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Theatre Of The Oppressed

What is Oppression?

TO Lesson 2 - (Online) What is Oppression?

Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of Theatre of the Oppressed by participating in an online discussion of Chapter 1 of “Games for Actors and Non-actors” by Augusto Boal.

This lesson was originally online using Canvas.

Assignment - Self Reflection

This is a self-reflection focused on the activities you participated in during the previous class. Respond to these questions in a text box or upload a written document.

  1. What was a moment of discovery for you during the activities? Why did it stand out to you?
  2. What was a challenging moment during the activities? How did you overcome that challenge?
  3. What was your favorite part of the activities? Why was it your favorite?
  4. Why is play important to theatre?
  5. What additional questions do you have about what you learned?

Assignment - Oppression Research

Theatre of the Oppressed deals with the topic of oppression. For this assignment, you will be asked to research different topics and share your findings. Do your own research, then post your thoughts to the online discussion board. The intention of this assignment is to improve your understanding of oppression so you can fully participate in future discussions and activities. Use google, wikipedia, and any other form of information to create a well written paragraph. 200-300 words.

Questions to research: What is oppression? What kinds of oppression do we have in our society? What is the difference between discrimination and oppression? What does oppression look like, sound like, feel like? Why does oppression exist?

Afterwards, respond to at least two peers’ research. Responses can include additional thoughts, emotions, stories, and/or questions.

Assessment (Have students read Ch. 1 of Boal’s book)

After reading chapter 1 of Games for Actors and Non-Actors by Augusto Boal (https://demos.be/sites/default/files/games-for-actors-and-non-actors.augusto-boal.pdf), respond to the reading in 200 -300 words. Then, reply to 3 of your peers' comments.

Questions to consider: What surprised you about the reading? Whose story was being told? What type of reactions did you have while reading? What questions do you have? What did you learn about Theatre of the Oppressed? How is this style of theatre different from what you know about theatre? Why is it important to learn about this style of theatre?

Requirements:

  1. Respond to the reading in 200-300 words
  2. Comment on at least 3 peers' responses: reflect on their response, bring an additional perspective to their thoughts, or ask them a question.