Introduction (3 days)
General Introduction of Theatre of the Oppressed – Image Theatre – Forum Theatre. Focus on how to develop scenes from images through the slide show technique.

Blagg! (2 days)
Participatory Drama and offending behaviour/violating norms. Blagg! was originally designed for use in prison and probation and was adapted by Formaat for the use in Dutch prisons. There are also versions addressing domestic violence, vandalism, alcohol/drug abuse, unemployment and debt.

Making a Scene (5 days)
Basic skills for making Forum scenes, to generate maximum effect. Focus on using the context information on oppression to create an identifiable anti-model which gets the audience off their seats and which is a good basis for jokering. This module requires basic knowledge of Forum Theatre and Image Theatre.

Jokering (2 days)
Who and what is the Joker? Joker techniques – how to start a Forum session and how to wrap it up – what questions to ask and what not? – basic attitude on stage – how to communicate with actors – how to deal with ‘difficult’ audiences? Plus feedback on earlier experiences of participants.

Dilemma Discussion Method (2 days)
Or: from ethical reasoning to ethical acting. Translating conflicts into ethical dilemma’s counters stereotypical thinking and opens situations up for dialogue. The Dilemma Discussion method can be an additional joker technique and a method of its own, used in workshops.

Rainbow of Desire (2 days)
Focus on individual and internalized oppression. We look for the cops in the head, who stand in the way of us behaving as we would like to. Creating the Rainbow of Desire opens up the space for personal growth and change.

ORID (1 day)
Observation – Reflection – Interpretation – Decision; an evaluation and planning technique used a lot in development work. ORID feeds on the collective knowledge and experience of a group and is especially accessible to people who struggle with written or foreign language. Because it always ends with a decision to act, it is very similar to the dynamics of Theatre of the Oppressed.

Trainings organised in the Netherlands are basically in Dutch but can be bilingual (English) when non-Dutch speakers participate. English spoken trainings are available on request.