Forum Theater as a Site for Qualitative Research
Theater of the Oppressed (TO) was developed in the 1960s by Brazilian director, activist, and later politician, Augusto Boal as a participative platform, stemming from a long tradition making theatre a part of the democratic exercise of social and political commentary and engagement. Often used in social work, it is gaining ground in qualitative research, not only to convey knowledge, but also to collect the voices of research participants.
Central to the techniques of the TO is the idea that theatre can be used as a tool for social and political change. Boal thought of empowering people who suffer from injustices by enabling them to voice their concerns and fight for their rights. Forum Theater (FT) is one of the key techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. The setup Boal came up with involves actors, trained in the techniques of TO, who present short scenes depicting a situation of oppression or injustice, without resolution.
After each performance, the audience is invited to suggest alternative solutions to each scene, either taking the place of one of the characters or adding one that could, in their opinion, facilitate the resolution. The situations presented on stage must reflect the daily experiences of the audience for them to actively engage. In such cases, the audience cannot help but explore different possibilities, and see themselves as potential agents of change, on stage as well as in their respective lives.
The Perks of Frustration
As a doctoral fellow, I started considering the use of Forum Theater as part of my approach to my thesis research, when confronted with difficulties in getting participants to express themselves about certain issues. My work focuses on how French child social services accompany children under their protection until they reach the age of majority (18), at which point, the right to assistance for children in need turns into a privilege, depending on a discretional decision.
Focusing on the views of the adolescents and the social workers who assist them, my goal is to highlight the dynamics and contradictions that can be observed in the implementation of public policies targeting precarious and isolated youngsters, who are often involved in migration processes. Or, at least, that was my original goal. But then I had to face the reality of the field.
In my ethnographic research set in the South-West of France, the field primarily consists of foster infrastructures or apartments scattered around the city hosting the teenagers, where they live either amongst peers or by themselves. I also spent time going to places my research participants regularly go to. What soon struck me was the reluctance and discomfort of these young people with the interview one-on-one setting, involving an adult and themselves. I came to understand that often when they were interviewed by adults the follow-up decisions taken or reports had dramatically changed the youngsters’ lives, and they had felt the approach to be unfair and disproportionate.
I found that, instead of such formal settings, I had the most insightful conversations while playing Monopoly, participating in a FIFA tournament, or cooking mussels together. When I did not pick up my notebook or my recorder, the conversations with the youngsters would flow. This was not a barrier to doing research per se but it had me look for ways to best hear those adolescents, who indeed wished to be heard. It also made me wonder what else would they have to say?
The voices of the youth being a central feature of my research, I felt frustrated by the challenge of not being able to capture their thoughts, which led me to think creatively. I had seen a Forum Theater performance in a marginalized neighborhood of the same city, where some of my research participants lived. The topic of the performance, “incivilities and security”, had been chosen by the Préfette, a representative of the state on this administrative territory.
The outcome of the performance, however, was not really related to the initial topic. Rather interestingly, the performance served to highlight a lack of infrastructure for the youth to spend time in, a lack of consideration for children and elderly people’s care as well as options for mobility, and places for kids to safely play. I doubt that the Préfette expected these topics of discussion as an outcome.
To many, the performance was an opportunity to change the perceptions of outsiders on their daily lives. It pushed them to reflect on ways they could be actors in improving their real lives. Consequently, the performance was a decisive factor in the inclusion of the Forum Theater- and the Theater of the Oppressed- approaches in conducting my research.
The Shared Goal of Research and Forum Theater
Prior to a Forum Theater performance, the actors must usually do some research to identify situations that are familiar to the audience, and that would be portrayed on stage. In this case, the theater company will benefit from my ethnographic observations as a basis for their performance. To remain as true to reality as possible with my observations, I will try to convey as much as possible the body language, the attitudes, and the lexical fields used, among other aspects.
The next step will consist of workshops bringing together youngsters and educators, who will collaborate with me to create scenes that represent their experiences. After sharing my observations and the outcomes of the workshops, the theater company and I will create the final Forum Theater performance. The audience invited to participate with the actors will hopefully consist of youngsters, their educators, and many others, who gravitate around the child welfare system.
These participatory Forum Theater performances may hopefully yield many interesting outcomes and allow the sharing of diverse perspectives on common issues, and the generation of data, as well as facilitate the empowerment of the participants, and encourage community engagement, even after my research project is over.
Doris Niragire Nirere is a doctoral researcher at the Laboratoire d’études des processus sociaux (LAPS) and at the nccr – on the move at the University of Neuchâtel. She has a particular interest in contemporary forms of governing and experiencing migration, mobility, social cohesion, and youth.
