Between the last few weeks, we were able to finally perform our scenes for The Rivals. Thus, we are moving into our next project, which is the Mini Theorist Project. For this, we have to choose a theatre theorist, research about their ideas and styles and create a presentation to share with our peers.
To begin the project, we read an article about a multi-faceted theatre project in which an actor enacted the scene of Ophelia's death in the styles of Stanislavski, Brecht, Peter Brook, Antonin Artaud, and Jerzy Grotowski. We then watched the video clips to see how each theory influenced the portrayal of the scene. The different styles expressed different emotions in the scene, and I was surprised by how much her tone or posture was able to influence the scene. From what we had watched, it led me to wonder about what kinds of theory were integrated into my own theatre experiences. I found myself most familiar with Peter Brook's theory of emotion and realism. While I found myself most intrigued with the incorporation of Antonin Artaud's theory of Theatre of Cruelty.
For this project, I decided to choose Augusto Boal. I found his ideas on theatre and social issues to be topics of interest. Boal is a Brazilian dramatist who rediscovered his interest in theatre while majoring in Chemical Engineering. After the military junta of Brazil found his theories to be subversive, he was arrested, tortured and exiled for 15 years. Boal then established a center for practicing his theories and Paris. Furthermore, from 1992 to 1996, he served on Rio de Janeiro’s city council, where he expanded his ideas to relate to politics.
Though Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed has many styles and techniques, I found particular interest in the concept of "Rainbow of Desire". Instead of focusing on physical oppression, it looks at internalized oppression. Boal believes that a person has endless traits and characteristics that are restricted by the notion of having a personality. By participating in theatre, one can assess the unconscious parts of oneself. The various techniques are all with the goal of discovering one's true self and realizing the obstacles, either mentally or physically that keeping one from that version of themselves.