La MaMa ETC and Theatre of Oppressed NYC present...

World-renowned Theatre of the Oppressed
teacher JULIAN BOAL leads an Advanced Workshop!

Representing Social Contradictions Through Theatre of the Oppressed

This workshop will focus on a dramaturgy that tries to avoid moral dualism in favor of wading deeply into the contradictions that are the very fabric of social life under late capitalist regimes. Using games and exercises both from Theatre of the Oppressed and Epic Theatre, we will experiment with particular ways of constructing scenes that intend to represent the world as structured by the very contradictions that also destroy it.

Sunday, February 10, 2019
1pm - 5pm
at La MaMa ETC
at 47 Great Jones Street

Fee: $85*

Reserve your ticket here! Space is limited!

JULIAN BOAL is a teacher, researcher, and internationally-active practitioner of Theatre of the Oppressed. He has facilitated workshops in more than 25 countries and has collaborated on several international festivals of Theatre of the Oppressed: in India with Jana Sanskriti, in Spain with Pa’tothom, in Portugal with Óprima, in Croatia with the Istrian National Theater, in France with GTO-Paris, and in Brazil with CTO-Rio. In Paris, he was a founding member of the Ambaata collective, which worked alongside migrant workers, and he also worked with GTO-Paris and Féminisme Enjeux. Boal is the author of Images of a Popular Theatre (Hucitec, 2000) and co-editor of the DVD & essay booklet Theatre of the Oppressed in Actions (with Kelly Howe and Scot McElvany, Routledge, 2015) and an anthology to be published in January 2019: The Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed (with Kelly Howe and José Soeiro).

*Info about the anti-fascist cultural/theatrical partnership

The Workshop fee will go to support:

The Popular Theatre School (Escola de Teatro Popular—ETP) is a school ruled by social movements for social movements, a place where political unity is forged at the grassroots level through the practice of theatre. Next year, the ETP will establish a partnership with + Nós (+Us), a network of schools that prepare teenagers from poor neighborhoods of Rio to pass the test they must pass in order to enter university. The partnership between The Popular Theatre School and +Nós (+Us) is being formed in order to establish four ongoing theatre workshops that structure a space for these teens to reflect with others on their oppression, to be able to create plays and perform them for and with others who suffer from similar oppressions. Such a space for reflection, sharing, and making connections is crucial for organizing. Given the constant growth of intolerance and political violence in Brazil, it is of vital necessity that the population organizes to make tomorrow less unbearable than that for which our government aims. The funds raised through the February trip will play a key role in making this partnership possible.

Theatre of the Oppressed NYC partners with community members at local organizations to form theatre troupes. These troupes devise and perform plays based on their challenges confronting economic inequality, racism, and other social, health and human rights injustices. After each performance, actors and audiences engage in theatrical brainstorming – called Forum Theatre – with the aim of catalyzing creative change on the individual, community, and political levels.

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is New York’s premier Off Off Broadway venue, celebrating works that push the boundaries of language and culture, and showcasing cutting-edge talent from around the globe. Founded by Ellen Stewart in 1961, the company has grown into a vibrant and vital hub for artists and theatergoers alike, often presenting multiple shows simultaneously. Well-known as a place where American theatergoers are introduced to the work of artists from around the globe, La MaMa has presented the US debuts of Peter Brook, Tadeusz Kantor, Andrei Serban, Kazuo Ohno, and recently, Belarus Free Theatre. La MaMa ETC has collaborated with TONYC previously presenting workshops for elders of the East Village community. With creative partners from around the world, La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions and supported more than 150,000 artists.