What is Theatre for Social Justice?
Theatre for social justice is exactly what it sounds
like, theatre that prompts audiences into thinking about and acting out
concerning
social justice issues. TSJ's shows do not exist to force ideals onto anyone, but to provide a space for forum
and discussion surrounding issues that are problematic in our community. TSJ has collectively written the
four shows we have done in the past two years. This year we will be writing three shows, but also performing
one show that has already been written.
TSJ
follows the teachings of Augusto Boal, who was a theatre activist
starting in the 1970s in Brazil. Boal wrote multiple books on the
subject of theatre created by a community for their community as a way
exploring solutions to problems. Boal explored the ways that
theatre created by people without a background in theatre can be
effective. He wrote in Theatre of the Oppressed that the "ruling
classes strive to take permanent hold of the theater and utilize it as
a tool for domination." Because this ideology is key to TSJ,
everyone with and without a background in theatre is welcome to
participate in our plays. Boal's work focused on making theatre
with communities instead of for them, thus we welcome everyone in the
SU community to be involved in writing, acting, and participating in
the theatre performances we create.