Examples of Image Theater from Demonstration

Five image theater pieces were presented by the Boal Workshop interns at the demonstration on Saturday, June 28. For those of you who requested the text/scripts, click on the hyperlinks below. Remember, company auditions will be held on Tuesday at 7 pm in Studio A.

Arise! (War)

Tyra Banks Told Me So (Body Image)

Then They Came For Me (Intolerance/Indifference)

Where Is The Honor - Fatima (Status of Women)

No War in My Name (War)

Free Hugs Video - Invisible Theater

An example of invisible theater by the CMU pre-college Boal Workshop interns. The "Free Hugs" campaign was started by Juan Mann.

Improv Everywhere - Invisible Theater Video

Recommended by Jill Wadsworth:
You MUST check out this website from the improv troupe Improv Everywhere! Here is an example of one of their pieces called FROZEN GRAND CENTRAL.

Boal Workshop Demonstration - Sunday, June 29 @ 3:30 pm

CMU Pre-College drama students are invited to a demonstration of an exciting theater workshop!
Sunday, June 29 at 3:30 pm - Rauh Theatre

This workshop uses the techniques of AUGUSTO BOAL, a Brazilian theatre director, writer, politician, social activist and theorist who has theatre centers in Rio de Janiero and Paris. His most well-know book "Theatre of the Oppressed," has been translated into 25 languages. Boal's world-famous methods transform theatre into a democratic arena where the spectator becomes the "spect-actor," contributing ideas, taking over roles, and using theatre to confront problems such as sexual harassment, racism, poor pay, homophobia, and all forms of exploitation or oppression. His belief that theatre enables us to create rather than wait for the future has inspired people all over the world to use his techniques in a multitude of settings. The company will create their own dramas, monologues, improvisations, songs and movement pieces to:

Strenghten flexibility in imagination, concentration, physical freedom, and ensemble collaboration


Present the work they have created to the students and faculty at CMU Pre-College

The company will be limited to 35 participants who will be selected during an audition on Tuesday, July 1 at 7pm in the Studio A (see the post below for information about the audition)

Boal Workshop Auditions - Tuesday, July 1

CMU pre-college drama students who are interested in joining the company should attend the workshop demonstration on Sunday, June 29 (3:30 pm in Studio A).

The audition will be held on Tuesday, July 1 (7:00 pm in Studio A)
35 students will be selected to participate in the company

The audition will consist of:

• Warm-Up - looking for energy, passion, commitment, focus, desire to learn and give of self to others
• Prepared Image Theatre Piece - you will create and perform a short, simple and clear piece (5 mins. or less) using music, song, movement. Cast other kids and rehearse before the audition. For subjects you might want to address, see the post below.

We are not looking for perfection. Members of the company will be selected based on their having a passion and enthusiasm to learn and express themselves.

Issues You Might Address

For the audition and throughout the workshop, you might want to address any of the following global/wordwide or local/community/school issues:

GLOBAL/WORLDWIDE

• Prejudice/Bigotry
• Status of Women
• Justice/Judicial System
• Death
• Hunger and Starvation
• Unemployment
• Political Tyranny
• Land Mines
• Slavery
• Genocide
• Unjust Imprisonment
• Infant Mortality
• Medical Care/Health Care
• HIV Aids
• Sex Slavery
• Pure Water
• Living Conditions
• War
• Nuclear Threat
• Religious Freedom
• Police Brutality
• Speaking Your Mind for What is Right
• Torture - Abu Ghraib

LOCAL/COMMUNITY/SCHOOL

• Prejudice/Bigotry
• Sexual Harassment
• Peer Pressure
• Bullying/Gossip
• Sensitivity to Others
• Social Status - Monetary
• Addictions - Drug/Alcohol
• Eating Disorders
• Suicide
• Abuse From Authority Figures
• Labeling
• Class Separation
• Gun Violence/Gun Control
• Conformity
• Domestic Violence
• Divorce
• Sexual Orientation
• War
• Physical and Sexual Abuse/Date Rape
• Molestation/Incest
• Wearing Masks to Hide

Recommended YouTube Videos

Jill Wadsworth recommends that you watch J.K. Rowlings' Harvard commencement speech (below in two parts). More recommended videos can be viewed in the "favorites" section at www.youtube.com/BoalWorkshop2008.

Recommended Reading - Augusto Boal Books

If you purchase any of the following Augusto Boal books from Amazon.com, a percentage of the sales will be donated to a charity of the company's choosing. A small and easy way to help create change!

Boal Workshop Schedule

Sun. June 29 - 3:30 pm - Boal Demonstration (Rauh Theater)
Tues. July 1 - 7:00 pm - Company Auditions (Studio A)

Classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 to 10:00 pm in Studio A

Thurs. July 3 - Finish auditions (first hour) - speakers from Rwanda & Sierra Leone
Tues. July 8 - Speakers from Invisible Children & Lost Boys of Sudan
Thurs. July 10
Tues. July 15
Thurs. July 17
Tues. July 22
Thurs. July 24

PARENTS' WEEKEND DEMONSTRATION

Sat. July 19
10:00 am -- Entire company meets in the RAUH
10:15 am -- Begin 40 min. warmup (parents and guests are invited to watch)
11:50 am -- Entire company goes to the CHOSKY for demonstration

Anyone who would like to rehearse their images beforehand can meet at the Rauh at 9:30 am.

FINALE PERFORMANCE

Sun. July 27
12 noon to 3 pm -- Rehearsal. Ensemble pieces first. All others to be scheduled.

Mon. July 28
7:00 pm -- Dress Tech for finale in the RAUH

Tues. July 29
7:00 pm -- Run through the images/finale (1 hour)
8:00 pm -- Finale Performance

Three Boal Techniques

INVISIBLE THEATRE is a technique of rehearsing a scene with actions that the protagonist would like to try out in real life. This is done in a place where these events could really happen and in front of an audience who, unaware that they are an audience, accordingly act as if the improvised scene was real. Thus, the improvised scene becomes reality. Fiction penetrates reality. What the protagonist had rehearsed as a plan, a blueprint, now becomes an act.

IMAGE THEATRE consists of creating short scenes, no longer than a minute or two, with a strong image that the entire audience can easily understand, identify, and apply to their own lives. Images can be realistic, allegorical, surrealistic, symbolic or metaphorical. The only thing that matters is that it is true; that it is felt as true by the protagonist. Images tell the story in a condensed, outline form using pictures with very little or no talking. The audience is pulled in immediately because they know exactly what is being said. Movement, music, and ensemble are used to heighten the impact.

FORUM THEATRE is a type of theatrical game where a problem is shown in an unresolved form. The audience is invited to suggest and enact solutions. The scenario is then repeated, allowing the audience to offer alternative solutions. The game is a contest between the audience and actors trying to bring the play (or oppression) to a different end. The result is a pooling of knowledge, tactics and experiences. As the audience participates in enacting solutions to break the cycle of oppression they are also “rehearsing for life.”

The video below gives an example of Forum Theatre


From the Inside Out -- Interactive Theater of the Oppressed
46 min - Jun 8, 2007

Theater for All, offers highly participatory workshops and interactive theater performance exploring issues of mental Health. Plays are performed by and for people dealing with mental health issues, family, friends, supporting professionals and the public. The following performances from June 2007 (at Portland State), are on law enforcement. This is an example of a technique, created by Augusto Boal called Forum Theatre.


activist from Brazil.

JILL WADSWORTH
CMU Pre-College Boal Workshop Director

Jill is an actor, director and award-winning instructor known for her ability to tap the artistic genius in young performers. Patience and sensitivity are hallmarks of her expertise in training young actors in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Point Park Community Classes, CLO Academy and Pittsburgh Youth Ballet. She also has taught at Carnegie-Mellon University, Point Park University and Carnegie-Mellon Pre-College. Jill has created and directed numerous programs encouraging excellence in education through the arts. She has directed more than 30 productions in popular local venues, many to critical acclaim, and performed numerous roles on stage and in feature films.

Over the past five years Jill has directed the Boal Workshop at CMU Pre-College. Her passion has inspired students to use their talent to bring change to a world that can be brutal, uncaring, and self-centered. A few of her credits in this area include: the founding of Parents Anonymous of Pittsburgh, State Coordinator of Parents Anonymous of Pennsylvania, the founding of “New Horizons” – an acting class for physically and mentally handicapped adults -- equipping autistic teens to build communication skills through the use of theatre techniques, and touching the lives of homeless children through acting classes in shelters.

AWARDS/BOARDS

Dr. Martin Luther King’s Citizen Award - Founding Parents Anonymous Pittsburgh
American Medical Association Award - Work in the field of Child Abuse
Board of Directors: Rwindalectric Inc. (Bringing wind turbine electric to Rwanda)