1.
Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it.
Augusto Boal
Theatre is an enlightenment; it should and can be a catalyst for change. Theatre can help us create our destiny, instead of passively awaiting it.
2.
We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it.
Augusto Boal
3.
Theatre has nothing to do with buildings or other physical constructions. Theatre - or theatricality - is the capacity, this human property which allows man to observe himself in action, in activity. Man can see himself in the act of seeing, in the act of acting, in the act of feeling, the act of thinking. Feel himself feeling, think himself thinking.
Augusto Boal
4.
It is not the place of the theatre to show the correct path, but only to offer the means by which all possible paths may be examined.
Augusto Boal
It is not the purpose of the theatre to dictate a particular course, but merely to provide means for evaluating every possible route.
5.
When does a session of The Theatre of the Oppressed end? Never - since the objective is not to close a cycle, to generate a catharsis, or to end a development. On the contrary, its objective is to encourage autonomous activity, to set a process in motion, to stimulate transformative creativity, to change spectators into protagonists. And it is precisely for these reasons that the Theatre of the Oppressed should be the initiator of changes the culmination of which is not the aesthetic phenomenon but real life.
Augusto Boal
6.
The theater itself is not revolutionary: it is a rehearsal for the revolution.
Augusto Boal
'The stage is not transformative: it is a practice ground for transformation.'
7.
The theater is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it.
Augusto Boal
The stage is an instrument, and it should be the populace who control it.
8.
Empathy is the most powerful weapon [...]
Augusto Boal
Compassion is the mightiest tool [...]
9.
Anyone can do theater, even actors. And theater can be done everywhere. Even in a theater.
Augusto Boal
'Thespians of all skill levels can participate in the dramatic arts, and it is possible to perform anywhere - even on a stage.'
10.
Nothing is going to remain the way it is. Let us, in the present, study the past, so as to invent the future.
Augusto Boal
'Let us not remain stagnant; let us examine the experiences of our predecessors to create the possibilities of tomorrow.'
11.
Theatre is the art of looking at ourselves.
Augusto Boal
Theatre is the craft of self-reflection.
12.
The poetics of the oppressed is essentially the poetics of liberation: the spectator no longer delegates power to the characters either to think or to act in his place. The spectator frees himself; he thinks and acts for himself! Theatre is action!
Augusto Boal
13.
The Theatre of the Oppressed is theatre in this most archaic application of the word. In this usage, all human beings are Actors (they act!) and Spectators (they observe!).
Augusto Boal
14.
Theatre is the most perfect artistic form of coercion.
Augusto Boal
15.
It is forbidden to walk on the grass. It is not forbidden to fly over the grass.
Augusto Boal
16.
All human beings are Actors (they act!) and Spectators (they observe!).
Augusto Boal
17.
Theatre is a weapon. For that reason it must be fought for.
Augusto Boal
