Boal Reality

I quite like the idea of the Boal form of theatre, where the audience does not know that it is an audience (Though, in a way, everybody is an audience member to reality). Instead of a stage, it is the world. Instead of a script, it is life. Really, they are two sides of the same theatrical coin: “Regular” theatre where audiences congregate at a theatre and buy tickets, etc. and this, where the people happen to be in a particular place. In both instances, they are bearing witness to something which is intended to change their minds about a particular topic. As an actor, I have always gone by the idea that our job is to make the audience feel that they are within the world of whatever play is happening at the time. In the case of the Boal form, the task of transcendence is irrelevant because they are their. The purpose for this type of theatre is to instill some form of change within the world. I feel that this method of acting would be more useful in that regard in that, when one goes to a “Regular” theatre, one knows that it is a show. That is to say, one knows that some heavy-handed will come along with the great story and wonderful characters. With the Boal form, since it seems so much like life, the message that is intended to reach the “audience” will have a greater chance of making a change in the world, or at least, the audience.