Activist
While there are a large number of social justice issues that matter to me, I have found that my activism has taken the form of using theatre as a means of connecting people to each others' stories. I believe this is a starting point from which direct actions towards mitigating social justice issues can grow.
After receiving training in the methodology of Theatre of the Oppressed from TONYC during the summer of 2017, I have been conducting workshops introducing students from middle school and up to the methodology. You can learn more about the history of Theatre of the Oppressed and how I have applied the methodology by clicking here, to view a copy of my senior thesis.
Theatre of the Oppressed is a Brazilian Theatre methodology that was developed by Augusto Boal in the 1950's. It has been applied in a wide variety of contexts to address a range of social justice issues. Theatre of the Oppressed (T/O) consists of both a specific way of presenting plays, as well as a series of games and theatre exercises designed to "liberate the senses" and encourage people to engage with the world in a different way. Boal believed that if we could imagine new realities for ourselves using theatre, we then could begin to create these realities for ourselves. Below you can read more about the workshops that I have conducted introducing the tenets of T/O to a wide variety of populations.
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Program Coordinator | Creative Tools for Community Conversations | Charlottesville, VA | 2019
Developed and implemented a half day workshop for student leaders at the University of Virginia, as a part of my senior thesis project. I utilized games from Theatre of the Oppressed to facilitate conversations about social justice issues on grounds. Click here to read a review of the workshop. Click here to read the welcome packet and agenda. View photo and video from the workshop here.
Guest Instructor | Virginia Players| Charlottesville, VA | 2019
Conducted a two hour long workshop on Theatre of the Oppressed for a group of six students as a part of Virginia Players workshop series.
Visiting Artist| Monticello High School | Charlottesville, VA | 2019
Conducted four fifty minute workshops with the students of Monticello High School's drama department. Click here to view video from one of the workshops.
Visiting Artist | Empowered Players | Charlottesville, VA | 2018
Conducted an hour long introductory workshop to Theatre of the Oppressed with a group of middle school students as a part of Empowered Players arts enrichment program. Click here to view photos of the workshop.
Visiting Artist| Potomac Falls High School | Sterling, VA | 2018​
Developed and implemented a two day workshop on Theatre of the Oppressed. Worked with a group of four students to introduce them to a new theatre methodology, not traditionally taught in public high schools. Click here to read the welcome packet and agenda. Click here to read follow up resources distributed to the students.