Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), developed in the 1970s by theatre-maker, politician, activist, dissident, and director, Augusto Boal, seeks to "rehearse for revolution" by engaging in activism, community building, therapy, legislating, and broad social change.

From October 10th-13th Sacramento State’s Department of Theatre & Dance held The Forum Theatre Festival in the University Theatre (Shasta 113) where our students staged scenes about personal experiences of oppression and invited audience members to help brainstorm and "rehearse" possible solutions.

As part of this festival, Geo Britto, one of Boal's original Jokers (facilitators), and co-founder of the Escola de Teatro Popular (Popular Theatre School) in Rio de Janeiro, came to campus to work with the cast and community.

On Friday, September 20th Geo led a training for students, faculty, staff, and members of the greater Sacramento community in Theatre of the Oppressed. Geo worked for 32 years at the Centre of Theatre of the Oppressed (CTO) in Rio de Janeiro and was one of the first generation of students who trained with Augusto Boal (for 19 years) all the way up until Boal's death in 2009.

Theatre of the Oppressed, while a performance-based activism, crosses into: politics, political science, sociology, urban-planning, psychology, communication, ethnic studies, gender studies, education, criminal justice, social work, social science, public health, and more!