TONYC has reimagined our public training model to integrate learnings from creating a workbook and facilitating during a pandemic.
To receive updates about our trainings and workshops, sign up for our mailing list. If you are interested in having our trained Joker team facilitate a private training for your organization, please fill out the workshop request form on our private workshops and residencies page.
Please note that TONYC does not have specific recommendations for lodging in the city. Please use sites such as Expedia, Booking.com or Hotels.com to find appropriate accommodations for your out-of-town visit.
Intro to Theatre of the Oppressed
Date/time: April 03, 2025 at 6:00pm - 8pm
Location: Midtown Manhattan
Facilitator: Julián Pimiento
Sliding scale: $35-80
Creativity is the key to transformation. An Intro to Theatre of the Oppressed workshop will allow you to experience the power of embodied play! Our experienced facilitators will lead you through a series of games, discussions, and role-play improvisation. The experience will be an opportunity to share power and build trust, equipping you with tools to educate, empower, and mobilize others in new ways. This will lay the foundation for collectively brainstorming actionable next steps in the face of interpersonal conflict or institutional injustice. Each activity and debrief discussion is designed to help communities reflect deeply on the status quo and how we maintain or change it.
Participants will be required to do a COVID symptom screening and stay masked or submit proof of a negative rapid test.
TONYC reserves the right to adjust the programming above due to low enrollment or other extenuating circumstances. Participants may request a full refund in the event of a canceled or rescheduled workshop.
Online Legislative Theatre Training
Date/time: May 09, 2025 at 1:30pm - 4pm ET
Location: Zoom
Facilitators: Sulu LeoNimm and Julián Pimiento
Sliding scale: $75-150
Ready to Reimagine the Rules? Join Us for a Legislative Theatre Workshop. Tired of decisions being made without your community’s voice? Legislative Theatre is a tool for turning real-life struggles into forum plays that demand change and shape policy from the ground up. Whether you’re working to abolish oppressive laws or disrupt harmful practices, this workshop empowers you to engage in radical, participatory democracy. Together, we’ll imagine new futures, strategize bold actions, and keep the dialogue going—because the fight doesn’t stop at the theatre door.
No experience necessary.
Note: This workshop will be hosted on Zoom and will not be recorded. Participants may request a full refund in the event of a canceled or rescheduled workshop.
Rates for this workshop are on a sliding scale from $75-$150. Please select the tier that feels appropriate for you based on your financial means, the value you wish to receive, or your desire to support TONYC.
Intro to Building Forum Theatre (Level 1)
April registration is closed, look out for August Level 1 soon!
Part 1 - Online
Dates/time: April 7, 14, 21 (Monday evenings from 5:30p-8:30p)
Location: Zoom
Facilitators: Liz Morgan, Marcela Artunduaga & Ania Upstill
Part 1 of this training is a three-day workshop on how we use games, dramaturgy, Image Theatre, and Aesthetics of the Oppressed to explore stories of oppression in rehearsal. We will examine the theory and politics of the work while staying firmly rooted in practice. Our third day will focus on story-sharing in preparation for our in-person work.
Part 2 - In-Person
Dates/time: April 26-27 (Saturday & Sunday from 12-5:30p + an optional Saturday Social for unfacilitated questions, networking and fun!)
Location: Midtown, NYC
Facilitators: Liz Morgan & Marcela Artunduaga
During Part 2, participants will take their stories of oppression, build Forum Theatre scenes, and apply rehearsal exercises to refine them. Participants will also begin to practice jokering games and Forum Theatre.
The primary resource for this training will be The Wildcard Workbook. Readings will be assigned in-between sessions and we will explore chapters together on our feet as well.
This training is a collaborative process with other members of the workshop, we prefer participants attend for the full training time. We will save a limited number of spots for folks who can only join us for Part 1.
For any questions about this training, please contact Liz Morgan at [email protected]. To receive updates about future trainings, sign up for our mailing list.
Rates for the full training are on a sliding scale between $300-$700. You can apply to pay based on your financial means, the value you wish to receive, or your desire to support.Note: The standard rate for the full training is $525. This includes a suggested donation of $25 for the Wildcard Workbook download. Payment above the standard is a supportive rate that allows us to make this training accessible to those who cannot contribute the standard rate at this time. TONYC will not be evaluating your needs to determine your pay rate. We are asking each individual to make an honest self-assessment of their own needs as well as economic/institutional privilege to select their own fee with integrity and mindfulness. Those who are only available for Part 1 of the training are expected to pay a flat fee of $300.
If accepted into the training, a non-refundable $50 deposit will be required to reserve your spot by March 7th. The balance of your workshop fee is due by March 28th. Advance payment of workshop fees supports TONYC in opening spots to people on the waiting list. If your access to funds means you need a payment plan or adjusted payment schedule, please contact Liz at [email protected]
Training fees paid to TONYC are non-refundable during the 7 days before the training, and may not be credited to a future training. Exceptions will only be considered at TONYC's discretion.
If a group or organization is planning to apply for a group of participants, please submit individual applications, and include your affiliation in the “About Me” section. You are welcome to email Liz at [email protected] with questions about applications and payment
TONYC reserves the right to adjust the programming above due to low enrollment or other extenuating circumstances. Participants may request a full refund in the event of a canceled or rescheduled workshop.
Devise Dissent, May 10, 2025
11am - 12:30pm: Answering the Call
Originally presented at the Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, we designed this hands-on workshop for those who want concrete, creative strategies to interrupt systems of oppression. Led by two seasoned Jokers, participants will explore how to bring Forum Theatre directly into movement spaces—rallies, teach-ins, hearings, school walkouts, and more.
We will offer practical tools for assessing real-time opportunities for performance, selecting games and scenes that activate spect-actors, and adapting Theatre of the Oppressed techniques for unpredictable, high-energy environments. Participants will practice designing and facilitating rapid interventions that transform collective frustration into collective action. Facilitated by: Liz Morgan & Sulu LeoNimm
Ticket Rates: $20/$40/$80/$100
1:30 - 3pm: The News is Not Neutral
If the news cycle leaves you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck in a loop of doomscrolling, you’re not alone. This workshop invites you to interrupt that cycle and collaborate to reclaim the narrative! We will draw from Augusto Boal’s Newspaper Theatre to explore how to take billionaire-controlled articles and headlines, and build provocative performance—infused with your lived experience and political imagination.
Led by TONYC’s Joker team, The News Is Not Neutral is a 90-minute, hands-on session where participants will gamify and remix real-world texts to turn media critique into creative resistance. Join us to shift from consuming the news to challenging it—and making space for stories that move people toward action. Facilitated by: Julián Pimiento and Ania Upstill
Ticket Rates: $20/$40/$80/$100
4pm - 6pm: Collaborators and Co-conspirators
Using Theatre of the Oppressed games and Aesthetics of the Oppressed techniques, form quick collaborations with other activists and artists!
This art party will provide an opportunity to build up your community and plan concrete next steps in your own actions toward revolution. As part of this event, you’ll have opportunities to create and share short-form collage, drawing, music/poetry, or performances responding to your own most pressing needs. Then, you’ll get to jump into art generating sessions with other attendees! Whether you're looking for new co-conspirators, seeking an entry point to change-making, or simply craving a deep dose of inspiration, this event will give you the opportunity to connect and collaborate.
Ticket Rates: $15/$25/$35/$45