Social class and social consciousness: Adolescent perceptions of oppression in forum theatre workshops |
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| Authors: | Johnny Saldaña |
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| Institution: | Department of Theatre , Arizona State University , P.O. Box 872002, Tempe, AZ, 85287–2002 E-mail: Bearhug41@aol.com |
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| Abstract: | Two workshops on Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre were conducted with two high school student groups coincidentally divided by class: one lower to lower‐middle, and one upper‐middle to upper. Students created oppression scenarios for improvisation that focused primarily on horizontal hostility: the group versus the stigmatized individual. The two workshop environments, however, differed in quality due to the facilitator's perception of class as an influential variable. Students in the upper middle‐class to upper‐class group made choices and exhibited actions characteristic of those living in the culture of affluence and privilege. I reflect critically on the event's implications for multicultural educators. |
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