In November 2021, we started creating the International Forum Theater Group in Poznań as activities of implementing and increasing the knowledge of the Theater of the Oppressed as part of the Erasmus + project “It`s Up to Us”.
Theater of the Oppressed is one of the most effective methods of activating social groups facing social oppression. It allows participants to develop social and communication skills and supports personal development in areas such as self-expression, self-awareness, building self-esteem, self-confidence, entrepreneurship, and social skills, contributing to social cohesion.
Meetings were held every Wednesday at 19:30 in the Strefa Do_Wolności in Poznań. The group consisted of young people currently living in Poland, but coming from different countries, such as France, Turkey, Portugal, Belarus, and Spain.
8 people participated in our winter meetings and together they created short scenes about how they feel in a foreign country. They only showed the scenes in their group, as they did not feel ready to show them in front of a wider audience. Next year, they want to continue working on the performance and on the sense of shame that prevented them from staging the prepared etudes.
The jokers of the meetings were people participating in the first training part of the “It’s Up to Us” project: Paco, Marina, Jaśmina, and Vampek. Before each meeting with the group, the jokers prepared introductory exercises, told what Forum Theater is, and led the group to express what they wanted on stage.
Co-financed under the Erasmus + program of the European Union