The Forum-Theatre method
The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) as a notion describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian director Augusto Boal first elaborated in the 1970s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal was influenced by the work of the educator and theorist Paulo Freire and his techniques use theatre as means of promoting social and political change. One of its most spectacular forms remains the Forum-Theatre in which the audience becomes active, such that as "spect-actors" they explore, show, analyse and transform the reality in which they are living. The Centre du Théâtre de l’Opprimé Paris has since continued to explore the method and to propose this type of performance in France and all over the world.
The SPGs project has successfully implemented the Forum-Theatre method for its youth engagement activities.
What is a Forum-Theatre?
A Forum-Theatre is a peculiar form of theatre since all the rules are exposed from the beginning but tend to be moved by the impact of the propositions of the audience (the “spect-actors”).
The actors present two or three short scenes that all have in common to end bad. The conflict generated by the characters has to be clear enough to provoke the members of the audience to then jump on stage to help solving the situation by replacing an actor or creating a new character. The whole process of the performance is managed by a “joker” who presents, organises and corrects.
In order to create a Forum-Theatre, the actors go through a process of creating images, called “photos” or “statues”. The idea is to fix a conflict based on a theme without putting it into words, as it is easier to analyse an image in an objective way: An image is not the reflection of reality, it is reality. Since the Centre du Théâtre de l’Opprimé Paris tends to preserve a democratic process, all the participants work: the one proposing the image as well as the one watching the process, with the latter being invited to give their feelings about the creation – all are looking for the best image according to each sensibility.
The participants will “move” the images through a dynamisation process: What happened before? What will happen after? At this point, the crucial improvisation part begins, which leads the participants to use words and work deeper on each character involved in the scene.
The scene is ready when the conflict between the characters is clear. A scene should not go on for more than three to four minutes.
What happens during a Forum-Theatre?
When creating a Forum-Theatre, each participant has to investigate the theme of the specific scene for themselves in order to be able to “play” with it once on stage. This requires some intellectual and emotional as well as physical work. The actors never know what the audience will propose.
An example from the SPGs project:
Working with young people from Cluj in Romania brought the theme of discrimination (social, gender) on the table. The Forum-Theatre method offers resources to open oneself without exposing the most intimate part, as the portrayed character is used as a protection (it is the character speaking and moving, not “me”). In this way, the participating teenagers had the possibility to express and enact their doubts, fears, and angers through Theatre, which means without the fear of judgment from the adults or their peers.
Benefits of the Forum-Theatre method
The Forum-Theatre method acts as a revealer of the difficulties that exist in society: in most circumstances, it is not possible for a person to solve a societal conflict instantly. But at least, the theatre performance gives the chance to try, fail, change strategy, and try again, as it is “only” a theatrical enaction. This also provides an opportunity to each one involved in the performance (actors and “spec-actors”) to create a dialog in which everyone can think about issues that concern us all. The Forum-Theatre performance remains a real democratic process as each participant can propose their ideas and each proposition will be treated seriously. The resulting scene is then a real process of emancipation that only theatre can provide in times of crisis.