Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Enfrentamentos Sem Fuga Ou Encontros E Desencontros Em Ponto De Fuga, Carolina Géa De Campos Silva

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

O artigo é um texto ensaístico de Carolina Géa, artista e estudante, originalmente escrito como um exercício de leitura comentada para a disciplina Teatro Latino-americano, oferecida no curso de Licenciatura em Artes Cênicas da Unesp em 2022, ministrada pelas docentes Patricia Freitas e Paula Autran. A partir dos assuntes em aula, a autora destrincha a peça brasileira “Ponto de fuga” em sua dramaturgia e processo de criação, enquanto discorre sobre o sucessível apagamento da história e memória dos povos colonizados, mais especificamente na América Latina. Em sua escrita, também acirra reflexões sobre a auto identificação dos brasileiros como latinos. O …

Confrontations Without Escape; Or Encounters And Disencounters At Ponto De Fuga (Vanishing Point), Carolina Géa De Campos Silva

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This review was originally written as a review exercise for the Latin American Theater course, offered by the Performing Arts College at Paulista University (UNESP) in 2022, and taught by professors Patricia Freitas and Paula Autran. Based on some topics presented in class, the author unravels the Brazilian play Ponto de Fuga in its dramaturgy and creation process, while discussing the successive erasure of the history and memory of colonized peoples, more specifically in Latin America. It also stirs up reflections on the self-identification of Brazilians as Latinos. The review aims to bring into debate the relations of oppression and …

Apresentando A Pedagogia Hānai: Um Chamado Para A Equidade Na Educação Através Das Lentes Da Aanapi, Robin Brandehoff

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Este artigo introduz uma nova abordagem pedagógica intitulada Pedagogia Hānai, que engloba identidade cultural, linguagem e relações familiares para contrariar narrativas dominantes em torno de sistemas educacionais históricos e coloniais. Derivado de um estudo mais amplo sobre mentorias informais (Brandehoff, 2020) e conceitos indígenas de conexão familiar e comunidade, a Pedagogia Hānai é prática; constrói alianças com alunos, famílias e membros da comunidade; aprofunda questões ligadas a opressões raciais, culturais e econômicas; enfoca a Autenticidade entre os educadores e nas práticas de aprendizagem; e incentiva o ensino exploratório através de inter-relações de tradição cultural e de métodos modernos de aprendizagem. …

Introducing Hānai Pedagogy: A Call For Equity In Education Through An Aanapi Lens, Robin Brandehoff

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This paper introduces a novel pedagogical framework titled Hānai Pedagogy which embraces cultural identity, language, and familial relationships to counter dominant narratives around historical and colonial educational systems. Derived from a larger study on informal mentorships (Brandehoff, 2020) and Indigenous concepts of familial connectedness and community, Hānai Pedagogy is Hands-on; builds Alliances with students, families, and community members; Navigates racial, cultural, and economic oppressions; centers Authenticity among educators and learning practices; and encourages explorative teaching through Interrelations of cultural tradition and modern modes of learning. Using an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander (AANAPI) lens, this new pedagogical framework …

Introdução Dos Editores Ao 7º Volume Da Revista Pto, Aaron Moore Ellis, Patricia Freitas Dos Santos

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction To The 7th Volume Of The Pto Journal, Aaron Moore Ellis, Patricia Freitas Dos Santos

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

30. Dragaganza 2025 [Social Media Post, April 9, 2022], University Of Northern Iowa

LGBTQIA+ Archive Class Projects

A social media promotional post advertising the Dragaganza thrown by UNI Proud.

It's Possible: Creating An Ability Inclusive Production Approach For The Musical Cinderella, Danielle Jean Schmaltz

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

How Do We Use Creative And Personal Memories For Creative Communication?, Tyler Robert Montgomery

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Inspired by the author’s memories, KeyBoard Memories and You have the Right to Forget are two short stage plays exploring topics of identity, time, and justice. This thesis uses personal and creative memories to develop stories in the form of scripts. The thesis begins with an example of creative writing inspired by the author’s personal and creative memories and describes the purpose of the project before moving into a review of literature that explains what memories are, how they work, and the different types of memories. Then the method section describes the methods of journaling and scripting writing, and then …

The Year In Review: 2020-2021 Letter From The Co-Presidents, Robin Brandehoff, Rachel Desoto-Jackson

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Report of PTO's activities in the past year and a preview of upcoming plans. Also included is information about ways to get involved in the Organization's work throughout the year.

Review Of Theatre Of The Oppressed - Roots & Wings: A Theory Of Praxis, Uri Yitzchak Noy Meir

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Theatre of the Oppressed - Roots & Wings: A Theory of Praxis by Barbara Santos is a necessary, previously unwritten, ontology of Theatre of the Oppressed with a feminist twist. It is a gift and a fantastic resource.

Book Review Of The Routledge Companion To Theatre Of The Oppressed, Amy Phillips

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In my review of The Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed by Boal, J., Howe, K., and Soerio, J., eds. (London and New York: Routledge, 2019), I compare the book’s call for Theatre of the Oppressed to embrace a nuanced investigation of social problems with its response: the international movements detailed in its chapters. While demonstrating that the first-hand accounts provide a measured answer to contradictions inherent in a system which Augusto Boal developed in response to a specific political climate, I emphasize the beauty of theory and practice sitting side by side, in paradox, and encourage scholar and …

Expanding And Expounding Upon Forum Theater To Engage Spect-Actors In Virtual Spaces, Lasonja Roberts, María Migueliz Valcarlos, Tara Nkrumah, Vonzell Agosto

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In this article, we analyze our experiences of jokering in online spaces during the pandemic. Our journey traversed the 2020/2021 academic year, engaging in Forum Theater work with a local university and community organization. During our planning, leading, and reflecting on these experiences themes emerged addressing the efficacy of practicing Forum Theater in an online setting, as well as recommendations for TO practitioners who wish to pursue online Forum Theater in the future.

Unmuted: A Digital Dilemma Inspired By Forum Theatre, Akhila Khanna

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This report describes the purpose, process and reflections of a Forum Theatre video project, titled Unmuted, created to investigate the increased online harassment faced by women during the pandemic. Led by an arts and community education based initiative in New Delhi, India - Rang Karwan - and supported by the 25 x 25 Initiative by India Foundation for the Arts grant, Unmuted included a series of surveys and Forum scenes that were screen-recorded and distributed among 100+ digital spect-actors across the country. This report by Akhila, one of the facilitators of the project, will evaluate the 9-month-long rehearsal and research …

Exploring Online Participatory Theatre During Covid-19: Reflections On Adapting, Delivering, And Evaluating Student-Led Theatre For Health Workshops, Jeffrey Pufahl, Emmanuelle Crider, Kelviyana Walker

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the higher education community to quickly shift and adapt courses to the online environment. While traditional theatre programs struggled, the flexible nature of applied theatre created the space for students and instructors to explore and adapt existing forms, such as Forum Theatre and Sociodrama, and create engaging online workshops for the public. Over the course of 2020-21, students in the University of Florida’s Applied Theatre for Health program developed, delivered, and evaluated online health and wellness workshops for the public. This report focuses on two such projects: 1) a workshop on female reproductive health, and 2) …

Collective Beauty, Grace And Care Against Isolation, Mistrust And Lack Of Utopia:" Neoliberalism In Social Justice Theatre Work, Joschka Köck

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Aeport on three recent global online exchanges focusing on neoliberalism in social justice theatre work that represent an amazing example of the circular thinking and complex processes happening in truly dialogic group settings that can be faciliated through TO and PO

Theater Of The Oppressed And Labor Organizing: Possibilities And Limitations, Jasmin Cardenas

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

A reflective essay to document the use of Theater of the Oppressed (TO) for labor organizing with a workers rights group in the Chicago area. Participants were working people from across Chicago’s Latinx immigrant community and previously incarcerated returning citizens, mainly temporary staffing workers who had never performed before. This essay attempts to document the collaboration between an independent artist and an organization and highlight some limitations and possibilities of using TO for labor organizing.

Image Theatre As A Conduit For Academic Research, Felicia Owusu-Ansah

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In the last few decades Africa has seen an upsurge of the use of applied theatre in addressing individual and community issues in diverse paradigms. However, fewer studies have examined its potential beyond sensitisation, awareness creation campaigns and general education through playlets and post-performance discussion. This paper discusses how some aspects of applied theatre were used for data gathering in academic research in connection with Irregular Migration in Ghana. I base the discussion on how I used Applied Theatre, specifically, Augusto Boal’s Image works on the platform of Testimonial Theatre as an investigation tool in academic research. It also shows …

Leveraging Standardized Testing To Transform Curriculum Through Arts Integration: Effects Of Shadow Puppet Theater On Reading Fluency Among Elementary School Students, Nancy B. Parent

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This paper presents findings from a reading fluency study conducted by Flock Theatre (Connecticut Higher Order Thinking Schools Teaching Artists) on the effects of a shadow puppet theater program in an elementary school setting. Data collected in this study show an increase in fluency scores among students who perform as narrators in the program. This paper highlights the role of teaching artists in leveraging standardized assessments to transform curricula and student learning through arts integration. Positionality of teaching artists, classroom teachers, and my role as a social scientist in this context is considered, as well as a discussion of the …

Augusto Boal's Joker And Pedagogy Of Freedom, Hamze Aleepayam

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This text was a report on the Pedagogic project to apply the techniques of Boal's Joker to teach basic Farsi reading and writing to war-torn labor children, those who are deprived of the right to education. They learned to read and write well and wrote about their experiences of war, labor, childhood, fears, happiness, etc..., and its impact on their lives.

Taking Youth Voices Seriously: Theatre, Storytelling, And Empowerment With Refugee Youth In Memphis, Tn, Taylor St. John

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This project report documents the most recent play-turned-podcast in a multi-year partnership between the Orpheum Theatre Group and the Refugee Empowerment Program in Memphis, TN. Youth from the program have been engaging in From Where I Stand, a theatrical storytelling program that weaves first-person narratives into theatrical performances that are presented for the community. While our third performance entitled, Refugee Portraits, was postponed due to the pandemic, it was given new life in the form of a podcast. This report will explore the process of creating the live theatrical performance, pivoting that performance to a podcast, and reflect on …

Editor’S Introduction To The 6th Issue Of The Pto Journal, Mark Weinberg

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This brief letter provides an introduction to my final issue as editor of the PTO Journal.

Impacts Of Theatre On The Mental Health Of High School Students, Madeline Ludwig

Honors Program Theses

This thesis explores the effects of participation in theatre on mental health in high school students. Though there has been more research since 2008 on mental health and its relation to the arts, there have been very few focused on mental health and theatre. However, the majority of these studies are centered around adults or young children. There is a lack of research centered around the impacts that theatre and drama have on the mental health of high school students. This study specifically focused on college students at the University of Northern Iowa and their reflection on their time in …

Demechanizing Whiteness: Lessons From Theatre Of The Oppressed, Elizabeth J. Simpson

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) provides small group techniques to strategize and “rehearse” for collaborative liberation using popular education forms of systems analysis, bolstered by practices that counter implicit biases and habituated behaviors. This essay draws on interviews with jokers at CTO-Rio to advocate the need for continual engagement of demechanizing practices both within TO and in the lives of practitioners in order to demechanize the tenets of white supremacy that we are born into, despite our essential loving nature, with particular focus on counteracting a the habit of exploiting Black suffering for creative capital.

Don't Poke The Bear - A Project Report, Nicole Kontolefa, Grace Cannon

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In 2018, four applied theatre practioners created a forum theatre play and workshop for a small Wyoming community. They wanted to engage participants in a dialogue about inclusion, racism and homophobia, in particular how it manifests in a state known as the "Equality State."

Forum theatre focuses on a protagonist experiencing oppression and how they may break their own bonds. In this report, two of the facilitators and creators reflect on how using forum theatre to follow the actions (or inaction) of a potential ally in a play about the exclusion of a gay woman of color was useful in …

Highlander Center: Hotlines And Cultural Bazaars, Je Naé Taylor

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Since the pandemic’s arrival,Highlander has created specially tailored on-line community-building spaces, programs, and re-granting opportunities for artists working at the intersection of cultural production and social change. This report documents two examples. The first is a “Cultural Workers Hotline” for BIPOC artists to share struggles, needs, and strategies for (a) coping with the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods and (b) creating change-oriented artistic responses to the pandemic in their communities. Highlander staff have held multiple weekly virtual spaces for all of our programs, and each gathering has employed an artist to be a graphic note taker. Illustrations are …

Joker Exchange Online - Meeting The Risks And Opportunities Of The Covid-19 Crisis, Uri Yitzchak Noy Meir, Anne Larcher

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In this article, we narrate and analyse patterns of engagement and harvest key learning from the Joker Exchange Online (JEO) events on 11th April and May 2nd. We map the impact of these online events to inform future events as an effective collective response/strategy to global challenges. At the same time, we are Theatre of the Oppressed practitioners who attended/presented in the JEO, and this informs our research and engaged interest in theatre and community work on the margins of theatre, activism, and social change. The article has three parts: the first part look at the “triggers” for the Joker …

Virtual Newspaper Theatre: Zoom As A Theatrical Playing Space, Nabra Nelson

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This article presents findings from a virtual Newspaper Theatre workshop that took place via Zoom on May 5, 2020 through Seattle Rep. Nelson reflects on the way that the constraints of the Zoom format can add meaning to Theatre of the Oppressed performance techniques in the era of quarantine and social distancing due to COVID-19. The article describes elements of the one-minute performances created during the one-and-a-half-hour workshop, and how the virtual sphere interacted with them and even enhanced them in meaningful ways. Nelson also describes “production” elements unique to Zoom, and the nature of the virtual “spect-actor.”

Application Of Applied Theatre Online With Children And Its Effects In The Indian Perspective During Covid Age, Chetna Mehrotra, Sooraj Amin, Roshan Karkera, Viral Champaneri

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Applied Theatre in general and Theatre of the Oppressed in particular have been put into practice for a long time now. Right since when Augusto Boal started Theatre of the Oppressed in the 1960's the tools have been utilized in many oppressive situations. Augusto focused on marginalized societies and their people. He believed that every individual who is not allowed to voice out their opinion, thoughts (political, social), views, and choices can be considered to be oppressed.

Today, in the year 2020 with the current crisis of the breakout of the communicable virus Covid 19 everyone is forced to stay …

Joker's Log 2020: An Odyssey, Julian Pimiento

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Join our passengers as we embark on a voyage of Theatre of the Oppressed discovery during the destabilization of 2020. Experience one Joker’s facilitating choices and how those decisions led to unexpected pedagogical destinations.