Created by Brazilian theater maker Augusto Boal (1931-2009), Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) uses community-based theater as a tool for social change. Originally developed out of Boal’s revolutionary work with peasant and worker populations in Latin America, T.O. is now used worldwide for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and government legislation. 

The most popular form of T.O. is Forum Theater, in which an unresolved scene of conflict or oppression is performed. The audience, or “spectactors” as Boal called them, is invited to stop the action, replace the character they feel is struggling, and improvise alternate solutions. Forum Theater is often referred to as “rehearsal for change” in a community or institution.