Forum Theatre for Educators: Dialogue, Participation, and Social Awareness in the Classroom

Description

Many educators and community workers today need to face many complex challenges. For example: how to address sensitive topics like inclusion, bullying, discrimination, inequality, and active participation in a meaningful and practical way?

And again, how to create space for learners’ voice, dialogue, and critical thinking?

In fact, creating meaningful dialogue around these topics is often challenging, especially when discussions become sensitive, emotional, or polarized.

In short: how is it possible to move beyond discussion into active exploration of solutions?

Forum Theatre offers a practical and participatory way to explore these challenges collectively.

Developed by Augusto Boal in the 1970s as part of the Theatre of the Oppressed, Forum Theatre uses theatre not as performance for passive audiences, but as a space for dialogue, reflection, and active participation.

Participants are invited to explore real-life situations, step into them, and experiment with different actions and outcomes in a safe and creative environment.

This course will provide an accessible introduction to Forum Theatre and will not require previous theatre or drama experience.

It is ideal for teachers, educators, youth workers, and community professionals who want to encourage participation, empathy, critical thinking, and social awareness in their learning environments.

The course is designed to be highly experiential and collaborative.

Through theatre games, collaborative creation, guided reflection, and practice-based workshops, participants will work closely with others to build scenes, test ideas, and practice engaging participants as active contributors.

Particular attention will be given to: creating inclusive and respectful group dynamics; engaging participants as active “spect-actors”; facilitating dialogue around challenging social issues; using theatre as a tool for reflection, participation and problem-solving.

For this reason, throughout the week, participants will collaboratively create short forum scenes inspired by real educational or community situations and experiment with different ways of facilitating audience interaction and discussion.

By the end of the course, participants will not only understand how Forum Theatre works but also feel confident in facilitating simple activities themselves.

They will leave with practical tools, a clear structure to follow, and an action plan tailored to their own teaching or community setting.

Most importantly, they will have gained a new way to approach challenges: not by giving answers, but by creating spaces where people can explore, question, and shape change together.

Concept by Pui Ying Law

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Understand the foundations of Theatre of the Oppressed and Forum Theatre, including their purpose, history and use in addressing social issues;
• Explore how Forum Theatre can support dialogue, participation and reflection in educational and community contexts;
• Develop practical skills in theatre games, Image Theatre and Forum Theatre activities;
• Learn how to structure and facilitate a basic Forum Play;
• Understand the role of the facilitator, or “Joker”, in guiding participation, discussion and reflection;
• Engage participants as active “spect-actors”, encouraging shared dialogue and problem-solving;
• Strengthen facilitation and communication skills for working safely and respectfully with sensitive topics;
• Create a personalised action plan for applying Forum Theatre methods in their own school, organisation or community.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course and Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed

• Introduction to the course and the Academy;
• Introduction to the host city and the week’s cultural activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools and institutions;
• Who is Augusto Boal?;
• Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed and Forum Theatre;
• Theatre as a tool for dialogue, participation, and social reflection;
• Drama workshop: group building, trust exercises, and creating safe spaces.

Day 2 – Theatre games, image theatre and forum theatre workshop

• Theatre games and exercises to connect and explore Forum Play;
• Introduction to Image Theatre techniques;
• Exploring body language, emotions, and social situations through images;
• Introduction to Forum Theatre activities and structures;
• Reflection and group discussion on the workshop experience.

Day 3 – Techniques to build a forum play

• Identifying potential “good” stories for Forum Theatre;
• Practice collaborative story development technique to devise a forum play;
• Practice structuring Forum Play and leading rehearsals.

Day 4 – Practice forum theatre facilitation skills

• Practice theatre games facilitation for forum theatre;
• Practice engaging “spec-actors” through framing open questions, getting people on stage, holding discussion and debate in creative and positive ways;
• Building a practical toolbox of Forum Theatre conventions and activities.

Day 5 – Actions to bring theatre into practice

• Creating action plans to bring forum theatre into participants’ contexts;
• Defining target audience, when to forum, and the step-by-step process;
• Creating a personal action plan for implementation;
• Sharing ideas, peer feedback and collaborative reflection;
• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance.

Day 6 – Structured cultural activities

• Structured cultural activity(ies) according to the hosting location;
• Learning journal: individual written reflection on the course experience;
• Course reflection: self-reflection and review of course materials and resources.

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