FORUM THEATRE - Playing Forum

Description of the tool

CAUTON: Theatre of the Oppressed technique is very powerful method and can provoke (often do) very strong and hard feelings. PLEASE DO NOT USE this tool if you are not experience enough and if you don’t have adequate education in Theatre of the Oppressed !!!! Theatre skills and psychotherapy skills are definitely welcomed for using the technique.

1. Topics for forum theatre
30 min

Brainstorming on all kinds of oppression we can remember; it can be larger categories (sexism, racism, media manipulation, peer pressure etc). Now, we should come to 4 topics. Choose from the list 2 your choices. Then choose from the chosen (1 choice) again.

4 topics. Stand near the topic, which you’ll like to work on. Should be 5 - 6 people in each group. We can change the groups around if they are not so equal.

Explanation of preparation of Forum theatre – going through the steps.

2. Forum preparation

45 min – 150 min
Small group work;
Depending on time given for the preparation, plays will be more or less complex and more or less applicable for using the technique (more time – better performances – more opportunity for exploring).

2. Explanation of Forum technique
10 min

We’ll play one performance, do forum, do sharing, and then go to next one.
Each performance last about 15 min. We’ll have 1 hour to practice forum or two different methods called STOP THINK and STOP COURT mode.

Explanation of the technique: You’ll see the performance. After it has finished, you’ll have the opportunity to come to the role of the protagonist (the person who is oppressing others within the play) and try to do something different as idea for better solution of the situation. All other characters will react spontaneous according to the character role. Be in your character, but if something causes your change then – change. If not, then don’t.

Questions for the audience: Could the protagonist do / react differently somewhere, so the situation ends differently? Where? Tell the spot – we’ll play the performance again. In the moment you want to go in shout “STOP” and change the protagonist.

After intervention: Was it a progress? Why? Why not? Is this a good tactics?
Does anybody else go to try the same scene? OK….
Some other scenes, ideas?

If someone proposes something, which you find unrealistic, shout “STOP MAGIC”. We are not for magical solution.

PLAYING FORUM:
Time: 8 hours

1 Forum play
2 h 15 min
Playing the performance (15 min)
Practising Forum (changing the protagonist) 1 h
Sharing of the feelings 1 h

2 Forum play
2 h 15 min
Playing the performance (15 min)
Practising Forum (changing the protagonist) 1 h
Sharing of the feelings 1 h

3 Forum play
2 h
Playing the performance (15 min)
Using method: STOP-THINK (20-30 min)
Performance goes again but anyone from the audience can stop the play and to ask some character what he/she thinks in the moment. Someone from the audience shout: STOP THINK (says the name of the character, example mother)! then all characters freeze and mother (called character) should say anything that goes through her head in that moment, on sign of the trainer performance goes further with regular text, then again someone can call Stop think etc.
Sharing of the feelings 1 h

4 Forum play
2 h
Playing the performance (15 min)
Using method: STOP-COURT (20-30 min)
Performance goes again but anyone from the audience can stop the play and to ask some character questions about motivation (Why you did that? Why you go there? Why you’re shouting on him? What do you think about this/that? Etc) like the characters is on court and character should try to defend himself. Someone from the audience shout: STOP COURT (says the name of the character, example mother)! then all characters freeze and mother (called character) should answer all questions asked by the audience - the same as in a real court. On the sign of the trainer performance goes further with regular text, then again someone can call Stop court etc.
Sharing of the feelings 1 h

DEROLING – stay in circle, everyone should say name, surename and where he/she is in the moment (example: Susie Taylor, and the training of Theatre of the Oppressed in Paris).
Circle of deep breathing (3 times, in and out)

CAUTON: All this process is very depending on the group you are working with and on trainer’s skills. It can last much shorter and it can need even more time. If you have free time that’s ok, just do something else. But always leave enough time for sharing – don’t try to do this in shorter time – you can be lucky sometimes for everything to go well but it will be really hard if you provoke feelings and then don’t have time to work on them.