Augusto Boal: Theatre of the Oppressed Part 2

Explain in your own words : 

1 Third stage - Theatre as language. 1st degree- simultaneous dramaturgy , 2nd degree - image theatre. 

The 'theatre as language' stage is divided into three parts. These parts are simultaneous dramaturgy, image theatre and forum theatre. These parts represents different levels and degrees of participation (Boal, 2008). These parts are explained in more detail below:

The 1st degree is simultaneous dramaturgy. Firstly the actors perform a scene to the spectators up to the point where the dilemma or a problem reaches its crisis. Then the spectators can intervene by giving the actors possible solutions to solve a dilemma or problem without physically being on stage. The actors then try it out all the solutions suggested to them through improvisation (Boal, 2008). The  spectators then watch this scene, with their solutions and ideas in it. Boal gave a scenario of How simultaneous dramaturgy works. For example: 

• The husband told his wife to keep documents (Boal, 2008).
• The wife puts them away without suspicion (Boal, 2008).
• They then had a fight (Boal, 2008).
• The wife wanted to find out what the documents were about so she asked her neighbour to read the documents for her. The wife found out that the documents were love letters written by the mistress of her husband (Boal, 2008). 
• The wife wanted revenge (Boal, 2008). 

In this scenario the audience had to suggest to the actors solutions to how's the wife could have revenge on her husband. Some of the suggestions were:

• It was suggested that the wife could cry a lot in order to make the husbands feel guilty and bad about his behaviour. Then husband would ask the wife to make dinner afterwards. The solution was not excepted by the audience (Boal, 2008).
• Another suggestion was made for the wife to abandon the house and leave the husband to think about what he had done. The solution was not thought to be a good one in the end as the wife would only end up punishing herself (Boal, 2008).
• Then a suggestion was made that the wife could lock the house so then the husband could not get in and would have to go away. The husband begs to be let in a number of times. In this scene the husband eventually leaves his wife and takes his salary with him. The actress in this scene commented that she did not like this solution (Boal, 2008).
• The final solution made was for the wife to let the husband come in, hit him with a big stick, serve his dinner with affection and forgive him. Everyone agreed and they liked this solution (Boal, 2008).

This type of theatre breaks the wall between audience and actors as the audience is given more freedom to intervene and potentially change what is going on in the world.

The 2nd degree is image theatre. In This degree the spectators responds more directly through movement to a direct problem or an abstract theme. An example where they can do this is through the process of sculpting. One participant acts as a sculpture and everyone else is the clay. Silently the sculpture shapes everyone else into different images according to the theme or situation raised. The sculpture firstly moulds everyone into an actual image, then the ideal image and then transition to get to the ideal image. When each image is created, the sculpture asks the other participants who are observing if they agree with the images or not (Boal, 2008). I used this activity in one of the workshops with my peers. Our Theme was Brexit and how the majority of people did not like the fact that Teresa May got in power. We created an ideal image of Jeremy Corbin in power and then we created the transitional images on how to get that ideal image. Overall, this way of working allowed participants to try out their solutions and what they would do but in a safe controlled setting.

The 3rd degree is forum theatre. This is where the spectators intervenes decisively. Firstly the actors perform a scene which could be 10-15 minutes long based on a social or political problem. The actors then present the solution to the audience and then ask the spectators if they agree with this solution or not. The same scene is then performed one more time, but this time the spectators can directly intervene and replace one of the actors on stage. The spectators can apply their suggestions made on stage, however they have to continue the action and still act as the character they are playing (Boal, 2008). I have participated in forum theatre a few weeks ago. For example, I went to the Trinity Community Arts Centre and watched a play called 'Cathy' by Britain's Cardboard Citizens. This performance was about a mother and a daughter and the struggles they went through when it came to homelessness. After the performance, the audience was given the opportunity to change the fate of the central character Cathy and how she could of dealt with situations differently. I made a suggestion that Cathy could present her problems on stage and give the landlord a bad reputation, due to him threatening to chuck her and her daughter out. I practiced my suggestion on stage as the character Cathy. This was very difficult to perform this scenario on stage as I have never been on the news before and I did not feel that I knew the central character well enough to act like her. Participating in forum theatre was an amazing experience as I learnt a lot from the audience responses and the central character, so I now feel that I have got extra knowledge to deal with different aspects of life.

2 Fourth stage - Theatre as discourse. 
George Ikishawa said that the ‘Bourgeois Theatre’ is the finished theatre. George also said that the bourgeoisie knows what the world is like and so they can create this finished image. They can present the spectacle. However the oppressed groups and the proletariat groups do not know what their world will be like and what it will entail so their theatre is a rehearsal in preparation for life instead of a spectacle. Theatre as discourse is where thoughts and ideas are practiced in a theatrical form and different issues are challenged. The spectators can intervene directly in performances, ask questions and practice their own ideas through a theatrical form (Boal, 2008).

The different forms of 'theatre as discourse are listed below:

• Newspaper Theatre- The Nucleus Group Arena Theatre of Sao Paulo developed this form of theatre. The techniques that came under 'Newspaper Theatre are simple reading, crossed reading, complementary reading, rhythmical reading, parallel action, improvisation, historical, reinforcement, concretion of the abstract and text out of context (Boal, 2008).  
• Invisible Theatre- This is a type of theatre where scenes are performed in a non theatrical setting such as a town, a restaurant, a park and many more areas. The spectators in these non theatrical settings do not know that the are spectators as they arrived at that place by chance. These spectators do not know that the scenes are a spectacle. Prior to the scenes being performed in a public setting, the actors rehearse these scenes constantly as they need to prepare for every type of situation that arises (Boal, 2008). 
• Breaking of repression- Certain groups or types of people crush the other group or types of people through repression. For example, the old crushes the young through forcing their ideas and views on them. They may see the young to be weak and inferior so they think its ok to force their thoughts and opinions on them. This repression can be broke as the spectators could be asked to remember a time when they felt repressed, accepted this and then acted upon this to stop being repressed. Then the spectators can be asked to perform this experience in a scene (Boal, 2008).
• Myth Theatre- This is to do with discovering the obvious through a myth (Boal, 2008).
• Analytical Theatre- This is where one of the spectators tells a story and the actors improvise this story. After this the actors are put into their social roles and the spectators choose an object to represent that role (Boal, 2008).
• Rituals and masks- The overall structure or thing determines the culture of a society (Boal, 2008).  

3 In detail -   How might you use these stages in your own work?

As a facilitator I may facilitate a workshop around the theme of anti-bullying to a group of secondary school children aged 11-12 years old. In this workshop I would introduce the 1st degree of which is simultaneous dramaturgy which is a part of 'Theatre as language'. I may get the students to think of a time when they got bullied and how that made them feel, through physical activities. Before they explore this physically, I would ask them to sit in a circle and I would then ask them if any of them either experienced someone who got bullied or if they have got bullied themselves. I would also ask them if they know of different kinds of bullying that can take place in and out of school. After the discussion I would get the students into small groups and ask them to rehearse and then perform a 3 minute scene of the bullying taking place. One or two students in the scene would be the victims, one person or two people would be the outsiders watching and the others are the bullies. This will all depend on how many people there are in each group. The rehearsal would be for 5 minutes. Then afterwards each group would perform their scene to the rest of the class. After each scene performed the students watching would be invited to briefly make suggestions to the performers on how to solve the situation of bullying. This overall activity would help all of the students to think about appropriate ways to deal with and prevent bullying in the first place.  

Once the students have thought of all of these ideas, I would implement the second degree of 'Theatre as language' which is 'image theatre'. I would ask them again in their small groups to spend 5 minutes to create an image where someone is getting bullied, based on one persons experience per group and then create that persons ideal image. At the end each group would show their two images to the rest of the class. This will show everyone that there are different forms of bullying that can take place. Following on from this activity I would get the class to have a vote on which group of two images that they want to work on as a whole class. The voting system would be done where the students close their eyes and raise their hand on which group of images they want to work on as a whole. After the voting the whole class will discuss what transitional images they can put in place to get from the original image to the ideal image. These images will then be created by the small group and the whole class. If some students want to be part of this group image then they will be given the opportunity to be a part of it. This whole class activity would be a team effort by everyone.  

These activities would be the starting point for the students as it would help them to identify different kinds of bullying and ways of dealing with this situation in everyday life. The structure of these activities would start to get the students actively involved in the issues of bullying and what they think of it. If I were to work with these students for a longer period of time, I would eventually get them to create a piece of forum theatre at the end of the year, as near that point, they would of gained a lot of confidence. Depending of the level of the students confidence and also with the consent of parents and teachers, I would get the students to perform in a public setting such as a church hall. If parents and teachers do not give permission for the students to perform outside the school, I would get the students to perform in their school which is a non theatrical setting.

Reference List

Boal, A. (2008) Theatre of the oppressed. London: Pluto Press.