Image theater and daily life

This workshop aims to introduce a group of youth from different schools to theatre of the oppressed, a form of applied theatre established by Augusto Boal in the 90s and influenced by the work of educator and theorist Paulo Freire. The workshop will not delve into the complete application of the form, it will rather introduce image theatre as one of the more widely used tools of theater of the oppressed for social change.

While image theater starts with a frozen image, it quickly moves toward interventions by participants, acting in character, to collaboratively and spontaneously name their oppression and its source, and then explore courses of action. The initial image that portrays the incident or state of oppression moves into a transitional image and eventually develops into the ideal image.

The image can then serve as a starting point for critical group reflection in order to both understand the situation better and to try out possible “solutions.” through the process of creating and working with the image, participants can analyze the situation, dissecting each character’s personality, motivation and range of possible actions when facing systemic and social oppression. It opens a space for students to share and identify with the stories utilizing an alternative mode of expression and language.

This two-session workshop is conducted by Lynn Hodeib in collaboration with Beirut Art Center.

Check session one here.