How do you bring a community together to create a shared understanding of their challenges and explore possible solutions?
The process of creating a strategy can be transformative and powerful – it’s a process in which we critically reflect on our reality, unleash our imagination of the possibilities, and envision how we can build power to achieve change.
As organizers and trainers, we want to make the act of strategizing empowering and exciting for our people; we want them to engage with their hearts, not just their minds.
But how can we do that?
To find answers, we turn to a method called Theater of the Oppressed, created by Brazilian theater director and political activist Augusto Boal.
Inspired by the work of Paulo Freire on emancipatory education, the Theater of the Oppressed is a form of community-based education that uses theater as a tool for transformation and critical observation, and is now used all over the world for social and political change.
On April 7th, we will be joined by Laura Mentz Strakova from Rehearsal for Reality to explore how such participatory theater techniques can be used to build power within communities in our organizing and social change work.
Come learn about participatory theater, experience it ourselves, and explore together how we can use these techniques as strategies and tactics to build power in our campaigns and organizing work!
About the speaker
Laura Mentz Strakova is an applied theater facilitator, educator, and performer based in Prague, Czech Republic. She founded and now directs Rehearsal for Reality, a registered association delivering participatory theater-based programs that support social equity, justice, and peace. She collaborates with community and civic groups, social service organizations, activists and educators to create grassroots participatory projects that help mobilize their communities for change. Laura has eight years of experience facilitating groups in theater of the oppressed, forum theater, and theater activism. Her work with communities has included topics such as LGBTQ rights, women’s empowerment, social inclusion, and migrants’ rights, both domestically and abroad. She holds a BA in Political Philosophy and an MA in Classical Rhetoric, and is trained in theater of the oppressed, theater and therapy, and conflict transformation.
- What: Innovation Hub: Building power through participatory theater
- When: April 7th Thursday 9:00-10:30 am Eastern Time
- How: Register using the form below by April 6th 11:59pm ET
- Who: LCN Members, limited to 25 seats
This session is participatory and experiential. Participants will be invited to go on camera, and will need space to move around while still having a clear view of themselves on screen.
We look forward to learning with you on April 7th!
This event is only for LCN members, if you have an active membership login to view the members’ form and register for free to attend this event.
