Theater of the Oppressed, Part 1

“Theater” was the people singing freely in the open air; the theatrical performance was created by and for the people. It was a celebration in which all could participate freely. Then came the aristocracy….some persons will go to the stage and only they will be able to act; the rest will remain seated, receptive, passive…

…the barrier between actors and spectators is destroyed: all must act, all must be protagonists in the necessary transformations of society.

--Augusto Boal, in the Foreword to Theater of the Oppressed