Please forward or repost: The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB) 451 West Street New York, New York 10014 (212) 924-1858 toplab@toplab. org http://www.toplab. org The Brecht Forum The Center for the Theatre of the Oppressed at The Riverside Church The Education Ministry of The Riverside Church The Social Justice Ministry of The Riverside Church and The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB) present A Public Performance/ Demonstration of Rainbow of Desire, a Theater of the Oppressed technique facilitated by Augusto Boal Tuesday, May 13, 2008 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Assembly Hall of the Riverside Church 91 Claremont Avenue * New York City * travel directions below ============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ====== TOPLAB is pleased to announce that Augusto Boal has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize! ============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ====== Come see a performance/ demonstration of the Rainbow of Desire, one of the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. The Theater of the Oppressed, established in the early 1970s by Brazilian director and Workers' Party (PT) activist Augusto Boal, is a form of popular theater, of, by, and for people engaged in the struggle for liberation. More specifically, it is a rehearsal theater designed for people who want to learn ways of fighting back against oppression in their daily lives. In the Theater 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 and from exercising their basic human rights. Accordingly, the Theater of the Oppressed is a participatory theater and form of popular education that fosters democratic and cooperative forms of interaction among participants. Theater is emphasized not as a spectacle but rather as a language designed to: 1) analyze and discuss problems of oppression and power; and 2) explore group solutions to these problems. This language is accessible to all. Rainbow of Desire is one of the techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed and is similar to a related technique called Cop-in-the-Head. Where Cop uses games and exercises to recognize and confront internalized forms of oppression, Rainbow of Desire deals with conflicting needs, desires and wants within individuals and explores power relations and collective solutions to concrete problems. This is a method and set of techniques that is especially useful for teachers and educators who work with disadvantaged populations, social workers, psychologists and mental health professionals, and community activists and organizers who are involved with marginalized constituencies and constituencies which have traditionally been the victims of bias and discrimination. Augusto Boal will demonstrate these techniques, assisted by both members of the audience (participation is optional but encouraged!) and by members of a three-day workshop in Rainbow of Desire and Forum Theater techniques being held at the Brecht Forum. Augusto Boal is a political activist and major innovator of post-Brechtian theater. He served as Artistic Director of the Arena Theater in Sao Paulo from 1956 to 1971. In the 1970s, he came under attack by the Brazilian government, resulting in his imprisonment, torture and subsequent exile. Boal has lectured, conducted workshops, and mounted productions throughout North and South America, Europe, India and Africa, and has written a number of books, including Theater of the Oppressed; Games for Actors and Non Actors; and The Rainbow of Desire. An activist in the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT), he presently resides in Rio de Janeiro. In 1992, he was elected to the City Council of Rio, a post he held for four years. Once installed in office, he adapted his theater techniques for use in city politics, with some hilarious--and sometimes rancorous--results. Members of the Center for the Theater of the Oppressed became Boal's City Council staff, and created seventeen companies of players practicing "Legislative Theater" throughout the city. Currently, Boal continues to work with the Center for the Theater of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro and is researching and formulating a theory of the aesthetics of the oppressed. If you've been wondering what this work is all about now is the time to find out! Admission: $10 Free for Brecht Forum subscribers and members of The Riverside Church ============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ==== "We must emphasize: What Brecht does not want is that the spectators continue to leave their brains with their hats upon entering the theater, as do bourgeois spectators." --Augusto Boal ============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ==== Travel directions Subway: IRT Broadway/Seventh Avenue #1 local to 116 Street (Columbia University). Walk north along Broadway (passing Barnard College on the left) to 120 Street (also called Reinhold Niebuhr Place). Turn left and walk one block to Claremont Avenue. The church entrance at 91 Claremont is one half block north of 120 Street on the west side of the avenue. Bus: #4, #5 or #104 to Broadway and 120 Street. First, I cannot be free while my neighbor is wearing chains. Second, I cannot know happiness while others are forced to live in despair. Third, I cannot know health if plague and famine thrive outside my door. And last, but not least, I cannot expect to know peace if war rides forward under my flag and with my consent. -- What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace - Walter Mosley www.ncadp.org www.wbai.org www.hiphopmusic.com www.afropoets.net Stars twinkle even as the sun monopolizes your vision... faybiene miranda --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.