Examining and reimagining the systems around us is a necessary part of creating a freer, safer world… yet it can also be difficult and draining. Enter Theatre of the Oppressed, a format of theatre activities and performances that engages communities in social change. This workbook created by Theatre of the Oppressed NY (TONYC) offers up tricks for energizing your work in any group setting.
The Wildcard Workbook: A Practical Guide for Jokering Forum Theatre is a resource for facilitators of all kinds looking for new ways to bring fun, creativity, and critical thinking into their work!
Why Wildcard?
Because to be a “Joker” in the Theatre of the Oppressed is to play many different roles and to navigate uncertainty with joy. Written by experienced Jokers from Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, this workbook is a graphic, interactive, and accessible guide to inspire and support facilitation and difficultation in many contexts – we hope you’ll scribble in the margins, tear out the pages, and challenge the ideas within.
Theatre of the Oppressed NYC bases its work on a methodology created in the 1970s by the legendary Brazilian theatre director and activist Augusto Boal, who was himself inspired by Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As a form of activism and artistic practice, Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed is now used in over 70 countries around the world.
The guide was written by Sulu LeoNimm, Liz Morgan, and Katy Rubin in collaboration with the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). It was designed by Shreyas R Krishnan and Kruttika Susarla of SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT and made with financial support from the New York Community Trust.
To learn more about Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, visit their website or see videos of their work here.
Going Further:
- What is Theatre for Social Change? (Thornton)
- The Gift of Fallibility (McKnight)
- Innovation Is Birthed from Disorder (Etmanski)
