REBOOT THE ROOTS PRESENTS:

forum theatre training manual

contents

OVERVIEW

What Is Theatre Of The Oppressed?

What Is Forum Theatre?

THE STRUCTURE

Preparing The Forum

Designing A Forum

Rehearsing A Forum

The Performance

Forum

Evaluation

THE JOKER

Who Is The Joker?

Examples of Questions

APPENDICES

A: Examples of Games

B: Examples of Forum Theatre

Overview

what is theatre of the oppressed?

Declaration of principles of the Theatre of the Oppressed.

1. The basic aim of the Theatre of the Oppressed is to humanize Humanity.

2. The Theatre of the Oppressed is a system of Exercises, Games and Techniques based on theEssential Theatre , to help men and women to develop what they already have inside themselves:theatre.

Essential Theatre

3. Every human being is theatre!

4. Theatre is defined as the simultaneous existence — in the same space and context — of actorsand spectators.Every human being is capable of seeing the situation and seeing him/herself in thesituation.

5. Essential theatre consists of three elements: Subjective Theatre, Objective Theatre and theTheatrical Language

6. Every human being is capable of acting: to survive, we necessarily have to produce actions andobserve those actions and their effects on the environment. To be Human is to be Theatre: the co-existence of actor and spectator in the same individual. This is the Subjective Theatre.

7. When human beings limit themselves to observing an object, a person or a space, renouncingmomentarily to their capacity and necessity of acting, the energy and their desire to act istransferred to that space, person or object, creating a space inside a space: an Aesthetic Space. Thisis the Objective Theatre.

8. All human beings use, in their daily lives, the same language that actors use on the stage: theirvoices, their bodies, their movements and their expressions; they translate their emotions anddesires into the Theatrical Language.

Theatre of the Oppressed

9. The Theatre of the Oppressed offers everyone the aesthetic means to analyze their past, in thecontext of their present, and subsequently to invent their future, without waiting for it. The Theatreof the Oppressed helps human beings to recover a language they already possess — we learn how tolive in society by playing theatre. We learn how to feel by feeling; how to think by thinking; how toact by acting. Theatre of the Oppressed is rehearsal for reality.

10. The oppressed are those individuals or groups who are socially, culturally, politically,economically, racially, sexually, or in any other way deprived of their right to Dialogue or in anyway impaired to exercise this right.

11. Dialogue is defined as to freely exchange with others, as a person and as a group, to participatein human society as equal, to respect differences and to be respected.

12. The Theatre of the Oppressed is based upon the principle that all human relationships should beof a dialogic nature: among men and women, races, families, groups and nations, dialogue shouldprevail. In reality, all dialogues have the tendency to become monologues, which creates therelationship oppressors – oppressed. Acknowledging this reality, the main principle of Theatre ofthe Oppressed is to help restore dialogue among human beings.

Principles and Objectives

13. The Theatre of the Oppressed is a worldwide non-violent aesthetic movement which seekspeace, not passivity.

14. The Theatre of the Oppressed tries to activate people in a humanistic endeavor expressed by itsvery name: theatre of, by, and for the oppressed. A system that enables people to act in the fiction oftheatre to become protagonists, i.e. acting subjects, of their own lives.

15. The Theatre of the Oppressed is neither an ideology nor a political party, neither dogmatic norcoercive and is respectful of all cultures. It is a method of analysis and a means to develop happiersocieties. Because of its humanistic and democratic nature, it is widely used all over the world, inall fields of social activities such as: education, culture, arts, politics, social work, psychotherapy,literacy programs and health. In the annex to this Declaration of Principles, a number of exemplaryprojects are listed to illustrate the nature and the scope of its use.

16. Theatre of the Oppressedis now being used in approx. half the nations around the world, listedin the annex, as a tool for the making of discoveries about oneself and about the Other, of clarifyingand expressing our desires; a tool for the changing of circumstances which produce unhappinessand pain and for the enhancement of what brings peace; for respecting differences betweenindividuals and groups and for the inclusion of all human beings in Dialogue; and finally a tool forthe achievement of economical and social justice, which is the foundation of true democracy.Summarizing, the general objective of the Theatre of the Oppressed is the development of essentialHuman Rights.

what is forum theatre?

Forum theatre is one tool of the Theatre of the Oppressed for enabling people to change theirworld.

The objective of forum theatre is to transform passive spectators into active spect-actors through thepresentation of a piece of theatre where a protagonist experiences an oppression – a situation wherethey fail to achieve what they want, or are prevented from doing so by the antagonists.

Firstly, actors present an anti-model: a short play where the protagonist tries and fails to solve theirproblem or break their oppression.

Next, the Joker explains that the model will be replayed, but this time whenever the audience sees amoment the protagonist can act differently, they can shout out 'stop!'

Once the audience member shouts stop, they are invited onstage to replace the protagonist andimprovise their solution to the problem – becoming spect-actors. Meanwhile, the antagonists willattempt to test the strategy by continuing to try to prevent the protagonist from getting what theywant. The solutions must be real – and at any point spec-actors can be accused of using 'magic!'

The Joker then asks the audience what they think of the solution, and if there is any other potentialsolution. The game continues until the oppression is broken!

“When does a session of The Theatre of the Oppressed end? Never — sincethe objective is not to close a cycle, to generate a catharsis, or to end a

development. On the contrary, its objective is to encourage autonomousactivity, to set a process in motion, to stimulate transformative creativity,to change spectators into protagonists. And it is precisely for these reasons

that the Theatre of the Oppressed should be the initiator of changes theculmination of which is not the aesthetic phenomenon but real life.” 

­ Augusto Boal

THE STRUCTURE

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see a dance piece where the dancers danced in thefirst act and in the second showed the audience how to dance? Wouldn’t it bewonderful to see a musical where in the first act the actors sang and in the

second we all sang together?...This is...how artists should be—we should becreators and also teach the public how to be creators, how to make art, so

that we may all use that art together.” ­ Augusto Boal

PREPARING THE FORUM

The above diagram demonstrates the multitude of sources of information for preparing your forumtheatre!

When preparing to use forum theatre as a tool for generating dialogue and action withincommunities, there are several key questions your group should be asking itself.

What is the oppression/problem/issue that we wish to dialogue and find solutions for?

Who will be involved in the performance? Staff members? Community members?

How can we represent the problem theatrically?

Is the issue relevant to the target audience?

Are there broader social issues connected to the topic we wish to discuss?

What strategies do we need to implement in terms of aftercare and documentation?

DESIGNING THE FORUM

IMAGE THEATREFORUM THEATRE WORKS BEST WHEN IT IS BASED ON A REAL OPPRESSION.

Once you have decided the issue or oppression you wish to discuss, you need to develop it into apiece of theatre. A powerful technique to do this is through the use of IMAGE THEATRE.

First, the group creates a frozen image of the MOMENT OF OPPRESSION. This should showvisually the problem faced by the protagonist, the oppressions of the antagonist, and the powerrelationships between them. This image can then have sound and movement added to give moreinformation.

Next, the group creates an image of the moment JUST BEFORE the oppression. This should givemore information on characters, their desires, and their motivations building up to the oppression.

Finally, the opening image. Here we should see how the story begins, and how the relationshipshave changed in the proceeding scenes.

It is important that each character is DIFFERENT from the others, that they are REAL, and thatthe protagonist TRIES AND FAILS to solve their problem.

These images form the skeleton of your play: the BEGINNING, MIDDLE and END.

Now, you develop them into DYNAMISED IMAGES through IMPROVISATION.

Four very simple demonstrations of embryos of Forum Theatre pieces, based on projectedimages:These are short scenes which mostly contain all the essential elements of any Forum Theatre piece,in a very boiled-down and simplified form. They are especially useful for teaching the mechanics ofthe game quickly to a new group.

The handshakeA young woman is happily moving towards a man who is offering her his hand to shake. When shegets to him, he turns his back on her. In this five-second scene there are the following elements ofForum Theatre: a protagonist (the girl – she has a wish, a will, and tries to exercise it); anantagonist, the man; a counter-preparation – she goes happily towards him believing she is going tofulfil her immediate desire to shake hands; what can she do now) – at this moment there is bothdanger and opportunity. And finally the defeat – she loses, offering the spect-actors everyopportunity to replace her and show their solutions.

Four people walking, the fifth person dancingFour people are walking in step, almost in a military manner; a fifth person prefers to waltz. Thefour people throw her to the ground. She stands up again, repentant, and joins in with the others.Now five people are marching. What does this say to you? Project whatever you want on to thisdynamic image and try to avoid joining in with the four. What would you do in the protagonist’splace? Fifteen, twenty answers may emerge, maybe even more. And that is precisely the objectiveof Theatre of the Oppressed: to show that there are always ways of breaking oppressions, in allsituations.

Bigger and bigger obstaclesThree obstacles: a chair lying on the floor, a chair standing upright, three chairs on top of eachother. Three actors at the far end, watching. The protagonist looks at the first obstacle. A man helpshim to surmount it. The protagonist looks at the second obstacle. The man comes and helps himsurmount it. The protagonist looks at the third obstacle; the man comes and urges him to sort thisone out on his own. The protagonist is disappointed – he could have got over the first two obstacles(for which he had assistance), but not the third, for which he has no assistance. What would you doin his place?

It’s too lateThree tables: one close to the protagonist, one halfway across the room, the other far away. Theprotagonist runs quickly over to the far table. A person seated behind the table stands up, saying:‘It’s too late.’ The protagonist goes back to the start, a little saddened, and starts out again, less fastthis time, in the direction of the middle table, the seated occupant of which stands and says: ‘It’s toolate.’ Completely demoralised, the protagonist goes back to the start and, this time walking ratherthan running, she slowly goes over to the most accessible table, the nearest one. However, when shefinally gets there, the person there draws himself up and says the same thing: ‘It’s too late.’ Whatwould you do in her place? In this technique it is particularly important not to ‘explain’ what theimage ‘means’. It means exactly what it says to each individual and each individual will project onto it what she feels and, in participating, will break her own oppression. The image is no more thanan empty structure which one fills according to one’s own personal life and experiences.

rehearsing theforum

During rehearsals for your performance, you are checkingyour design and also examining the following elements.The objective is to persuade the audience to take action.In order to do this, they must recognise and identify withthe world you are creating for them. This is done throughthe techniques of theatre.

Image

Theatre is primarily VISUAL. We understand relationships visually, as well as characters andpersonalities. Examine the images you are creating. Do they represent the relationships, thecharacters, even the oppression you are discussing in enough detail? Even the smallest change –who is looking at who, a finger or a fist – can radically alter the story!

Movement & Gesture

We can create different characters and locations just through the movements we make with ourbodies. Policemen walk differently from criminals, old people sit differently from young people!The images will develop naturally into a certain way of moving, but it is important to follow thatdevelopment and keep it real, not just a symbol. Think about how hard it is to chop down a tree, orthe detail of how we brush our teeth! The more accurate the gesture, the more delighted theaudience! Use your bodies to express your characters!

Sound

Sound effects also bring locations and actions to life, as do the inclusion of songs, monologues,poems, passionate arguments, jokes, tears. We can create a jungle with just our voices, we cancreate a riot just through sound. Be sure to pay attention to this powerful technique.

Character

Who is your character? What is their desire? What are their dreams? Are they having a good or abad day? What is their relationship to the other characters in terms of power and status? How dothey walk, stand, move, talk? What image or noise would represent them?

Emotion

All these elements combine to create emotion, both within the characters and the audience, in orderto make them care enough about the problem you have designed and the characters involved in it.The emotions of the characters should change and develop, just as we do in real life!

The performanceINTRODUCTION:

The Joker needs to explain what will happen. This canbe as simple as them saying:

“Today, you will see a piece of theatre about aproblem. Watch this character carefully. What wouldyou do in their position? Do they make good choices?What would you do differently?

Or, for larger audiences, it may involve the entire castperforming an ensemble piece o movement, song ordance that will capture the audiences attention:

An example of an ensemble introduction could be:

JOKER: Good morning!CAST: GOOD MORNING!JOKER:Today for you we have a piece of theatre!CAST: THEATRE!JOKER: You will see joy and happiness!CAST: JOY AND HAPPINESS!JOKER: You will see terror and oppression!CAST: TERROR! OPPRESSION!JOKER: Watch this character carefully. After we have played, you will play!CAST: PLAY WITH US!JOKER: When the time comes, will you help us?CAST: HELP US!

The objective is to ENERGISE and ENGAGE the audience, for them to understand the game,and ideally for them to agree to help change the outcome when the time comes.

THE PERFORMANCE:

During the performance, both the joker and the actors should study the audience's responses:

- Are they paying attention?- Are they responding emotionally? Laughter? Tears? Discussion? Boredom?- Can they understand the world you are creating and the characters within it?- Are they relating to the problem being presented in the anti-model?

THE FORUM

NOW THE DIALOGUE BEGINS!

Once the anti-model has been played, the Joker returns to the stage and begins the discussion withthe audience. Examples of possible questions are presented in the appendix of this manual. Theimportant thing is for the Joker to promote ACTION over TALK. It is very easy to sit in theaudience and let them explain what to do – it is much more challenging to act out the solutionagainst the resistance of the antagonist!

The Joker warms up the audience and re-explains the rules of the game. At any point they can shout'stop!' and change what is happening onstage. There are different versions of forum that allow fordifferent replacements, and the important thing is to have a LIVE ACTION DIALOGUE with theaudience. The Joker must moderate this discussion, and help the audience to become 'spect-actors'who rehearse their solutions for the audience to evaluate.

The antagonists must resist the solutions presented by the spect-actors and explore the potential forsuccess. This depends on the character being played, and the desires and experience of the actorplaying that character! It is important to allow the dialogue to develop, so long as the solution seemsrealistic and the audience seems engaged in what is being presented.

The EVALUATION

POST-FORUM

There are a number of ways to 'finish' the forum session:

- the Joker can summarise the solutions presented and thank the audience.- the Joker can ask the actors and spec-actors to make an image of the 'ideal' solution, or of a

' model of the future'- the actors can join the audience and continue the discussion with them in smaller groups, before returning to the stage to share them with the entire group. Possibly they would even model further solutions.

POST-INTERVENTION

After the forum, it is also vital for the actors and joker to evaluate the successes and challenges oftheir forum. Possible evaluation questions include but are not limited to:

- were the spec-actors motivated to enter the space to improvise solutions? Why? Why not?- what were the different solutions suggested by the spect-actors?- generally what was the audience's response? Why?- which parts of the performance did they respond to? Which characters? Which moments?- how successful was the joker? Did they successfully create a dialogue?- what were the discussions around? Did they discuss the issue you had selected?

Through this method you should begin to learn how to make more effective and engaging pieces offorum theatre.

THE joker

WHO IS THE JOKER?

“The joker has the most responsibility in coordinating the creators, because everyone has to beinvolved creating. As the joker you have the responsibility to coordinate all the creations and thecreators. But you also have to take care not to impose your own view. You are not superior toanybody. You have your opinion, you have your intelligence, you can have all the qualities youhave, but you never say I am like this or I have more knowledge of this; that is the basics of it. Whyis it called the joker? In Portuguese it is "coringa" , in Spanish "comodin", but in English,unfortunately, joker also relates us to joking. We say "jokering" and not joking, because it meansthe white card. A joker, a real joker, is a person who can help the people write a play, help peopledo the blocking of the play, help the people with the music, with the text, with everything. That is thewhite card, so the responsibility is to learn more and more and know more and more, so that youcan teach in many ways. That is a bigger responsibility. But you have to teach in a democratic way,to respect the other ones. “When the audience want to discuss what they think, the joker’s responsibility is a moralresponsibility above all. It is important not to use this privileged position to impose ideas, becauseit is a privileged position.” - Augusto Boal

The Joker is a wild card ... they can have many roles ...

... a facilitator ... there to make things easier for actors and spect-actors

... a difficultator ... there to make things more challenging for the spect-actors

... a mediator ... to control and coordinate the flow of conversation and debate

... a bridge ... between the actors and the audience

... a director ... they can stop and start the action at any time, change the story, rearrange the world,as long as it enables and encourages the dialogue and debate around the issue!

The style and temperament of the joker will vary from person to person, but several aspects mustremain the same:

- They must be NEUTRAL. They are their to encourage others to dialogue and involve in theproblem solving.

- They must ASK QUESTIONS. The use of questions is the key skill of the joker in engaging anaudience. Asking the wrong questions will confuse and alienate the audience. Asking the right oneswill excite and engage them!

- THEY ARE ALWAYS PRESENT. The joker should never disappear. Even sitting down on theside of th stage suggests they are no longer there! They should always have one eye on theaudience, and one on the show.

- THEY ARE THE MIRROR OF THE AUDIENCE. A nervous joker will make the audiencenervous. An enthusiastic joker will enthuse them. It takes time to learn this skill. Have no fear,persevere!

EXAMPLES of jokering questionsThere are two main types of questions the Joker can use to engage the audience and encourage theminto action. These are CLOSED QUESTIONS and OPEN QUESTIONS. The Joker chooseswhich to use on the basis of what his objective is. Closed questions have limited answers (yes or no,single word responses, a concrete answer) whereas open questions will allow for broaderdiscussion.

It is important the joker uses these questions skillfully to encourage people to ACT rather than toTALK. Getting the audience comfortable with talking to you is the first step in changing thepassive into the active. The objective is for the audience to become SPECT-ACTORS and changewhat is happening onstage.

PRE-PERFORMANCE...

An example of an introduction has already been discussed in the Performance section of thisbooklet. The major objective is getting a 'YES' from everybody to help when the time comes.

AFTER THE PERFORMANCE...

Is this a real situation? Does this happen?Is this a happy ending/ Do you want the opportunity to change what happens?

Where are we?Who was this character? What did you see them do?

Could this character have done anything differently?Do you want to help this character? Was there a moment when they made a mistake?

We will now play the scene again, when you see a moment this character can do somethingdifferently, you shout out ... Stop! Let's practice. 1, 2, 3, - stop (repeat as needed)

AFTER EACH INTERVENTION...

(To spect-actor): Have you shown what you wanted to show?

(To audience) Was the outcome of this solution different? Was the problem solved?

Is this a real solution? Could this happen?

How did the outcome change? Did the protagonist solve their problem?

Are there any other possible solutions? Could this character try anything else?

(If audience energised, they can immediately enter, if not, replay the scene again.)

AFTER THE FORUM ...The Joker can ask the audience which of the solutions they preferred. Members of the audience maydisagree and debate. This is the dialogue enacted!

APPENDIX a: EXAMPLES of gamesThe games and exercises of Theatre of the Oppressed often form micro-models of the widerprinciples and ideas of forum theatre and its liberatory philosophy. Included here are someexamples, all of which are available in Augusto Boal's 200 Games For Actors & Non-actors.

Colombian hypnosis...One actor holds her hand palm forward, fingers upright, anything between 20 and 40 centimetresaway from the face of another, who is then as if hypnotised and must keep his face constantly thesame distance from the hand of the hypnotiser, hairline level with her fingertips, chin more or lesslevel with the base of her palm. The hypnotiser starts a series of movements with her hand, up anddown, right and left, backwards and forwards, her hand vertical in relation to the ground, thenhorizontal, then diagonal, etc. – the partner must contort his body in every way possible tomaintain the same distance between face and hand, so that face and hand remain parallel. Ifnecessary, the hypnotic hand can be swapped; for instance, to force the hypnotised to go betweenthe legs of the hypnotiser. The hand must never do movements too rapid to be followed, nor must itever come to a complete halt. The hypnotiser must force her partner into all sorts of ridiculous,grotesque, uncomfortable positions. Her partner will thus put in motion a series of musclestructures which are never, or only rarely, activated. He will use certain ‘forgotten’ muscles in hisbody. After a few minutes, the two actors change, the follower and the leader. After some more time,both can extend a hypnotising right hand, becoming leaders and followers at one and the sametime.

Joe Egg (aka trust circle)Ask the group to form a circle an arm’s length apart, with everybody standing facing the centre,holding their bodies absolutely upright. Then they must lean towards the centre without bending atthe waist, or arching their backs, or lifting their heels off the ground – like the Tower of Pisa. Next,ask them to lean outwards in the same manner (without lifting their toes). Then repeat the wholesequence several times, towards the centre, towards the outside.

Then they do the same thing towards the left and towards the right, still without bending in themiddle, without lifting the feet. Ask them to describe a circle in the air with their bodies, leaninginto the centre,to the left, outwards, to the right, into the centre, etc. Then the same thing the otherway round: centre, right, outwards, left. Several times. Ask a volunteer to go into the centre of thecircle. Everyone tightens the circle around her, so it is now made up of bodies touching shoulder toshoulder. The person in the middle must close her eyes and do the same leaning movements asbefore, but this time she is going to let herself fall. When she falls, everyone in the circle mustsupport her with their hands (giving a little as her body meets their hands so that there is no abruptimpact) and then propel her gently back towards the centre, where she doesn’t come to rest, becauseshe starts to fall in another direction, and thus it goes on. It is very important that there are alwaysat least three people at any given moment taking care of the person in the middle. At the end, if youwant, you can roll the person around the circle, instead of immediately standing her up in themiddle again.

The bear of PoitiersOne participant is designated the bear of Poitiers (a French town where this game is played). Sheturns her back on the others, who are the foresters. The latter busy themselves with their forestrytasks – woodcutting, planting, tree-felling, taking a break, whatever. After an interval, the bear mustgive vent to an enormous growl, whereupon all the woodcutters must fall to the ground and ‘playdead’, not making the slightest movement, absolutely motionless as if their life depended on it. The

bear goes up to each one of them, growling at will, and touches, tickles, prods, tries any trick shecan think of to make them laugh, to make them move; in short, her goal is to force them to revealthat they are alive. When the bear succeeds, the forester who has given himself away becomes asecond bear, and the two bears set off to do the same thing to the other foresters, who still try notto move. Eventually there are three bears, then four, and so on.

Clay-modelling ...The participants arrange themselves in two lines facing each other. One of the lines is made up ofsculptors, and the other of statues. At the beginning of the exercise, each sculptor starts using herhands to model the statue she has in mind. To this end, she touches the ‘statue’s’ body, taking careto achieve the effects she is striving for, down to the smallest detail. The sculptors cannot use‘mirror’ language, they cannot use their own bodies to show the image or expression they want tosee reproduced; here neither mimesis nor reproduction comes into the equation, this is no longer adialogue, this is modelling. Consequently, it is necessary to touch, to mould; each action on the partof the sculptor provokes a corresponding reaction, each cause produces a different effect. In themirror dialogue both partners are always synchronised, carrying out the same action. In the‘modelling’ dialogue, though synchronised, the partners’ actions are complementary.

Complete the imageA pair of actors shake hands. Freeze the image. Ask the watching group what possible meanings theimage might carry: is it a business meeting, lovers parting for ever, a drug deal, they love eachother, they hate each other, etc.? Various possibilities are explored to show all the ’meanings’ asingle image can have.Everyone gets into pairs and starts with a frozen image of a handshake. Onepartner removes himself from the image, leaving the other with his hand extended. Now what is thestory? Instead of saying what he thinks this new image means, the partner who has removed himselfreturns to the image and completes the image, thus showing what he sees as a possible meaning forit; he puts himself in a different position, with a different relationship to the partner with theoutstretched hand, changing the meaning of the image, but conveying an idea, emotion, feeling –this is a dialogue of images, not just a juxtaposition.

Then the first partner comes out of this new frozen image and looks at it. When he was inside it, hehad a feeling; outside it, the remaining partner in the image staying frozen and now alone, theimage will have a different meaning, evoke a different emotion, idea, etc. So, he completes it,changing its meaning again. And so on, the partners alternating, always in a dialogue of images.The players should look quickly at the half-image they are completing, arranging themselves in acomplementary position as fast as they can not only to save time but to avoid thinking with wordsand translating them into images; like the modelling exercises, the actors should think with theirbodies and their eyes. It does not matter if there is no literal meaning to the way an actor choosesto complete the image – the important thing is to keep the game moving and the ideas flowing. Thenthe Joker can add a chair to the game, two chairs, an object or two objects – how does this affectthings, how does it change the dynamic?

The image of the hour...The Joker calls out a time of day, and the actors must do whatever movements their bodies usuallymake at that particular time. The Joker runs through different times, different occasions, significantdates etc.: 6 o’clock, 7, 8, 9, midday, 14:00,20:00, midnight, Sunday lunch, Saturday night, electionday, when you wake on your birthday, the most agreeable thing you do, the most disagreeable, etc.

APPENDIX B: EXAMPLES of FORUMS1) The Rejected Neighbour

A group of villagers are singing and dancing together. A NEIGHBOUR passes, and VILLAGER 1draws him in to the dance, teaching him some moves. VILLAGER 2 grows extremely angry,shouting and trying to attack the NEIGHBOUR, having to be held back by the others. TheNEIGHBOUR leaves. VILLAGER 2 explains that the NEIGHBOUR is a former Khmer Rougecadre member, and he would happily kill him for what he did.

Later, VILLAGER 1 visits the neighbor and tries to speak to him about what happened. TheNEIGHBOUR is so upset, he cannot respond. We see through images him remembering the thingsthat happened in 1975, we see images of forced evictions, forced labour, the rise of the KhmerRouge, and the execution of peasants.

Interventions1) Spectactor replaces VILLAGER 1 and tries different techniques to placate

VILLAGER 2. VILLAGER 2 remains extremely angry, but does listen to VILLAGER 1.

2) Spectactor takes the role of VILLAGER 2 and happily invites the NEIGHBOUR to join in the dance. The audience complained that this was ‘not real’.

3) Spectactor replaces NEIGHBOUR and tries to bring VILLAGER 2 some flowers to say sorry. VILLAGER 2 takes the flowers, but then throws them down on the groundand rejects the apology saying ‘it is too little, too late’.

4) Spectactor takes the role of a policeman and enters into the disagreement, attemptingto negotiate harmony between the fighting groups.

5) Spectactor takes the role of VILLAGER 1 and visits the NEIGHBOUR later that day. They sit and talk and VILLAGER 1 tries to get the NEIGHBOUR to share his emotions and feelings about what happened in the past.

Discussion & EvaluationThroughout the forum, it seemed clear that the audience was engaged in trying to find solutions tothe extreme anger and pain of VILLAGER 2 and the suffering and rejection of the NEIGHBOUR.Attempts at reparation and reconciliation took the form of physically preventing violence and tryingto find ways to get the various parties to talk to one another, even if that be through a third-party.The group seemed satisfied that interventions 4 and 5 seemed real and plausible as solutions to thisproblem.

Final ImageAs a final image, the audience converted the frozen image of anger and violence into one whereeveryone was sat together attempting to communicate with soft gestures and understanding.

2) Post Traumatic Stress & the Wat

An ELDERLY WOMAN prepares herself for bed and sleeps. We see her having a nightmare aboutwhat happened to her during the Khmer Rouge, where her HUSBAND is stopped from singing asong and taken captive by KHMER ROUGE guards, who first put him to work in the fields andthen execute him. The WOMAN awakes from her dream and is extremely distressed and upset. Atthe wat where she lives, she becomes extremely angry with the other RESIDENTS and smashes abreakfast bowl of rice. The other RESIDENTS and a MONK try to comfort her and get her to talkabout what is wrong, but she is unable to communicate her feelings and ends up rejecting theassistance of the others.

Interventions1) Spectactor replaces RESIDENT and attempts to speak to the WOMAN in a different

manner, exercising patience and understanding in allowing her to be angry and upset,rather than reacting angrily as well.

2) Spectactor takes the place of the WOMAN during her bad dream, and demonstratespracticing meditation as a way of coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

3) Spectactor takes the place of the MONK and attempts to sit with her and allow her toexplain herself, rather than maintaining a lofty and distant position above and away fromher.

Discussion & EvaluationIn this forum, the techniques of the Rainbow of Desire were demonstrated and discussed throughintervention 2, where the audience and actors saw and understood that internal or abstractoppressions can also be discussed through the use of image and theatre. The group respondedpositively to the suggestion that religion and internal work by the individual can be a valid andrealistic response to PTSD, as well as experimenting with the different roles played in a village byfigures such as peers (RESIDENT) and religious figures (MONK).

Final ImageAs a final image, the group reworked the image of the WOMAN suffering from nightmares andtrauma to one where she assumed a peaceful, meditative posture at the centre of a nurturingcommunity of equals supporting her recovery.

3) The Joker Struggles To Motivate A Crowd

A JOKER is onstage at the close of a forum performance. The audience is a mixture of a villageCHIEF, an ELDER person and a YOUTH. At first they applaud enthusiastically, but as the jokerdebriefs them they become less and less enthusiastic and refuse to respond to the joker's questions.The joker keeps trying, becoming more and more nervous and uncomfortable. Eventually the jokergives in, having failed to motivate the audience to dialogue with them.

Interventions1) The Joker attempts a different series of questions and tries to point the microphone at the audience. They move physically closer and get on the same level as the audience members. The audience still does not respond.2) The Joker attempts to flirt and bribe the YOUTH, who becomes so intimidated that they leave the area.3) Two jokers work in unison, with one onstage and one with a microphone in the audience. They manage to get a limited amount of conversation and dialogue going with some of the audience members.4) The Joker takes time to build rapport with individual members off the audience. He asks the YOUTH their name, age and favourite school subject. They ask the CHIEF what his job is (fisherman) and the ELDER his name and age. The Joker then sends the ACTORS into theaudience to talk to individuals. The ACTORS then return to the stage and the JOKER facilitates a conversation between the audience and ACTORS using a SECOND JOKER with a microphone in the audience.

Discussion & Evaluation

In review of the problem presented by the group, the members decided on a number of futureactions for preparing to deal with this problem in future forums. The example was based on a realexperience of performing in a village for several hundred audience members. Participants decidedthat the tactic of having two jokers was very effective; that establishing a rapport with the audiencewas a vital part of the Joker role and that performers needed to deeply prepare their role for greaterimpact. The discussion also raised questions around staging (performing on a stage distances theaudience and creates a barrier), timing (young people cannot attend after dark) and the idea thatcommunity performers with limited time to prepare could be given a list of questions to askaudience members.

4) An Actor Fails To Prepare

Two ACTORS visit a CIVIL PARTY whilst a third ACTOR goes out birdwatching. The ACTORSprepare to perform with the CIVIL PARTY, but during the performance of a violent eviction, theTHIRD ACTOR smiles constantly and makes the performance implausible. The CIVIL PARTYactor also has 'the wrong emotion' but also trauma from experience with the Khmer Rouge.

Interventions:1) First intervention replaced the THIRD ACTOR and performed without smiling.2) The THIRD ACTOR is encouraged to rehearse and practice more to improve his skills.3) The THIRD ACTOR requests more time from his co-actors to practice, or even to change roles.4) Suggestion of using masks or traditional make-up for actors with less experience.

Discussion & Evaluation

Participants evaluated the forum in the following ways: that the selection of appropriate actors withappropriate skills was vital; that they should make more time for performance training; that theyneeded to refocus on performance skills; that the design of the story was vital as there was somemisunderstanding about what this piece was really about; that the design process needed to ensurethat it fits the community it is being designed for.

5) Domestic Violence In The Village

A HUSBAND and a WIFE argue about money in a rural area. She refuses at first but eventuallygives him money, which he spends on alcohol. SON is a good student, and heads off to school.HUSBAND goes to a shop to meet his FRIEND where he spends all his money on alcohol. Hereturns home drunk and has a violent argument with his wife.

Interventions1) Students travel to the village to give advice on impact of alcohol and beer, especially the impact on the whole family. Husband argues that it is his money so he will spend it on whatever he wants.2) The SON returns home and physically fights with the FATHER to protect the WIFE.3) WIFE asks HUSBAND to eat, refusing to give money, but keeping it to buy food.

Discussion & Evaluation

The discussion around this forum focused on ideas of responsibility for educating aroundalcoholism and domestic violence. There was some concern that this piece, although supposedlyabout gender-based violence, largely focused on alcoholism.

6) The Eviction

A pair of PEASANT farmers is working the land when two BODYGUARDS turn up threatening toevict them and burn their house down. The PEASANTS are furious, and organise a large number ofpeople to go to the PRIME MINISTER's house to give a petition. At the ministry they are preventedfrom seeing the PRIME MINISTER by a BODYGUARD, who violently rejects them.

Interventions1) Representatives of a land rights NGO provide the PEASANTS a lawyer who offers assistance filling in forms. They meet with the village CHIEF and there is a great deal of discussion.2) PEASANTS stay in Phnom Penh and work for an NGO, using 'no guns, only paper to fight it'. They try to find more people to help.3) The PEASANTS ask the media to come and assist as well as a lawyer. Media manages to get to speak to the PRIME MINISTER.4) PEASANTS incite the other protesters (audience) to join them and physically overpower the bodyguard, chanting 'land rights now!'

Discussion & Evaluation

This forum generated a lot of discussion around people solving their own problems (thePEASANTS) and being assisted by allies such as the media, NGOs and lawyers. It was raised thatdepending on the audience, the responses would be very different, and that because most of today'saudience were NGO-workers and volunteers, that had effected the types of solution presented.

7) The Office Party

BOY and GIRL get ready for a celebratory office party thrown by their BOSS because of all theirgood work. They dress nicely and take a moto to the party, where they are encouraged to drinkheavily. The BOY at first refuses, as he does not usually drink. First his boss convinces him to haveone, because he is the boss. A COWORKER calls him boring, so he has another. A OFFICE GIRLmocks him saying that she is drinking more and she is a girl. In the end, BOY is so drunk that whenhe drives home he crashes the bike, injuring himself and GIRL.

Interventions1) First BOY tries to argue with co-workers, saying that if they drink too much, they can't work in the morning. The co-workers argue with him and laugh at his idea.2) Near to the accident, BOY is arrested by the police and breathylised. They ask the GIRL to call the relatives to pick him up. He passes out on the floor.3) BOY wants to take a tuk-tuk home, but there are none available. He asks GIRL to drive, but she cannot. GIRL argues until BOY drives home, and they crash.4) Replacing the GIRL, makes a deal with BOY to go by taxi. She argues with BOY that sheis scared if he drinks too much. She argues with everyone, ruining the party. Eventually agrees to one drink until her mum calls her back. They argue about the tuk-tuk. Eventually, GIRL convinces BOY to leave early.5) BOY says he is very sick and on orders from doctor not to drink.

Discussion & EvaluationLargely focussed around issues of peer pressure and personal responsibility in terms of alcohol use.

Reboot the Roots is a charity that promotes social inclusion through the arts. It uses theatre, musicand workshops to support people who are denied their rights to full, happy and active participation

in society. This includes those recovering from addiction, people living with HIV/AIDS andindividuals who have been in conflict with the law.

We facilitate workshops with the socially excluded. We train trainers from other organisations and NGOs in techniques of art for inclusion. We help other practitioners to achieve their goals through logistical support, consultation and funding.

Social exclusion is the name given to various processes, which progressively cause ruptures and detachment of certain groups or individuals within the broader scheme of society. This could mean alienation – or even prevention – of groups or individuals from participating in what we might call anormal, healthy life.

We believe that creative tools for social transformation can end this process of alienation and enablepeople to participate fully and equally in society.

Please feel free to contact us at info@reboottheroots.org.uk

www.reboottheroots.org.uk

www.facebook.com/rebootroots

Registered Charity Number: 1145665