Summary of Week 4

Theatre of the Oppressed: Week 4 -- Forum Theatre

October 19th, 2019

Welcome and Hello
Stretch and Body Check-In

Exercise: Balancing the Space (inspired by Viewpoints by Anne Bogart)

• Everyone walks through the room, utilizing soft focus; maintain awareness of where other bodies and objects are in the room as well as where there are bodies and where there is negative space; avoiding walking clockwise and instead walk in spirals covering as much of the space as possible
• Practice stopping and starting again as a group, no verbal communication
• Practice matching pace, then speeding up and slowing down as a group
• Practice making a strong, still "offer" to construct an image from; the rest of the group follows suit adding to the image; practicing holding then releasing the image as as group

Friend & Enemy 

As we balance the space, choose one person who is "friend" and one person who is "enemy." Don't tell anyone, keep this information to oneself. We facilitator says "go!" try and get as close as possible to the "friend" while staying as far away as possible from "enemy." Variation: Placing oneself between the friend and enemy!

Variation: "Systems Game" pg 140 of Coming Back to Life by Joanna Macy and Molly Brown

Group Additions to the Group Agreements
- Step Up/Step Up
- Use "I" Statements

Introductions with Names and Pronouns

Consent Game
This time adding "Maybe" along with "No" and "Yes"

Break from 1:00 - 1:05pm

Forum Theatre
Important Aspects

• Show the Problem
• Don't Solve the Problem
• Don't Empower the Protagonist (that's what the Forum will be for)
• Ask the Question; Don't Answer the Question
• What is/are the question(s) my play is asking?
• (e.g. "How can ~I~ keep my power in this situation?" or, more specific, "What do ~I~ do when I'm publicly harassed?")
• Who is/are the protagonist(s)?
• Who is the Oppressed? Oppressor? Bystander? Ally (whether effective or ineffective)?
• Who will I allow folx to tag in for? (Never the Oppressor -- not helpful!)
• Do I have parameters for tagging in?
• What style is your play?
• (e.g. Realism, Symbolism, Allegory, Mime, Musical, etc)
• Make sure the issue is real, vital, and engaging -- with one or more conflicts shown (aka "entry points) to Forum
• Keep it physicalized!
• Try to steer away from standing-and-talking plays
• Theatrical elements are great -- props, costume pieces, music, etc

Process

We divided into two groups of 4 and picked an issue as a group that all members agreed carried relevance and heat for the group to explore.

Each group had 30 minutes to construct a roughly one-minute Forum play speaking to a specific aspect of the issue they discussed.

Each group showed their play to the rest of the cohort. All participants decide which play to Forum first.

We then had 20 minutes to Forum one of the two plays we watched. After new people jump in to showcase new tactics within the context of the play, we discuss what we saw and what we noticed

• How did this change the course of the play?
• How did other performers react or not react?
• How did it feel to see that performed? To perform it?

Closing
Eye Contact & Three Claps