Stacia Hitt Legislative Theater

Theater of the Oppressed comes from not having a forum to speak. We see a protagonist and an antagonist in a life situation and then we freeze that moment and ask the audience how this oppressed situation could be changed for the better. Theater of the Oppressed is theater of change and revolution. It is political and environmental theater with a structure. A quote that stood out to me was “Theater cannot be imprisoned inside theatrical buildings just as religion cannot be imprisoned inside churches: the language of theatre and its forms of expression cannot be the private property of actors, just as religious practice cannot be appropriated by priests as theirs alone!” Theater of the Oppressed is for the community to come together. Actors I feel have a grave job to let the audience understand, change and grow. The power of images and community and the idea of forgetting that you’re doing theater are tools to help audience participants connect and step into the world of the open forum. Legislative theater expresses’ the truth in a messed up society and invites the truth to be shared amongst the masses.