Approaches To Acting: Augusto Boal

For one of my current theatre projects, I am researching Augusto Boal in preparation to teach a new topic "Approaches to Acting" as a part of the N.S.W. senior Drama course. This course provides the opportunity to study two theatre practitioners, and as such, I have selected to focus on Vsevlod Meyerhold along with Boal. This should present students with two very different but engaging "Approaches to Acting" that will inform their understanding on acting and playbuilding. Augusto Boal's work on"The Theatre of the Oppressed" is noted for his attempt to break down the division between the actors and the passive audience and resulted in the coining of the phrase "spect-actor" suggesting a more fluid connect between the two aspects of the performance process. The following entries on Augusto Boal will continue to explore this relationship between acting and the audience in Boal's work: on forum theatre, invisible theatre and the theatre of image, to develop a comprehensive understanding of Boal's approach towards acting. I will be drawing on the following references during this work.

• Games for actors and non-actors by Augusto Boal ( Routlegdge 1992)
• Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal (Pluto Press 2000)
• Hamlet and The Baker's Son by Augusto Boal (Routledge 2001)
• Augusto Boal by Frances Babbage (Routledge 2004)
• www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk