which allows man to observe himself in action, in activity. The self-knowledge thus acquired allows him to be the subject (the one who observes) of another subject (the one who acts). It allows him to imagine variations of his action, to study alternatives. Man can see himself in the act of seeing, in the act of acting, in the act of feeling, the act of thinking. Feel himself feeling, think himself thinking."
Augusto Boal |
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