ART FOR LIBERATION

theatre  of the oppressed joker | cultural advisor | creative campaign designer

Community activation and creative action through Theatre of the Oppressed and other artistic methods

Imagination is the most crucial skill

that guides us to create a world

that we’ve never experienced.

You can't build what you can't imagine.

And most of us have spent our whole lives being trained — by systems, by institutions, by the relentless ideologies of how things are — to believe that what exists is what's possible. That the world as it is, is the world as it has to be.

Art breaks that open.

Creativity is the practice of bringing something into existence that has never been there before. And when we build our capacity for creative thinking — when we practice imagining beyond the edges of what currently exists — we build our capacity for liberation itself. The more options we can imagine, the more strategies we have. The more strategies we have, the closer we get to building the world we're actually trying to build.

Imagination is what makes liberation possible.

Oh, and did you know a Theatre of the Oppressed

practitioner is called a Joker?

Click to find out why -->

SOME OFFERINGS

to explore, express, engage, & ignite.

Theatre of the Oppressed

Engaging communities in complex and creative exploration, engagement, and artistic expression using Games, Image Theatre, Forum Theatre, Rainbow of Desire, Legislative Theatre. Custom-designed sessions for your community, organization, or event.

more about TO-->

Cultural Project Advising

Supporting film, theatre, and cultural productions to navigate complex issues of community representation, identity, trauma, and oppression with care and rigor. For productions that want to get it right.

Creative Campaign Design

Interactive arts-based direct action, creative protests, rallies, and political demonstrations designed to move people, build solidarity, and make the kind of trouble that actually changes things. Stoke curiosity & investment and ignite action.

A LIFE IN THIS WORK

Here are some things you probably don’t know about my artistic practice.

  • Trained with Augusto Boal

    I met Augusto Boal, the creator of Theatre of the Oppressed, in 2001, and took took several workshops and labs with him from 2001-2007.

  • 25+ years as a practicing Joker

    I first learned of TO in the late 90s and since 2001 have studied with masterful Jokers from around the world — study that I continue each year.

  • Co-founded and directed The Forum Project

    Seven years building a NYC-based Theatre of the Oppressed organization — 100+ programs, workshops, and performances using creative tools for creating change.

  • Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed Board

    Joined the org in 2001, elected to the board in 2005. Served multiple terms as a board member and as Board President of the primary professional organization for TO practitioners worldwide.

  • Received Social Justice Art Award

    Awarded by the Brooklyn Boro Prez. record of social justice art and Theatre of the Oppressed with the LGBTQ+ community of Brooklyn.

  • Master's in Theatre of the Oppressed for Political and Social Change

    Self-designed MA from NYU's Gallatin School, drawing on political strategy, change theory, nonprofit management, community development, and, of course, Theatre of the Oppressed

  • Two Chapters on Theatre of the Oppressed

    In Come Closer about our TO work with queer and trans youth, and in the Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed, a definitive anthology on the theory and practice of of TO.

  • Early Theate Career in Directing and Costuming

    I got my BA in Theatre from the University of Nebraska, directed theatre pieces for community education, and spent years as a costumer for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, and I once won Best Costume at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade!

Working Titles, a Forum Theatre Performance
Florida Immigrants Coalition
Crafted the discussion and learning guides for the award-winning film Disclosure
Group photo after Forum Theatre performance by trans folk in Florida
Occupy the Stage, community participation in Bryant Park
Fordham High School for the Arts, Image Theatre
My first published co-authored chapter on Theatre of the Oppressed
Occupy This! A Forum Theatre performance about racism and economic disparities
Working with queer and trans folk in Melbourne, Australia
Designed and ran a support program for the full run of the world premiere of the Tony Award-winning Slave Play at New York Theatre Workshop — helping audiences unpack and respond to triggering depictions of racism.
Public Allies, exploring injustice and resistance through Image Theatre
Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop
Educators exploring oppression in youth services using Image Theatre
The New School, Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop
A Theatre of the Oppressed game in a GIF
Straight people exploring relationship to heterosexism and homophobia, Berkley
The New School, Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop
Suitcase Stories, a Forum Theatre play, pictured at the Grand Street Settlement, NYC
Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop, The Forum Project
Watching the film's NYC premier at New Fest
Image Theatre, Theatre of the Oppressed Game Day at the Good Work Institute
Occupy the Stage community photo
Youth exploring topics in the news using Image Theatre
The first outreach flier for the Kingsmen, a high performance drag troupe
Photo of the Orange Blossom, an arts and education squat in downtown Omaha, of which I was a co-founder and managing director
The New School
Fordham High School for the Arts
Preparing for opening night
Occupy the Stage community interaction
Showing up on the Heightened Scrutiny credits
DSC08646.JPG
Forum Theatre performance, U. of Nebraska, Omaha

SO, LET’S CHAT!

All great connections starts with a conversation. You'll learn more about me, I'll learn more about you, and we’ll dream up some ideas of what's possible.

leigh@sleighthompson.com