LATIN AMERICAN THEATER FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: THE CASE OF AUGUSTO BOAL AND ENRIQUE BUENAVENTURA

Abstract

This study develops the concepts of scenario and anti-scenario through an examination of Latin American Theater for Social Change. These concepts, along with the transmission of cultural and traumatic memory in performance, help demonstrate that the Social Change movement in Latin America is not just "Brechtian-style" theater, but an original movement that developed an aesthetic of its own. This thesis focuses on the work of two Latin American artists: Brazilian theater maker Augusto Boal, and Colombian playwright and director Enrique Buenaventura. The Boal material examined in this work includes the techniques of Invisible Theater, Forum Theater and Image Theater. Buenaventura's plays considered here include three pieces from "Los Papeles del Infierno": "La tortura", "La maestra" and "La autopsia". Through an analysis of these artists' work, this thesis extends Diana Taylor's concept of scenario to include the presence of an anti-scenario. Anti-scenarios provoke debate among audiences and question social and political structures, helping to bring about social change. Also, through the transmission of cultural and traumatic memories, Theater for Social Change revisits social traumas, reminding audiences of the faults of our society and challenging us to work for greater social and economic justice.