Book a Workshop. Spark a Movement.

Every Theatre of the Oppressed NYC workshop is a step toward dismantling oppression and building solidarity.

In the first one to two hours with your group, our facilitators lead you through a series of bold, participatory exercises—games, dialogue, and improvised role-play—that confront the status quo and illuminate possibilities for collective action. These foundational sessions are designed to ignite connection, provoke reflection, and equip your community to imagine and enact change.

Looking for something longer or more tailored? Explore the options below for extended and customized training. Whether you’re here to teach, organize, create, heal, or lead, our workshops meet your group where you are — and push you further. Our NYC-based facilitator team can facilitate virtually or travel to facilitate in person.

Our Workshops are for:

Team Building & Community Healing 

Sparking meaningful conversations and trust 

Boosting Your Community Organizing

Bring joy and creativity to your movement to keep it irresistible and sustainable

Supplementing Your DEI Work

Help participants embody anti-oppression principles beyond theory

 

 

Educators & Trainers 

Facilitate critical classrooms

Activists & Organizers Energize campaigns & movements

Artists & Performers 

Create art as resistance

Students & Youth Leaders 

Build leadership & awareness

Teams & Organizations

Heal & strengthen your workplace

 

Catalyst Session 

(1-2 hours)

 

 Experience T.O. basics and bring new tools to your teaching. Embody strategies to challenge the status quo. Infuse your craft with participatory justice work. Practice leadership through theatre & dialogue. Open conversations about equity, power, and connection.

Teachback & Facilitator Trainings 

(3+hours)

 Practice leading the very techniques you’ve experienced, while learning TONYC’s framework for evaluating your own facilitation and supporting others in theirs. Equip your base to sustain the work through ethical facilitation. Master the skills to direct and devise activist theatre Develop advanced peer leadership through facilitation. Build in-house capacity to guide change with confidence.

Scene Creation & Performance

(4-10 hours)

 Experience the full scene creation process yourself, building empathy for what your students will encounter when you guide them through it later. Rehearse & stage tactics that engage your campaign’s targets. Create & perform plays that provoke audiences to action. Ignite change and problem-solving in your student body by highlighting and practicing interventions—against bullying, harassment, or other community harms. Stage a role-play scenario that reveals workplace dynamics & invites change.

Legislative Theatre

(minimum 3 hours)

 

 Enrich your civics and political education curriculum with theatre techniques that help students see themselves as active participants in shaping policy. Turn your campaign’s demands into concrete policy proposals. Learn tools to make your art-making undeniably part of concrete activism—shaping laws and policies, not just stories. Advocate for youth-centered policy through interactive theatre. Propose internal policy solutions with your team & leadership.

 

Know What You Want?

Let's set up Logistics

Planning Your Own Project?

We're here to help.

For General Inquiries
Complete our intake form & Liz will follow up with you. Book a Consultation Call Book a 30min Discovery Call

In-Person Workshop Intake Form

Online Workshop Intake Form

 

Hourly. Sliding scale rate: $80-$250/hour.

  • Single appointments can be booked in 1-2 hour blocks via Google appointments, and will take place on Google Meet (Zoom available if preferred). 
  • Consulting time can cover: Theatre of the Oppressed topics, including facilitation and program design, or non-profit administration topics, including operations, TONYC’s practices, and implementation of democratic workplace management. 
  • To ask about special adjustments, such as making the booking an in-person meeting, scheduling outside the available time slots, or requesting non-meeting time for review of materials, please email Sulu at [email protected] at least a week in advance of the date.

We’ve worked with everyone from lawyers to corporate teams to grassroots collectives. Book a discovery call with us and we’ll help you design a workshop that meets your group’s unique needs.

30-min inquiry with Sulu LeoNimm

 

Our previous workshop clients include...

  • Arizona State University
  • Bard College
  • Broadway Advocacy Coalition
  • Brooklyn Friends School
  • Brooklyn Movement Center
  • Choate
  • Columbia University
  • Elmezzi
  • Ford Foundation
  • Franklin & Marshall College
  • Good Shepherd Services
  • Juilliard
  • MCC Theater
  • Montefiore
  • The New School
  • New York Presbyterian
  • New York Public Library
  • NJPAC
  • NYC Parks Department
  • NYU
  • Philanthropy NY
  • Pipeline Theatre Company
  • Princeton
  • Sadie Nash
  • Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
  • Stanford University
  • Universal Basic Income
  • Yale School of Drama
  • ... and many more!

TONYC Workshop clients range from schools and universities to organizations looking to re-examine privilege beyond a typical DEI training to artist collectives looking for new tools. We are always excited to partner with community organizers and meet new creative advocacy collaborators.

Testimonials

"TONYC are masters of their craft"

TONYC knows that building the fighting spirit & honing in the consciousness and confidence of the masses is essential toward any sustained struggle. I love any chance to learn & co-conspire with them & utilize theater as revolutionary praxis!

– Theater Workers for a Ceasefire

TONYC are masters of their craft! Engaging and poignant, the facilitators bring you into the realm of activist theatre with grace, making space for all the possibilities that come from devising works for Social Justice.

- workshop participant

 

"I was amazed by the outcomes"

All of the games were very fascinating… a little scary, but also fascinating. I was amazed by the outcomes of the forum exercise — very unexpected, so much complexity. 

- Arizona State University participant

"Really helpful if you are grappling with really big ideas…"

This process is really helpful if you are grappling with really big ideas and concepts and the emotions connected to them. For me, this workshop helped me reset and understand myself and collective power in a way that wasn't accessible with words for me.   

- "Devise Dissent" Participant

"Addressing oppression at work"

[I learned] the practice of addressing oppression at work and interpersonally — oppressing and silencing tactics to look out for, ways to advocate for the oppressed without doing more harm.

- Pipeline Theatre Company participant

 

FAQ

How much does a TONYC workshop cost?

We offer a sliding scale based on your organization’s size, available resources, and travel needs. Our standard 2-hour Catalyst Session is $515–$900. Longer and customized workshops are available at adjusted rates depending on scope, capacity, and travel needs. We’ll discuss rates during our planning call and work with you to find an option that fits.

What languages are TONYC workshops taught in? 

We offer workshops in Spanish and English.

What’s the difference between a Discovery call and a Consultation call?

A discovery call is best if you aren’t quite sure what you need but want to know more.  We’ll informally chat about your interest in Theatre of the Oppressed and talk about some potential next steps you might take with us (e.g. training) or other resources we know about with other organizations. A consultation is more appropriate if you’re ready for specific advice or strategy on your project, partnership, or general work in cultural organizing or non-profit.

What should I expect from my Consultation Call with Sulu?

Single appointments can be booked in 1-2 hour blocks via Google appointments, and will take place on Google Meet (Zoom available if preferred). 

Consulting time can cover: Theatre of the Oppressed topics, including facilitation and program design, or non-profit administration topics, including operations, TONYC’s practices, and implementation of democratic workplace management. 

To ask about special adjustments, such as making the booking an in-person meeting, scheduling outside the available time slots, or requesting non-meeting time for review of materials, please email Sulu at [email protected] at least a week in advance of the date.

How long is a typical workshop?

We recommend a 2-hour Catalyst Session as a powerful starting point. For deeper engagement, we suggest 4 hours for extended workshops like the Teachback or Legislative Theatre. Longer 10–20 hour residencies can be scheduled as an intensive weekend or spread out over 2–3 months. We’ll work with you to design the right length during our planning call.

What ages is this work appropriate for?

Our workshops are best suited for participants 15 and up. The methodology is rooted in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which asks participants to bring lived experience of oppression and the language to discuss it. Younger groups may struggle to move beyond surface-level topics like bullying or what they’ve read. If you’re working with a younger group, we’re happy to discuss options — for example, Newspaper Theatre can be a better fit for middle school.

Is an online workshop worth it?

Absolutely. While out-of-town workshops incur additional travel fees, our online workshops are a cost-effective alternative. We’re proud of how well we’ve adapted our work to virtual formats.

What if we don’t have a space for an in-person workshop?

You can rent TONYC’s office space for your workshop! Email [email protected] for details.

Is TONYC a NYC DOE vendor?

Yes, we are an approved vendor.

I want training, but don’t have a group — what can I do?

No problem! Here are some ways to get started:


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