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AD ALTA

JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

FORUM THEATER AND MOVEMENT

ZUZANA HUBINSKÁ

Constantine The Philosopher University in Nitra, Faculty of
Education, Department of Music, Dražovská 4, 949 01 Nitra,
Slovakia
email:

z.hubinska@hotmail.sk

Abstract: In this article, we deal with an innovative approach to the methods of Forum
Theater. We offer readers a proposal for a model of a Forum Theater performance
based on the movement processing of individual situations, in which we emphasize the
mediation of emotions displaying through natural movement expressions or slightly
stylized dance elements. The main theme in the design of the performance, which is
intended for the second stage of primary education, is the increasingly topical topic of
cyberbullying. Despite the fact that we associate the Forum Theater with forms of
creative drama, we can also utilize it in everyday teaching, for example in subjects
aimed at creating social consciousness - civics. The article contains a brief description
of the Forum Theater, an explanation of the concept of cyberbullying and a description
of individual dance techniques, the means of expression of which we can use in the
presentation. Last but not least, a specific proposal for a model of the Forum Theater
performance - Cyberbullying - is a part of it.

Keywords: Forum Theater, movement, dance elements, cyberbullying, performance

1 Introduction

The Forum Theater is one of the forms of creative drama, based
on the concept of the Theater of the Oppressed, founded by
August Boal.

It was created in the 1960s in response to the

worsening political situation in Brazil. August Boal is a
prominent director, writer, theater theorist and, last but not least,
a politician. After studying in New York, he returned to Brazil,
where he had the opportunity to realize his ideas and seek new
theatrical forms through experimentation. The works he created
in this environment focused on authorial work, adapted to the
Brazilian audience.

The aim was to gain a better understanding

of the issue the Brazilian people were facing at the time. The
political situation mentioned in the introduction exacerbated,
several upheavals took place and that also reflected in the
cultural environment. The creations of domestic authors were
forbidden and the creators themselves were persecuted.
Nevertheless, A. Boal could not be discouraged, he continued to
present his works and gradually a new concept of theater began
to be profiled, based on the dismantling of passive participation
of spectators. A. Boal was even arrested, but under public
pressure, he was allowed to exile in Argentina, where he
continued to form the new theatrical concept.

However, the

situation in South America was not satisfactory and therefore he
had to emigrate to Europe. There he encountered a different type
of problems and pressure (invisible at first glance), to which he
reacted in his work.

In 1986 he returned to his native country,

founded the main center of the Theater of the Oppressed and also
other theater companies in Rio de Janeiro. Through several steps,
he gradually gained recognition from both theater and the
pedagogical community. The purpose of his life became the
realization of various performances using the principles of the
Theater of the Oppressed, as well as traveling, organizing
workshops throughout the country and visiting various schools
and universities.

The Theater of the Oppressed is a specific type of theatrical
concept that can also be used as a form of learning. It includes
various techniques, exercises and games that, as a whole,
encourage a certain change in the perception of society.

VALENTA, M. 2007. Dramaterapie. Praha: Grada, 2007. s. 49.

The

emphasis is on revealing various negative influences in the life
of an ordinary person (oppression, non-freedom, etc.) and to help
solve such problems through these authentic theatrical means.
The interesting fact about this concept is that the audience is not

SANTOS, B. et. al. 2016.

Divadlem ke změně. Praha: Antikomplex, 2016. s. 19.

VALENTA, M. a kol. 2006.

Rukověť dramaterapie a teatroterapie. Olomouc:

Univerzita Palackého, 2006. s. 26.

TKAČOVA, M. 2016. Divadlo utlačovaných a specifika práce Elišky Lindovské.

Brno: JAMU, 2016. s. 17.

SOCHA, J. 2007.

Alternativa prevence sociálně patologických jevů na gymnáziích –

Divadlo fórum. [Bachelor work]. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2007. s. 9, 10.

MACKOVÁ, R. 2002. Divadlo Fórum. Brno: JAMU, 2002. s. 31.

in the role of a passive observer but enters the story in the role of
actors.

For each country where this form is utilized, specific

theatrical means, forms and techniques of the oppressed theater
are selected, depending on the conditions and situation of the
environment - most often Newspaper Theater (media control,
censorship, the aim is to teach spectators to read correctly and
reveal objective facts), Forum Theater and Sculpture Theater
(absent of spoken word).

This author deals with the topic of the

Theater of the Oppressed in more detail: SONDOROVÁ, D.
2019. The Theater of the Oppressed as one of the means of
resocialization of delinquent youth (In: Sapere Aude 2019. p. 70-
76).

2 Forum Theater

"It represents one of the best known and most used techniques of
the Theater of the Oppressed"

In its inception it was used for political purposes, as through this
form, theater actors appealed to the poor to express a different
stance on social oppression. It is interpreted in the form of a
compact performance, which presents the audience with attitudes
to various problems, gives them the opportunity to realize their
position and possibly change it.

Its origins date back to the

1960s, when A. Boal and the Teatro de Arena undertook joint
tours of the poor areas of northeastern Brazil. Through this form,
he tried to arouse the oppressed peasants to revolt. However, he
realized that he should not be the one to offer them a solution,
but they should come up with it themselves. Another impulse
was the experience from the dramaturgical seminar, when during
the presentation of one play a quarrel arose between the
participants, in which the spectator entered to express his
motives. This situation fascinated him because he experienced
how fiction grew into reality and he too began to think about
breaking these boundaries.

The third stimulus in the gradual creation of a comprehensive
form of the Forum Theater was the principle of the so-called
“Joker“. This character can play any role, stop and enter the
play, comment on the performance in a social, political or
historical context. Through this role, A. Boal influenced the
conventional stylizations of contemporary theater.

However,

the Forum Theater was not established until Boal's return to
South America, which we described in the paragraph above. He
started utilizing the so-called simultaneous dramaturgy, in which
the audience could suggest different solutions to the situation
within the interpretation of the performance. Based on one
improvisation from theater-goer, who was not satisfied with the
end of the story, he adjusted the rules and the audience became
active participants in the performance – co-actors.

HANZLÍKOVÁ, I. 2010.

Realizace Divadla fórum s klienty chráněného bydlení

Domov Klíč – CSS Olomouc. [Diploma work]. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 2010.
s. 15 – 16.

The

principle of the play allows viewers to watch the story and later
invites them to incorporate. In the first moment, the audience is
presented with a short story with a title theme that deals with
social or political issues, where the main character - the
protagonist/oppressed, tries to resist the antagonist/oppressor.
The story ends with the loss of the main character and the Joker
subsequently invites the audience to change the actions of the
actors on the stage. The members of the audience can safely
verify their opinions, attitudes, strategies and see if they can
reverse the initial reactions for a positive result. They can find

SANTOS, B. et al. 2016.

Divadlem ke změně. Praha: Antikomplex, 2016. s. 21.

SONDOROVÁ, D. 2019. Hudobno-dramatické aktivity a ich využitie v technike

Divadlo fórum. In Teorie a

praxe hudobní výchovy VI., 2019, č. 6, s. 189.

MATYAŠOVÁ,

L. 2005. Divadlo fórum

na školách žije. In

Tvořivá

dramatika. 2005,

č. 3, s. 15.

BOAL, A. 2001. Hamlet and the baker´s son: My life in theatre and politics.

London: Routledge, 2001. s. 200-205.

REMSOVÁ,

L. 2011. Divadlo

utlačovaných a jeho edukační možnosti v

sociální pedagogice.

[Dissertation work]. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2011.

s.45.

HANZLÍKOVÁ,

I. 2010. Realizace Divadla fórum s klienty

chráněného

bydlení

Domov

Klíč – CSS Olomouc. [Diploma work]. Olomouc:

Univerzita Palackého, 2010. s. 21.

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