Glossary of Terms from Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed

Cop-in-the-Head is a specific exercise amongst Boal's therapeutic techniques. It is also the term Boal originally used to designate the entire series of TO exercises that address internalized oppressions. Boal explains that some people stopped themselves from taking political actions because they had "cops in their heads"—fears that persisted after the oppressor no longer had "real" power over them. Boal believes that all the cops in our heads have identities and headquarters in the external world that need to be located. He sees this work as bordering on psychology but still firmly rooted in the realm of theater.

Dynamization, a fundamental goal of TO, is the term for the activation of the spectator, whether to bring a still image to life or to intervene in a forum scene. For Boal, dynamization is also connected to catharsis—but it refers to the purging of the fear that keeps the spectator from fighting oppression rather than to the purging of the spectator's desire to act (due to vicarious identification with the actors).

Forum Theatre is a TO technique that begins with the enactment of a scene (or anti-model) in which a protagonist tries, unsuccessfully, to overcome an oppression relevant to that particular audience. The joker then invites the spectators to replace the protagonist at any point in the scene that they can imagine an alternative action that could lead to a solution. The scene is replayed numerous times with different interventions. This results in a dialogue about the oppression, an examination of alternatives, and a "rehearsal" for real situations.

Image Theatre is a series of wordless exercises in which participants create embodiments of their feelings and experiences. Beginning with a selected theme, participants "sculpt" images onto their own and others' bodies. These frozen images are then "dynamized," or brought to life, through a sequence of movement-based and interactive exercises.

Invisible Theatre is a rehearsed sequence of events that is enacted in a public, nontheatrical space, capturing the attention of people who do not know they are watching a planned performance. It is at once theater and real life, for although rehearsed, it happens in real time and space and the "actors" must take responsibility for the consequences of the "show." The goal is to bring attention to a social problem for the purpose of stimulating public dialogue.

The joker is the director/master of ceremonies of a TO workshop or performance. In Forum Theatre, the joker sets up the rules of the event for the audience, facilitates the spectators' replacement of the protagonist, and sums up the essence of each solution proposed in the interventions. The term derives from the joker (or wild card) in a deck of playing cards: just as the wild card is not tied down to a specific suit or value, neither is the TO joker tied down to an allegiance to performer, spectator, or any one interpretation of events. Also used as a verb, "to joke." The joker is related to but not the same as the "Joker System."

The Joker System is a theatrical form developed by Boal and his collaborators at the Arena Stage in São Paulo between 1968 and 1971. The genre is characterized by the mixing of fact and fiction, the shifting of roles during the play so that all actors play all characters, separation of actor and character through Brechtian techniques, and the introduction of the "joker" figure, both a narrator who addresses the audience directly and a "wild card" actor able to jump in and out of any role in the play.

Rainbow of Desire is the name of a specific TO exercise in Boal's therapeutic repertoire and, for a while, referred to his whole body of therapeutic techniques. Boal recently stated that neither Cop-in-the Head nor Rainbow of Desire was the right name for that series but he had not yet determined a name he found more suitable.

Spect-actor refers to the activated spectator, the audience member who takes part in the action. In TO there are meant to be no passive spectators; Boal emphasizes the potential involvement of even those who do not physically participate, and the fact that they at least have the choice.

Excerpted with permission from "Playing Boal" edited by Mady Schutzman and Jan Cohen-Cruz (Routledge, 1994)

This story appeared in High Performance #72, Summer 1996

Original CAN/API publication: December 1999