Using Forum Theatre to
engage Young People
Eleni Argy, Lisa Kennedy, Nikki Haddock, Sabrina Urrutia and
Sharne Tucker
August 24, 2011
About YWCA NSW
• A community services organization led by women
• Around for over 130 years
•Aim to support people at critical times
•We develop skilled and contributing individuals and support
their families
•Our purpose is to develop resilient, connected people engaged
in their community
•Our strategic focus is ‘Y It Takes A Village’
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Forum Theatre
Background & History
• Created by practitioner Augusto Boal which he called "Theatre
of the Oppressed”
• Consists of 'simultaneous dramaturgy‘
•Technique is used today in community development and
international development work
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Why Forum Theatre
• Forum theatre is a technique used for behaviour change
• Uses a participatory learning approach
• Illustrates attitudes, behaviours, values
• Theatre WITH people has shown that it yields greater results
than theatre FOR the people
• Drama is a safe way to explore issues in young people’s lives
but the fiction allows some distance and safety
Today’s Presentation
• Deliver a workshop from ‘Paths to Potential’ course on Anger
Management and Decision-Making
• Run it once- the audience is to maintain a critical eye and
identify moments of intervention
•Run it again- the audience members can actively participate/
perform
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