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Drama Resources - Meyerhold and Boal Essay and Notes
Drama Resources - Meyerhold and Boal Essay and Notes
Drama Resources - Meyerhold and Boal Essay and Notes
Brazilian born Boal, born in 1931, was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatre
style that was laden with political nature regarding individuals being oppressed within
society, as it sought to remove individuals from oppression through drama, although he didn’t
seek and was aware that his theatre would not be the grounds for a social revolution, he felt
his theatre would “empower people with the tools for change […] which could change
reality,” and eventually break the tyranny of an individual’s spirit.
Boal‘s aims for his theatre were dissimilar to those of Meyerhold. Boal created his theatre
because he wished to empower people through his games and exercises, which he felt
allowed those undertaking them to recreate them on stage, and through this change
themselves from spectators in a passive state to ‘SpectActors,’ who are involved in the
performance and turned into actors. He wished to change theatre similar to provide his
‘SpectActors’ the opportunity to change social conditions and oppression in their existence,
through providing his ’SpectActors’ with content within his performances such as sexual
subjugation, and are provided with the opportunity to repair the situation, thus they are
provided with the ability to strive en route for societal emancipation in their own existence.
Boal further believed that because of his ‘SpectActors’ oppression in their own lives, their
bodies and psyche have also become oppressed and quintessential. Thus, he believed that
through his exercises and theatre, he could demechanise their bodies and liberate them of
their oppression to display realistic images.
Boal’s main rationale for creating his theatre was to break the chain of oppression, after
experiencing it’s harshness in his home country of Brazil from the 1960’s onwards. His
theatre was also a response to the Ancient Greek Theatres, through showing tragedy in their
oppression, he was able to let this run throughout his performances and let it come to
influence much of his foundations for both Arsenal and throughout his theatre in general.
Another influence upon him was from that of a political writer - Bertold Brecht, where he
wished to educate both actor and audiences experiencing oppression that there is an escape.
He was able to achieve combined pedagogy through his SpectActor convention, where
audience and actors were on the same level and not bound by performance etiquette where
they are alienated from one another.
Boal was able to achieve his aims through his Arsenal, which was seen as his means to
demechanise the body, and fight against the oppression of the mind and body The Arsenal of
Theatre of the Oppressed is grouped under five headings, feeling what we touch, listening to
what we hear, dynamising several senses, seeing what we look at and the memory of the
senses. Under each of these headings, there are a diverse range of exercises that are executed
by both groups and individuals, which vary in degrees of difficulties, but all come down to
the simple aim of demechanising the body as well as the mind. All of these activities are
preparation for performers to implement into forum, image and invisible theatre; all of which
are Boal’s own form of drama that seek to break oppression.
Boal’s actor-training method for his Arsenal in feeling what we touch contain a series of
exercises which he intended for both actors and spectactors to use onstage, and entailed a
series of movements and positions that were designed to demechanise the body and mind and
allow for the performers to convey meaning through the use of their body. Through the use of
certain exercises, performers became aware that touching does not permanently involve hand-
to-hand touching but can use other parts of the body to feel, such us leg-to-leg. As well as
this, Boal used exercises that changed the performers centre of gravity, so instead of carrying
all the weight on feet and legs, Boal challenged his subjects to carry their weight on their face
and shoulder, and to use muscles and other parts of the body that are not commonly used and
have been forgotten. One exercise, Bear of Postiers, challenged the performer to desensitise
the body and control automatic reactions, such as squirming when being tickled etc. This can
be linked to Boal’s image theatre, where one has automatic stereotypes about ideas, and they
create images that depict this stereotype, but when they have been demechanised, they are
able to create an image that has been thought about and is not an automated response to a
generalisation.
Image theatre is a device used by Boal where spectactors shape the body, wether one persons
or a large group of peoples, and use it as a medium to channel feelings, ideas and
relationships that may have aspects of oppression within it. In this theatre, the image of
oppression usually begins with an ideal image, such as a bad day at work, which may be
represented by a safe, stereotypical image of a worker not being able to meet their employers
demands. This image is then manipulated until all agree that it represents a real image, so that
then the reason behind the bad-day at work is that they might not be able to have time off to
go to a social function. From this, each manipulated statue acts as a character in the real
image.
Boal’s other main theatre device was Forum Theatre, which includes an issue of oppression
between the protagonist and antagonist, and, like Image theatre, it relies on involvement by
the spectactor, who is empowered with the opportunity to change the situation of oppression
for the protagonist through revolting against the antagonists. This involves Boal’s other
device of ‘The Joker’ who acts as the supervisor of the spectactor and offers guidance and
reiterates characterisation etc whilst allowing the spectactor to find a solution to the
oppressive situation. The Joker is not a teacher or didactic, but facilitates the thoughts and
actions of the spectactor and does not oppress.
Once again, the SpectActor is a major technique used by Boal, as it allows his theatre to
become a joint learning experience where oppression can be seen as a joint hurdle, by actors
and audience alike. In this combination, solutions to oppression are able to be found and
perhaps even translated into the lives of the audience, as was Boal’s aim.
So, through demechanisation of the body through Boal‘s Arsenal, which revolutionises the
muscular, sensory, memory, imagination as well as the emotional aspects of the human being,
it allows the performer to gain dominance over themselves, as well as to exile the oppression
on stage. In forum and invisible theatre, the former being where spectactors are unaware of
their role in the theatre, actors are able to go against the grain and perform in a way that is
truly demechanised and can react in a way that is not banal. Therefore, throughout the arsenal
as well as theatre types created by Boal, actors are able to set in motion a reformation against
oppression and it’s presence in their lives.
Consequently, through both Meyerhold and Boal’s exercises and games in their actor-training
schemes, they were able to set in motion and achieve their aims for their theatre, which was
to change theatre, the role of the body and also empower the audience to become proactive
and involved. Through their exercises, they were able to prepare their performers; Meyerhold
wished for his performers to become mechanised and aware of their body movements and
Boal, while also wanting his performers to become aware of their movements, he wished to
do this through a series of exercises which were unorganised and relied on spontaneity. In
many ways alike, both were able to achieve their aims through their extensively measured
actor-training regimes.