JDTLab: Theatre of the Oppressed at Guild Hall

Join Guild Hall for an evening of forum theatre and transform yourself from spectator to spect-actor!

Forum theatre is a theatrical innovation created by Brazilian artist and activist, Augusto Boal as part of his theatrical form: “Theatre of the Oppressed.”

Often described as a rehearsal for revolution, the audience members interact with the actors within the forum piece to explore, analyze, and transform the reality they may live in or see before them.

Forum theatre often portrays scenes of oppression in which the audience has the chance to create a dialogue and interaction between the other spectators and actors on the stage and in the room.

Applied theatre graduate students from the CUNY School of Professional Studies will present a forum theatre piece on pressing social and human rights issues.

After the forum performance, audience members can engage as spect-actors within the forum theatre piece and enact the change they want to see in the world!

Kasia Klimiuk is a New York based actor, director, producer and choreographer. She has performed with various companies in NYC and on the East End of Long Island, including the Neo-Political Cowgirls, Classics on the Rocks, Pipe Dream Theatre, HITfest, and Centerstage at the Southampton Cultural Center. She also performs with her theatre troupe, Our Fabulous Variety Show, which she directs and produces shows for. She is currently attaining her master’s degree in Applied Theatre at the CUNY School of Professional Studies and is thrilled to be introducing forum theatre to the East End community.

The CUNY School of Professional Studies Master’s Degree in Applied Theatre (M.A.), the first program of its kind in the United States, is a sequential, ensemble-based program for students interested in the use of theatre to address social and educational issues in a wide range of settings. The program stresses the unity of theory and practice, and is linked to the professional applied theatre work of the renowned CUNY Creative Arts Team. Applied theatre is a specialized field that uses theatre as a medium for education and social development. It involves the use of theatre and drama in a wide variety of non-traditional contexts and venues – in teaching, the justice system, healthcare, the political arena, community development, museums, social service agencies, and business and industry.