Augusto Boal

Theater director, writer, politician

• Born: March 16, 1931
• Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Died: May 2, 2009
• Place of death: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Education: Columbia University

Significance: Brazilian theater director and dramatist Augustus Boal founded the Theatre of the Oppressed, a theater movement based on promoting social and political change. This style of drama involved audience participation and an exploration of modern society. Imprisoned for his cultural activism in the 1970s and briefly exiled from Brazil, Boal continued to promote his theater technique around the world until his death in 2009.

Background

Augustus Boal was born on March 16, 1931, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His parents, José Augusto Boal and Albertina Pinto Boal, were Portuguese. His father was exiled from Portugal in 1914 after refusing to support Portugal's involvement in World War I (1914–1918). He returned briefly in 1925 to marry Albertina before relocating the family to Brazil. Boal grew up in a Brazil under the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas. Despite being raised in a totalitarian country, Boal's upbringing was happy and comfortable. His parents encouraged Boal's early interest in theater. He was known to stage his own plays in the family dining room, using his siblings and cousins as actors.

In 1948, Boal entered the National School of Chemistry at the University of Brazil. The choice to study chemistry was mainly made to satisfy his father. He did not lose his passion for theater, however, and became director of the school's cultural department. The position came with free tickets to local theater venues. Boal took great advantage of this benefit and attended many productions throughout his college years. The experience also gave him the opportunity to meet directors, playwrights, and actors from all over the world. He made many important friends during this time, including playwright Nelson Rodrigues and theater critic Sábato Magaldi. Magaldi later introduced Boal to Jose Renato, founder of the Arena Theater in São Paulo.

Boal graduated from university in 1952 and decided to continue his studies at Columbia University in New York. He took courses in chemistry and theater during this time. He also studied playwriting with drama critic John Gassner, whom he deeply respected. The connections he made in Brazil extended into the New York theater scene, and he continued to meet a number of influential artists during his time there.

Life's Work

Following his time in New York, it became clear to Boal that he needed to pursue a career in theater. He returned to Brazil in 1955 and immediately landed a job as artistic director of the Arena Theatre, a position he held for the next fifteen years. Boal also began directing plays at the theater. He was known to reinterpret classic dramas for the stage, such as John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. The Arena suffered financially, however, and Boal began focusing his production efforts on national authors to boost viewership. Boal also developed a unique theater experience that placed the actors very close to the audience.

In the 1960s, Boal and his theater associates developed what they called Newspaper Theater. He and his colleagues visited factories and churches to incite discussion of current issues written about in the newspaper. Boal would then direct the residents in a dramatization of the events. Over the next decade, Boal would expand upon this theme with Invisible Theater and Forum Theater. Invisible Theater involved actors arriving at random sites unannounced and performing scripted scenes while engaging the audience. Forum Theater featured plays about social problems written without endings. The actors called on the audience to chime in with ideas about how the play should unfold. The audience was also encouraged to get on stage and act out the resolution with the actors.

After the Brazilian government was overthrown in a coup in 1964, Boal's theatrical subject matter made him a target of the country's new military dictatorship. His interest in fostering a more politically literate public was met with threats. In 1971, he was kidnapped and tortured by the new regime for three months before being released. He was then exiled from Brazil and relocated to Argentina, where he continued to develop his ideas. Living in Argentina, France, and Portugal over the next decade, Boal developed what he referred to as the Theatre of the Oppressed, an idea first examined in his 1974 book of the same name. The book argued against mainstream theater styles, calling it a means for the ruling class to reinforce control. The Theatre of the Oppressed saw drama as a weapon capable of rousing the public into action. Boal's book was later translated into twenty-five languages, and his ideas inspired drama circles all over the world.

Between 1978 and 1985, Boal taught at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he established a Theatre of the Oppressed center. He also organized Theatre of the Oppressed festivals around the world starting in 1981. He returned to Brazil in 1986 after the country's military dictatorship collapsed. Boal then set up another Theatre of the Oppressed center in Rio de Janeiro, organizing multiple theater companies around the country to further encourage community-based performances.

Boal became involved in local politics following his return to Brazil. He served on Rio de Janeiro's city council between 1993 and 1996. His approach to politics resembled his approach to theater, and he was known to encourage public participation in the lawmaking process. He also wrote several more books during the 1990s, including The Rainbow of Desire (1995) and Legislative Theatre (1998). In 2001 he published an autobiography titled Hamlet and the Baker's Son. He continued to divide viewers and critics with his theatrical productions throughout his later career and remained dedicated to spreading his Theatre of the Oppressed across the world. He died on May 2, 2009, from respiratory failure in Rio de Janeiro at the age of seventy-eight.

Impact

Boal believed anyone could get involved in and be transformed by theater. His theatrical philosophy greatly influenced a number of playwrights and theater groups over the years. Boal was also awarded multiple honorary degrees for his work throughout his lifetime. His Theater of the Oppressed became an international theater movement with followers in more than forty countries.

Personal Life

Boal was married twice, first to Albertina Costa and then to Cecilia Thumim. He had two sons, Fabian and Julian.

Principal Works

Books

Theatre of the Oppressed, 1974

Games for Actors and Non-Actors, 1989

The Rainbow of Desire, 1995

Legislative Theatre, 1998

Hamlet and the Baker's Son, 2001

Bibliography

Babbage, Frances. Augusto Boal. Routledge, 2004.

Brown, Ray. "Bums off Seats." Guardian, 24 July 2002, www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/jul/24/artsfeatures. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.

"Famed Brazilian Artist Augusto Boal on the 'Theater of the Oppressed.'" Democracy Now, 3 June 2005, www.democracynow.org/2005/6/3/famed‗brazilian‗artist‗augusto‗boal‗on. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.

Paterson, Doug. "A Brief Biography of Augusto Boal." Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, ptoweb.org/aboutpto/a-brief-biography-of-augusto-boal/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.

Sierz, Alekz. "Augusto Boal." Guardian, 5 May 2009, www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/06/augusto-boal-obituary. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.

Weber, Bruce. "Augusto Boal, Stage Director Who Gave a Voice to Audiences, Is Dead at 78." New York Times, 9 May 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/theater/09boal.html?mcubz=1. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.