forum_theatre

Learning from FORUM THEATRE Experiences

Forum Theatre – Forum Theatre – a tool for community cultural development a tool for community cultural development and social changeand social change

CHANGING MINDS, ATTITUDES, LIVESCHANGING MINDS, ATTITUDES, LIVES


The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

— Howard Zinn, 2006

(You Can’t Stay Neutral on a Moving Train, Beacon, 1995)


We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Beyond Vietnam" address delivered to the Clergy and Laymen Concerned, April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, New York City


Definition of terms IDefinition of terms I

Community Cultural Development is defined as:

- a process in which a community creatively determines and expresses its identity, celebrates its differences and addresses issues of importance. It is guided by a philosophy of community involvement and ownership.

- involving collaboration between professional artists and communities.

- the community will be involved at every stage of the project: in planning and management, in originating the ideas, collaborating in creative development, participating in the realization and presentation of the project, and in evaluation.


Definition of terms IIDefinition of terms II

The term community can be defined by: - A group of people who are linked to one another in some

kind of distinguishable way. (communities that are geographically bounded – towns,

rural municipalities, housing estates, micro-regions, neighbourhoods, etc. People in these communities are linked by their places of residence, and sometimes by their profession).

- A group of people sharing a space or an interest. (in stricter definition, community can be called such if

people are aware of what links them; there is a certain continuity in the presence of a member in that community; relations are developed within community to support its members).


Definition of terms IIIDefinition of terms III Community my also be defined as

- People involved in the system have a sense and recognition of the relationships and areas of common concerns with other members.

- The system has longevity, continuity and is expected to persist.

- Its operations depend considerably on voluntary cooperation, with a minimal use (or threat) of sanctions or coercion.

- It is multi-functional. The system is expected to produce many things and to be attuned to many dimensions of interactions.

- The system is complex, dynamic and sufficiently large that instrumental relationships predominate.

- Usually, there is a geographic element associated with its definition and basic boundaries.

(James B. Cook: Community Development Theory)


The community cultural developmentThe community cultural development

The community cultural development field is global, with a decades-long history of practice, discourse, learning and impact.

In Europe and much of the developing world, the work of the field was recognized by cultural authorities, development agencies and funders as a meaningful way to assist communities coping with the forces of modernization.

As the phenomenon of globalization accelerates, community cultural development practice is more and more widely recognized as a powerful response to current social conditions. The precise nature of this response always shifts as social circumstances change.


characteristics of community cultural developmentcharacteristics of community cultural development Community, to acknowledge its participatory nature, which

emphasizes collaborations between artists and other community members;

Cultural, to indicate the generous concept of culture (rather than, more narrowly, art) and the broad range of tools and forms in use in the field, from aspects of traditional practice, to oral-history approaches usually associated with historical research and social studies, to use of high-tech communications media, to elements of activism and community organizing more commonly seen as part of non-arts social-change campaigns; and

Development, to suggest the dynamic nature of cultural action, with its ambitions of conscientization and empowerment and to link it to other enlightened community-development practices, especially those incorporating principles of self-development rather than development imposed from above.


Conscientization, from the Portuguese conscientizao of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire is an ongoing process by which a learner moves toward critical consciousness. This process is the heart of liberatory education. It differs from "consciousness raising" in that the latter may involve transmission of preselected knowledge.

Conscientization means breaking through prevailing mythologies to reach new levels of awareness—in particular, awareness of oppression, being an "object" of others’ will rather than a self-determining "subject."

The process of conscientization involves identifying contradictions in experience through dialogue and becoming

part of the process of changing the world.


"The practitioners and thinkers in community cultural development do not suggest that making theater or murals can substitute for the other social and political acts that create a humane and equitable society. But these community cultural development activities are demonstrably the best available tools to teach the skills and values of true citizenship: critical thinking, interrogating one's own assumptions, exercising social imagination and creative problem solving, simultaneously holding in mind one's immediate interests and the larger interests of the community as a whole."

— "Community, Culture and Globalization"Don Adams & Arlene Goldbard, Rockefeller Foundation, 2002


Forum theatre - a social learning and changing processForum theatre - a social learning and changing process The learning process is

"reflecting on experience to identify how a situation or future actions could be improved and then using the knowledge to actually make improvements".

This can be individual or group based or within society.

The left side of the vertical

arrow represents doing tasks, the right side observing tasks. The upper half represents feeling (being creative and emotional), the bottom (logical) thinking.

People usually have their own preferences in one of the four learning styles: they are more exploring, analysing, decision-making or acting types. A well-balanced team consists of people with different learning styles.

David Kolb (1984)


Forum theatre – a tool for social change and community Forum theatre – a tool for social change and community developmentdevelopment

The cultural intervention as a method of adult learning (using art – theatre, drawings, etc - to explore and understand the civic behaviors) is an important tool toward creative communities and build adult’s awareness about their role within the society and their personal and community developmental needs.

- is a tool that helps people to explore local needs and an creative end constructive way; increases creativity of people, as a key ingredient for positive strategic thinking and increases the sense of local identity (which is a basis for deeper involvement in community life).

- is a specific body of techniques designed to teach people how to take an active role within their community, both through their local government, and through directly finding solutions to a problem in their particular community, whether it be environmental, social, political or economic.


- as method, encourages ludic learning which offer people - as method, encourages ludic learning which offer people possibility to communicate easier, to see things in a new possibility to communicate easier, to see things in a new way and liberate for stereotypes; promote the equality; offer way and liberate for stereotypes; promote the equality; offer the possibility to create a vision. the possibility to create a vision.

- it aims to positively influence the associative local - it aims to positively influence the associative local capacities and the capacity to analyze local problems. capacities and the capacity to analyze local problems.

- it hopes to create a stimulant and flexible working - it hopes to create a stimulant and flexible working environment, so that new behaviors, new kind of environment, so that new behaviors, new kind of relationship can be exercised and learned, in order to relationship can be exercised and learned, in order to consider also the needs of oppressed/powerless members consider also the needs of oppressed/powerless members of the community.of the community.

Forum theatre – a tool for social change and community Forum theatre – a tool for social change and community developmentdevelopment


The idea of testing the Forum Theatre method in different communities, from different countries, with the aim to transfer it through experiential methods to those who need it appeared as a challenge for the seven partners implementing the Forum Theatre (FT) – a method for adult civic education GRUNDTVIG 1 project.

Although the method itself is not new, in the partners’ countries – Italy, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria - it is rarely used and almost never transferred to the local initiative groups, as a method for community development.

All the partners had previous experience in adult education and a special interest for active citizenship, elements that provide the needed coherence for a common project.

The ChallengeThe Challenge


Forum theatre is a way through which adults explore their needs and possible solutions by acting the situation (oppression) they feel and face.

It is a way through which adults build understanding of their situation and explore in a creative and flexible way the needs and potential solutions.

The marginalized people can express their problems and their feelings and learn a way to become “heard voices”.

Applying this method at European level, we can develop a strong instrument for helping people to be more involved in community life and in influencing public policies.

Acting out to find solutionsActing out to find solutions


From heros to Freire and BoalFrom heros to Freire and Boal

Religious rites

Early communities

Priest + active worshippers

Anthic theatre

Story teller/ interpreter + audience

Mystery and Miracle plays

Outdoor setting, out of the church

Classic theatre

Actor + passive audience

16th CenturyTheatre posing questions

Actor + reflective audience

Berthold Brecht

Theatre of the Oppressed Actor +

spect-actorAugusto Boal


Freire and BoalFreire and Boal

Freire and Boal were both Brazilian, both arrested and imprisoned, both exiled, both returned to their homeland, both worked in different fields to help fellow Brazilians who were on the periphery of society and both won international repute.

Freire and Boal first met in 1960 when the latter was touring with Arena Theatre in the northeast of Brazil, where Freire grew up.

Freire powerfully influenced Boal’s thinking and, indirectly, his practice.


Augusto BoalAugusto Boal

During the 1950's and 1960's, Boal began to develop the philosophy that led to Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). It was a tradition that audiences were invited to discuss a play at the end of a performance. Boal felt that such a practice restricted the audience in the role of viewers to the action presented.

While touring in northern Brazil, Boal developed a process whereby members of the audience could stop a performance and suggest different actions for the actors who in turn carried out the audience suggestions – thus giving the spectators themselves an opportunity to come up with their own solutions to their collective problems.

This was the birth of Forum Theater and that of the spect-actor which transformed the theatre of Augusto Boal.


Monologue = oppressionMonologue = oppression

A definition of oppression made by Boal: “Oppression is a relationship in which there is only monologue, not dialogue.” (Boal, Augusto. The Rainbow of Desire: The Boal Method of Theatre and Therapy.

London, 1995 )

In the Theatre of the Oppressed, oppression is defined, in part, as a power dynamic based on monologue rather than dialogue; a relation of domination and command that prohibits the oppressed from being who they are.


Theatre of the OppressedTheatre of the Oppressed

The Theatre of the Oppressed was developed by Augusto Boal, who had experimented with many kinds of interactive theatre.

His explorations were based on the assumption that dialogue is the common, healthy dynamic between all humans, which all human beings desire and are capable of dialogue, and that when a dialogue becomes a monologue, oppression occurs.

Theatre then becomes an extraordinary tool for transforming monologue into dialogue. "While some people make theatre," says Boal, "we all are theatre."


Forum Theatre – aiming social changeForum Theatre – aiming social change

Through such participation the audience became empowered to imagine changes, practice the changes, reflect collectively on the suggestions made and become empowered to generate social change.

In Boal’s own words “A Forum is a question posed to the audience, seeking answers. The question has to be clear. If the spect-actors are to be able to intervene and offer alternatives, and if the Forum is to enrich our understanding, the central idea must be perceptible to all” (Boal, Augusto. Legislative Theatre. London, 1998)


FT methodologyFT methodology The participants create the images and narrative to think

about power in relation to: Showing what they could do if they had power. Speculate about what they would do if they had power. Arrive at some assessment of what power they would need

in order to improve current circumstances. Postulate a range of narratives that cannot be achieved by

power structures that exist at present.

However dominant a social system may be, the very

meaning of its domination involves a limitation or selection of activities it covers. In terms of standard research practice, this leads to the dominance of correlation and documentation whose validity depends on the approval of established regimes of thought (Foucault, 1980).


FT methodologyFT methodology

Therefore, experiential Forum Theatre does not accept that all social experiences have been exhausted. It potentially contains space for alternative acts and alternative intentions, which are not yet articulated as a social institution (Williams, 1979).

Through non-verbal images and narrative primarily created by the participants, with the researcher as facilitator, the action of thinking perceives reality as process and transformation, rather than contemplating the status quo.

The experiential nature of Forum Theatre, in a research workshop setting, proceeds to investigate such contextual realities by means of abstraction through coded dramatic situations created by the group as a whole.


FT working phaseFT working phase

1. Choosing the communities selecting the group exercises criteria for selecting the group methods for building group cohesion involving leaders of the communities involving key persons from the communities2. Selecting the theme Criteria of a good-enough issue/theme for FT (Relevant, Credible, Unsolved, Consensual) Challenges in finding the issue/theme Processes of selection and finding consensus in the group regarding the theme Testing the chosen issue/theme.

Improvisation sessions to create

working script

Make required changes

Rehearse finalized script for

performance

Analyse and upraise improvised

scenes


FT working phaseFT working phase

3. Build the script and script analysis Organising and ranking ideas, factors, issues Analysing factors, steps, relationships Participatory learning tools Planning4. Communication and promotion 5. Rehearsing the play Working on the play Stage dynamics and settings The characters6. The Jocker7. The moment of truth The last chance for checking all technical details Introduction / actors, audience, rules Presenting the play / stop in dramatic moment The action of the joker + examples The reaction of the audience / do not reacting, debate, taking decision about changing roles The new play with the new actor / actors The action of joker / reaction of audience The debate about solutions / finding solution The invitation for future plays


FT working methodologyFT working methodology

The decoding or deconstruction of images and narratives requires moving from the abstract to the concrete. The actors are always acting out the characters they roughly imaged, but it is the active audience, the whole research workshop group, that supply a narrative.

Forum Theatre participants in the audience are asked to identify character and power relationships in the image and how they are related to the wider social construct.

This is followed by the audience identifying education, social, employment and life-skill needs for all characters in the image of a transforming narrative.

According to Aristotle’s Poetics, something underserved happens to a character that resembles ourselves.

This flux and reflux of active-information from the abstract to the concrete occurs during an analysis of a narrative image and leads to the supersedence of the abstraction by the critical perception of the concrete (Freire, 1990).


FT working methodologyFT working methodology The experiential structure of image, character and

transforming narrative evident in Forum Theatre is different from role-playing. Role-playing depends on an individual portraying somebody and usually entails the individual drawing on his or her own experiences to develop a role, an individual constructed role that is then performed to a workshop audience.

This encourages the individual to draw from their own real issues and can lead to uncomfortable situations where the participant becomes the focus and is separate from the wider group.

Active-information can change and decide developments. As emancipatory research enables people to show and to speak, so they become part of the struggle and the struggle becomes part of the research effect. All that happens only happens because there is a struggle (Freire, 1990).


Elements of Forum Theatre (FT)Elements of Forum Theatre (FT)

FT implies the development of a short play presenting a situation of oppression. This is presented to the target audience that has to identify the oppressed characters.

At the end of the play the audience is asked by the Joker if any of the characters could have acted differently in a way that would have changed the end of the play.

The play is played for the second time. This time, however, members of the audience have the possibility of stopping the play and replacing a character to demonstrate their ideas for change.


Elements of Forum Theatre (FT) - The JokerElements of Forum Theatre (FT) - The Joker

Boal created a character which he called the Joker.

The Joker is a specific figure within FT, whose function is to mediate between actors and spectators and in all ways possible assist the latter’s participation within the drama enfolding. His/her task is to facilitate, but not control the theatre event.

The Joker is Boal’s innovative contribution to community theatre committed to social change.

The Joker has to explain the rules of a FT presentation and s/he is the ‘master of ceremonies’ during the performance.

He has to create a safe place where people feel free to exchange their stories and look for solutions to their collective problems.


Good practice in using forum theatreGood practice in using forum theatre

The idea of testing the Forum Theatre method in different communities, from different countries, with the aim to transfer it through experiential methods to those who need it appeared as a challenge for the seven partners implementing the Forum Theatre (FT) – a method for adult civic education GRUNDTVIG 1 project.

Although the method itself is not new, in the partners’ countries – Italy, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria - it is rarely used and almost never transferred to the local initiative groups, as a method for community development.

All the partners had previous experience in adult education and a special interest for active citizenship, elements that provide the needed coherence for a common project.


Goal of FT projectGoal of FT project

The aim of the overall project is to explore, learn about and adapt the Forum Theatre method in order to use it as a method for adult civic education.

‘The project intend to develop, test and disseminate - at the European level - an innovative cultural approach aimed to help different target groups (communities or marginalized groups) to be more visible in community life and, even more, to influence public policies’.


Project’s partnersProject’s partners

Workshop for Civic Initiative Foundation,Bulgaria

Association For Istenkút Community,HungaryAcademy of Humanities and Economics in Lodz, Poland,

Romanian Association for Community Development, Romania

Ministry of Education – Education Division, Malta

Municipality of Colleferro, Italy


ObjectivesObjectives

To develop FT as a method of working with adults in order to develop civic competencies and increase their capacity to play an active and responsible role within the local community.

Develop a network of co-operation among European organizations using cultural methodologies to promote civic competencies.

Improve organizational capacities to develop information, guidance and counselling services for adult learners and adult education providers and marketing the organizational competences at national and European level.


Main activitiesMain activities

The project tested the Forum Theatre methodology in different communities – in rural and urban areas; after this we completed a comparative analysis of the implemented process and of the results achieved.

The organizations involved into the project gained valuable know-how through the research in their local communities and through the transnational inputs of the partnership.

The sum of good practice examples and various aspects of the implementation process helped us to develop a consistent methodology for efficient implementation of the Forum Theatre method.


Outcomes and outputsOutcomes and outputs

The partner organizations developed their organizational capacities to provide adults education services - through FT methodology.

More then seventy four social development practitioners from the five countries in which the method was tested (the Maltese partner having the role of the expert and consultant) develop competencies in using this method (learned the theoretical basis and applied it).


Outcomes and outputsOutcomes and outputs

A web site dedicated to the F T Method as an adult learning tool, with an english version and versions in national languages of the partners.

The first steps towards a European network of FT

practitioners: the web site and a new project proposal for supporting the development of this network

Photographic exhibitions in all partners’ countries, presenting images from all the steps made in the project


FT themes in our communitiesFT themes in our communities

Romania: the gap between the teachers and the students, oppression and violence in schools and corruption of the teachers; a village which faced a real tragedy few years ago when it was an earth caved in, with unemployed people facing poverty and domestic violence; families keeping the teenagers home to work, not allowing them to study; conflicts in community caused by land property rights; theft from the corn crops.

Hungary – the evil mentor (problems in mentor-volunteers relationship); parents run away from their responsibilities; family conflict; Women in adult education; Poland – abortion; homosexuals coming out in the family(other ides explored: intolerance, drugs, lack of safety, unemployment)


FT themes in our communitiesFT themes in our communities

Bulgaria – lack of active citizenship; lack of emergency health services; conflicts in community because of acute competition for tourists (economic competition); children not allowed to go to sport activities because of school competition; an old person everybody was afraid accepting new ideas/challenges

Italy – lack of communication between doctors and patients; youth unemployment; relationships within a psychiatric centre; lack of safety provided by authorities/ feeling of insecurity


Theatre improves actionTheatre improves action

FT method is helping community activists to develop their skills and make them more effective:

trains them as facilitators of group dynamic techniques, designed to enhance democratic group process, community-building and solidarity;

stimulates reflection on and discussion of both the structure of organizing models and strategies and the changing nature of political organizing;

provides them with the opportunity to work with other people in a safe space, in order to explore and confront issues of power and oppression that concern them;

provides a work frame designed to enable people to apply and adapt elements of the training they’ve received in intensive FT workshops.


Other related types of forum theatreOther related types of forum theatre

In Image Theater, the body is used to create images that help participants explore power relations and group solutions to concrete problems. Subsequent acts recreate the same scenario of oppression, but other members of the workshop are free to intervene at any time in the dramatic action to offer or propose alternate solutions to the original oppressive action.

Invisible Theater is one of the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed, in which "actors" create "theatrical" situations in public places, but where the public does not realize that a performance is unfolding before them; can be "performed" anywhere -in city streets, in restaurants, on public transportation, etc. It’s a type of guerilla theater, and has been used by political activists all over the world around numerous issues big and small.

Legislative Theater, which pushes Forum Theater a step further, is Boal’s most recent innovation. This method of governing came to be called legislative theater in which ordinary people, usually restricted to the role of voters, were encouraged to become legislators.

Brazil now has 13 laws that were created in legislative-theater forums, and experiments in legislative theater-type work have since taken place in London, Toronto, Munich, and Paris.


“The conviction that there is an actor in each of us is the driving force behind a form of drama that seeks to awaken consciences and change lives” Angusto Boal

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