AUGUSTUS 2018 by Roberto Mazzini – Training for facilitators: Forum Theatre for Community Development

www.augustus2018-anamuh.confetti.events

9-15 July 2018 | Hollókő, Hungary

“We are animals that have the privilege of being actors, because we are acting all of the time. But at the same time, we are spectators of our actions. (…) So we have theatre inside, because we act and we are the observer. We are the spect-actors.” (Augusto Boal)

Forum Theatre for Community Development

AUGUSTUS 2018 is the second edition of a residential training aiming to guide participants to plan, design and facilitate Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) and Forum Theatre social interventions in communities. Facilitated by Roberto Mazzini, with 30 years of T.O. experience.
AUGUSTUS is aimed to Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) practitioners, Jokers/Kuringa, social workers, community developers, educators, psychologists, human rights activists. Preferred basic knowledge or practice of T.O. and Forum Theatre.

How to plan, design and facilitate Forum Theatre social interventions in communities

– Understand how Forum Theatre can be used as tool for Community Development in various contexts (Roma, migrants, convicted, mental/physical disability, marginalized youth, etc.), in the framework of Augusto Boal’s and Paulo Freire’s methods.
– Get insight and good practices on how to Design a social intervention in a community using T.O. and Forum Theatre.
– Macro-Design of an intervention: understand the complexity about how to plan a T.O. intervention that is effective in changing oppressions, keeping in mind the different forces that affect the situation.
– Micro-Design of an intervention: to create an agenda and to understand how to plan step by step a meaningful list of activities in a specific T.O. session.
– To establish and strengthen a network of community developers implementing T.O. in communities.

Roberto Mazzini:

Theatre of the Oppressed trainer since 1989. Psychotherapist specialized in the Biosystemic Therapy, for almost 30 years he has been facilitating Theatre of the Oppressed processes based on the pedagogy of Paulo Freire in many countries on various thematics, including gender violence, intercultural dialogue, peace education, conflict resolution, communitarian processes such as with patients of psychiatric centres and with convicted people in prisons. Translator in Italian of some Augusto Boal’s books, for almost 3 decades he has been training activists, social workers and Theatre of the Oppressed facilitators. Author of various publications, including “Theatre of the Oppressed as a tool for Peace Education”.
Founder of “Giolli” Social Cooperative: www.giollicoop.it

Training Elements:

Macro-Design: design an effective T.O. intervention in a community

Complexity of the oppressive situations. Ethical-political filters. Negotiation under 3 point of views. Analysis of the group’s needs. Institution/organization’s objectives and its structure of power. The Freire’s levels of consciousness. Monitoring and effectiveness of evaluation.
Activities: participants’ cases analysis through debate and T.O. techniques; group work to plan, simulation of critical points, best practices for participants.

Micro-Design: plan an agenda for a specific T.O. session

Planning in a team. The typical stages in the T.O. process, critical analysis of design, agenda, risks of each activity and remedies, how to prepare to co-leading, preparation about the thematic, individual psycho, emotional, physical preparation.
Activities: writing agendas, their analysis, group work to create agendas, simulation of agendas, preparation, discussion.

Jokering: lead a Forum play

The Jokers’s main attitude and skills (Maieutics, to be able to problematize, to use Freirean dialogue, to deal with public’s emotions and conflicts, etc.). The 3 main ways to Jokering (strategic, emotional, corporeal).
Activities: some key theoretical points, exercises to strengthen the skills and improve the Joker’s attitude, simulation of Jokering.

Group creation, de-mechanization, closing

Game-exercises from Boal’s 5 categories; Boal and others. Active tools to close, discard emotions, evaluate, ritualize.

Reflection groups

Reflection and elaboration of the training elements, sharing the daily learnings and reflecting on possible applications in professional and personal lives.
Activities: at the end of each day, there will be a time specifically dedicated to the reflection in small groups about the activities of the day.

Download the AUGUSTUS 2018 info-letter (PDF file)