PORT TOWNSEND — The Mandala Center for Change will present “Waging Peace — Designing Justice,” a special public forum theater performance and community dialogue at 7 p.m. tonight.
This participatory event will take place at the Masonic Hall, 1338 Jefferson St. Admission is free but donations will be accepted to benefit the People of Color Caucus.
No advance reservations are necessary, but chairs are limited so early arrival is recommended.
This performance will feature an international cast of nearly 40 people from across the United States and as far away as England and the Netherlands.
It is the culmination of a week-long intensive training in Theater of the Oppressed techniques (also known as Theatre of Liberation, Theatre for Living) and is created and performed by the participants.
Under the guidance of facilitator Marc Weinblatt, the audience will choose from several pre-scripted short plays depicting social issues.
The selected plays will be performed a second time at which point the audience will be invited to stop the action and improvise their solutions to the problems at hand.
Themes from past year’s performances have included racism, sexism, homophobia, immigration, globalization, the education system, healthcare, disability, war, climate change and other topics.
Although the themes tend to be sophisticated, children with an inclination to critical thinking are welcome and can get much out of this engaging theatrical experience, organizers said.
As created by Brazilian visionary and recent Nobel Peace prize nominee Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed is a form of popular community-based education that uses theater as a tool for transformation.
Originally developed out of Boal’s work with peasant and worker populations, it is now used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy and inspiring government legislation.
Based in Port Townsend, the Mandala Center is a multi-disciplinary education organization dedicated to community dialogue, social justice and societal transformation.
For more information call 360-344-3435 or email info@mandalaforchange.com.
