Workshop 1

Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed

1) Brief participant introductions

Name, how you have arrived, a bit about your background, expectations for the workshops

2) Explanation about the course

Brief explanation about the tree of oppression and how each workshop will be structured.
Explanation of our way of working with TO and the differences between working online and
in person.

3) Cumulative Dance
Ask for some volunteers from the group and they each propose a bodily movement to
stretch the body. The whole group repeats the movement, creating a sequence of
movements producing a form of choreography. Put on some music and the group can
experiment using the proposed movements in way that transforms them from stretches
into a choreographed dance. Each person can decide how to adapt the movements to the
music, using the rhythm of the music, repetition of movements, pauses etc.

4) How many A’s – 25 minutes

Step 1
In a circle (or in ‘gallery view’ if online), a participant goes to the centre and expresses a
feeling, sensation, emotion or idea, using only one of the many sounds of the phoneme "a",
with all the inflections, movements or gestures with which he or she is able to express
themselves. All the other participants will repeat the sound and the action twice, copying
even the smallest details, trying to also feel the emotion, sensation, feeling or idea that
originated from the sound and movement. Another participant goes to the centre of the circle
and expresses another feeling, sensation, idea or emotion, and again the group copies the
action and sound twice. When a few of the group have already created their own “a” sounds,
the facilitator moves on to the other vowels (e, i, o, u).

Step 2
You can follow this with words that are commonly used in everyday life: “yes”, “no”.

Step 3

Small whole phrases are then used. The first can be a suggestion from the facilitator.
Afterwards, the participants can give suggestions from their daily lives, always trying to
express a range of ideas, emotions, sensations and different feelings through the one phrase.
Phrases like "good morning" and "I love you" are used a lot in this stage.

Step 4
The group uses larger phrases, or phrases that the participants hear a lot and that make sense
to the experiences of the group. For example, this can be something they have heard a lot
 during the pandemic or phrases that they might expect from the characters that have created
in the plays they have been developing during the activity.

Tips:
❖ This game creates possibilities to talk about the subtext and what is behind the words
that are being said or portrayed in our actions and the ways we speak.
❖ Encourage the whole group to participate and not just a few of the more uninhibited
participants.
❖ Encourage variety for each attempt, be it vowels or phrases.
❖ If doing the activity in person, the person going to the centre of the circle must repeat
it twice, once on each side of the circle so that everyone can see the proposal in detail.

5) A story told by many actors

Arrange the group so that everyone is either in a circle, if meeting in person, or everyone is
in a numbered order if meeting online. Each participant will say a sentence which will then
be completed by the next person to create a collective story. The story will be completed by
the final person in the group. A collaborative story is created, in which everyone
contributes.

Tips:
❖ You can tell a story without words, just using gestures and sound, and afterwards ask
the group about the story that they felt they were telling.
❖ You could suggest a theme for the story.
❖ You can discuss different elements of the story, such as: characters (who?), scenes
(where?), conflict or drama (what?), time-period that they story was set in (when?),
types of emotions that appeared (how?)
❖ This technique can also be used to write a collective poem

6) Reflection
What can you take with you from this encounter?
Ask the group "What can you take with you from this encounter?" It is important that the
person conducting the workshop emphasizes that the response must be authentic. One
participant at a time shares his or her response. Other questions can mobilise this final
reflection, for example, the participants can complete the phrase "I discovered that..." or
"What impacted me most was...", etc. As in all moments in a circle, it is recommended that
the word circulates in the sequence of the circle so that everyone can speak, always
respecting the other person’s speech. Those who do not want to speak can pass the speech
on to the next person.

Pill reflection
This is a form of reflection that we use when there is not much time. Respecting the order of
the circle and the speech of each one, we ask that each participant make a ‘pill reflection’,
that is, something short, brief, with just a few sentences, but that effectively summarises what
they found to be most mobilizing for them.

7) Word of the day

Each person says a word about how the workshop went. The group chooses one of these
words, or even a word that has not been said yet, that best represents all the words spoken
by the collective. When doing the activity in person the group then, usually in a circle, gets
closer and speaks enthusiastically, celebrating the word chosen by the group. When working
online, choose a word and then ask everyone to move just out of view of the camera and then
‘reappear’ on screen and celebrating the work by saying it with enthusiasm.

Workshop Series Created By:

Dr Kelly di Bertolli
Email: kellydibertolli@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-di-bertolli-45949920/

Luana Miscoff (MA)

Email: luanamincoff@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lua-mincoff-23218015/
Facebook: @lua.mincoff

Dr Victoria Jupp Kina

Email: victoria@socialresearchreimagined.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-jupp-kina-phd-02766b57/
Twitter: @vicjuppkina