So You Think
You Can Act

Mr Kok Heng Leun, National Institute of Education’s (NIE) Visiting Artist from August to November 2017, will conduct a three-day Masterclass on Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.), with a focus on ‘Forum Theatre’.

Pioneered by renowned Brazilian theatre director and practitioner Augusto Boal, T.O. is a theatrical form that employs a series of techniques and games that motivate and empower audiences while drawing attention to the power of performance to shape social and political realities. While T.O. includes many forms, Mr Kok will focus on ‘Forum Theatre’ — a short play or scene that dramatises a situation with a particular oppressive ending. Audiences are then invited to reshape the ending so that the victims in the play are liberated. Theatre thus becomes a rehearsal for realworld action as it empowers audiences with knowledge on ways to break oppression.

In this Masterclass, Mr Kok will share the history, contexts and possibilities of T.O. with us, and draw on his experiences doing ‘Forum Theatre’ in Singapore. Involving an integration of both theory and practice, Mr Kok will also introduce the considerations and approaches to creating ‘Forum Theatre’. Moreover, participants will have the invaluable opportunity to create a ‘Forum Theatre ’piece under Mr Kok’s guidance.

The full-day Masterclass will take place from 4 to 6 October 2017, 10am to 5pm, at NIE’s Nanyang Playhouse.
Due to a high-level of expected interest, a cap of 20 participants is present. In addition, the registration fee of $150 is waivedfor students from Nanyang Technological University and NIE.

Email jiamin.law@nie.edu.sg for more information.