Day-long intensive experiential training in Rainbow of Desire

from the tradition of Theatre of the Oppressed

Calling peacebuilders, healers, conflict workers, teaching artists and educators! Join us for an advanced training in Augusto Boal’s tradition of “Rainbow of Desire” with a focus on embodied tools for transforming conflict and harm.

Boal originally developed his participatory theater technique “Theater of the Oppressed” under 1950s Brazilian military dictatorship. His aim was to transform spectators into protagonists, or “spect-actors” where every moment is an opportunity to observe, or to act. During his exile in Europe, Boal observed that people identified less with the idea of being oppressed, and while trying to adapt his work to this context, he determined that in the global North the oppressor was more likely to be internalized (ie the cop in your head). This is where the work of “Rainbow of Desire” begins.

Rainbow of Desire provides a framework for deepening understanding of the difficult ways we move in the world, with an emphasis on internalized messages of oppression, the internal narratives and tensions we carry.

This is not an entry-level workshop. We will be inviting participants who have muscle in embodied play/applied theater, peacebuilding/RJ/conflict resolution, or both. Be ready to dive into the language of image, physicality, and movement. You should have some familiarity with restorative justice circle or other peacemaking processes.