Editing Augusto Boal (section)

===''Theatre of the Oppressed'' (London: Pluto Press, 1979)===
Arguably Augusto Boal's most academically influential work<ref>[http://kaharris.iweb.bsu.edu/BoalEssay.htm The Theatre of the Oppressed: The Philosophy of Augusto Boal, by Kevin A. Harris] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326020058/http://kaharris.iweb.bsu.edu/BoalEssay.htm |date=March 26, 2009 }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120709193214/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1997_Nov/ai_20099663/ The theatre of the oppressed, by Augusto Boal. UNESCO Courier, Nov, 1997.]. Archive.today (2012-07-09). Retrieved on 2019-09-06.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ciruelo.uninorte.edu.co/pdf/invest_desarrollo/12-1/empowering_the_opressed.pdf |title=Empowering the oppressed through participatory theatre, by Arvind Singhal |access-date=2009-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707052756/http://ciruelo.uninorte.edu.co/pdf/invest_desarrollo/12-1/empowering_the_opressed.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is the ''Theatre of the Oppressed,'' in which the reader follows Boal's detailed analysis of the [[Poetics (Aristotle)|''Poetics'' of Aristotle]] and the early history of Western theatre. Boal contends that the [[Aristotelian ethics|Aristotelian ethic]] means oppressing the masses, the people, the workers and the spectators in favour of stability and the continued dominance of a privileged few. He argues that the ''[[Tragedy#Greek tragedy|Tragi-drama]]'', a formulaic drama style that today could be considered similar to that of [[soap opera]]s, helps the State promote its continued existence. He sees the Brazilian government as an example of an oppressive state using theatre to propagate its oppressive system. He then outlines his early theories and practices for attempting to reverse the paradigm. It also talks about Newspaper Theatre, attempting to talk about local problems and present it to the audiences, Forum Theatre, currently used in over 70 countries, Invisible Theatre, used to discuss political activity and Image Theatre. Theatre of the Oppressed has been translated to more than 25 languages over the years. 
Boal also talks about Invisible theatre in which an event is planned and scripted but does not allow the spectators to know that the event is happening. Actors perform out of the ordinary roles which invite spectators to join in or sit back and watch. One example was in a restaurant at the Chiclayo hotel, actors sat at separate tables and informed the waiters in loud voices that they could not eat the food. The actor stated that the food was not good. The waiter says the diner could pick something else to eat. So the actor chose a rather expensive item off the menu and says he will be able to pay for it. The actor mentions he has no money and he would be willing to work for it. This display made other diners start discussing the price and treatment of workers at this hotel. This act allowed spectators to think about issues that were going on but was brushed over because the issue did not directly involve them.<ref name="Wardrip-Fruin, Noah 2003">Wardrip-Fruin, Noah, and Nick Montfort (2003). "From Theatre of the Oppressed." ''[[The New Media Reader]]''. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 2003. pp. 339–52.</ref>
Analytical theatre is when a participant tells a story and the actors improvise it. Each character is broken down into all the social roles they could follow and the participants choose an object to symbolize the role. This aspect of theatre allows the participants to see how there are multiple roles a person could follow.<ref name="Wardrip-Fruin, Noah 2003"/>