Theatre of the Oppressed NYC
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tonycaction.bsky.social
Theatre of the Oppressed NYC
@tonycaction.bsky.social
400 followers 630 following 66 posts
www.tonyc.nyc NYC-based organization, practicing Theatre of the Oppressed with community forum theatre programs, creative advocacy, and trainings for groups and individuals. More stuff: https://linktr.ee/tonyc_action
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tonycaction.bsky.social
Stopped by @msfoundation.bsky.social today! (That's a half-selfie by our Director of Strategy & Learning, Liz Morgan!)
A half-selfie of a Black woman wearing a cap and glasses, in front of a red wall that has the following text: "We believe in a just and safe world where power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age. We believe that equity and inclusion are the cornerstones of a true democracy in which the worth and dignity of every person are valued."
September 29, 2025 at 7:53 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
We're looking for organizations to sponsor our fall fundraising event, and businesses excited to donate items or services! Information and a link to the album from last year is at www.tonyc.nyc/fight2025
A yellow banner, with letters in purple and red that say "FIGHT-RAISER II: TACTICS & THEATRICS. October 2, 2025 at 6pm - The People's Forum"
July 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
May 2 marks the passing of both Paulo Freire & Augusto Boal (though not in the same year!)

We re-read probably too many texts to make a post. And of course they don't expect us to just read, but to act.

For an Image Theatre exercise, visit: www.tonyc.nyc/rehearserevo...
On a light background text of the graphic reads: We are used to plays in which the characters make the revolution on stage and the spectators in their sets feel themselves to be triumphant revolutionaries. Why Make a revolution in reality if we already have it in the theater? But that does not happen here: the rehearsal stimulates the practice of the act in reality. Forum Theater, as well as these other forms of a people’s theater, instead of taking something away from the spectator, evoke in him a desire to practice in reality the act he has rehearsed in the theater. The practice of these theatrical forms creates a sort of uneasy sense of incompleteness that seeks fulfilment through real action. From “Theatre of the Oppressed” Augusto Boal March 16, 1931 - May 2, 2009 On a light background, text in the graphic reads: Violence is initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as people - not by those who are oppressed, exploited, and unrecognized. It is not the unloved who cause disaffection, but those who cannot love because they love only themselves. It is not the helpless, subject to terror, who initiate terror, but the violent, who with their power create the concrete situation which begets the ‘rejects of life’. from “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” PAULO FREIRE Sept 19, 1921 - May 2, 1997
May 2, 2025 at 3:40 AM
tonycaction.bsky.social
OOOPS, the ticket prices on the last slide are wrong. They should say $15/$25/$35/$45 www.tonyc.nyc/conspire25
On a black background with colorful rainbow glitter texture, text reads: Saturday, May 10 2025, 4pm-6pm. Collaborators and Co-conspirators. Using Theatre of the Oppressed games and Aesthetics of the Oppressed techniques, form quick collaborations with other activitists and artists. This art party will provide an opportunity to build up your community and plan concrete steps in your own actions twoard revolution. As part of this event, you'll have opportunities to create and shre short-form collage, drawing, music/poetry or performances responding to your own most pressing needs. Then, you'll get to jump into art generating sessions with other attendees. Ticket rates $15/$25/$35/$45 www.tonyc.nyc/conspire25
April 15, 2025 at 7:20 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
Hey New York City! Gather with us on Saturday, May 10th, to explore the tools of Theatre of the Oppressed and make the art we need now! www.tonyc.nyc/devise25
on a yellow background, black text reads "Saturday, May 10, 2025, MCC Theatre 511 W 52 St, NY, NY 10019. DEVISE DISSENT. www.tonyc.nyc/devise25 Make friends, make art, make change" There are pictures of people speaking, moving, and connecting fingers over a table. Bright color paint splatters the image. On a yellow background, black text reads: Answering the Call. Saturday, May 10: 11am-12:30pm. A hands-on workshop for those who want concrete, creative strategies to interrupt systems of oppression. Led by two seasoned Jokers, participants will explore how to bring Forum Theatre directly into movement spaces - rallies, teach-ins, hearings, school walkouts, and more. We will offer pracitcal tools for assessing real-time opportunities for performance, selecting games and scenes that activate spect-actors, and adapting Theatre of the Oppressed techniques for unpredictable, high-energy environments. Participants will practice designing and facilitating rapid interventions that transform collective frustration into collective action. Ticket rates $20/40/80/100. www.tonyc.nyc/call25 On a yellow background, text reads "The News is Not Neutral. Saturday, May 10: 1:30pm-3pm. If the news cycle leaves you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck in a loop of doomscrolling, you're not alone. This workshop invites you to interrupt that cycle and collaborate to reclaim the narrative! We will draw from Augusto Boal's Newspaper Theatre to explore how to take billionaire-cotrolled articles and headlines, and build provocative performance-infused with your lived experience and political imagination. Ticket rates: $20/40/80/100. www.tonyc.nyc/news25 On a black background with colorful rainbow glitter texture, text reads: Saturday, May 10 2025, 4pm-6pm. Collaborators and Co-conspirators. Using Theatre of the Oppressed games and Aesthetics of the Oppressed techniques, form quick collaborations with other activitists and artists. This art party will provide an opportunity to build up your community and plan concrete steps in your own actions twoard revolution. As part of this event, you'll have opportunities to create and shre short-form collage, drawing, music/poetry or performances responding to your own most pressing needs. Then, you'll get to jump into art generating sessions with other attendees. Ticket rates SHOULD say $15/$25/$35/$45 www.tonyc.nyc/conspire25
April 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
And check out our March newsletter for updates about NYC and online trainings this spring:

www.tonyc.nyc/march2025
A red banner on a yellow background reads "We set up more trainings for you!" In the center, the text says "Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed April 3, 6pm - 8pm in NYC Online Training: Legislative Theatre May 9, 1:30pm-4pm on Zoom". At the bottom is a cutout photo of two masked facilitators presenting a chart paper.
March 16, 2025 at 2:45 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
It's World Theatre of the Oppressed Day, aka Augusto Boal's Birthday!

"Maybe the theatre itself is not revolutionary. But these theatrical forms are without a doubt a rehearsal of revolution. The truth of the matter is that the spectator-actor practices in a real act even though he does it in...
A cutout image of a man, about 70 years old, with mid-length grey hair, speaking into a microphone is on a blue-black background. Stylized text in white says "Happy World Theatre of the Oppressed Day" and :Happy Birthday Augusto Boal, who said..." Maybe the theatre itself is not revolutionary. But these theatrical forms are without a doubt a rehearsal of revolution. The truth of the matter is that the spectator-actor practices in a real act even though he does it in a fictional manner. While he rehearses throwing a bomb on stage, he is concretely rehearsing the way a bomb is thrown. Acting out his attempt to organize a strike, he’s concretely organizing a strike. Within its fictional limits, the experience is a concrete one.- Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed, 1977 On March 16th, we celebrate the birthday of Augusto Boal, creator of Theatre of the Oppressed. As we think about our practice in this year, we are grateful that it gives us tools to: share our struggles in community with each other, find solidarity in our outrage, break the programming that tries to keep us quiet, compliant and isolated and practice action. So, on Boal’s Birthday aka “World TO Day”, we’ve adapted a short image theatre exercise for you to try - by yourself or with friends - to rehearse revolution!Image Theatre: Rehearse for the Revolution at www.tonyc.nyc/rehearserevolution2025 For more actions, check out @millionexperiments, @choosedemocracy and @peaceeconomy
March 16, 2025 at 2:44 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
More of the statement: www.tonyc.nyc/feb2025
a red slide that says: "This month, our worker-members gathered to proactively plan a financial response that will allow TONYC to pursue our mission through a time of incredible uncertainty. Balancing our staff’s individual needs, organizational capacity, and ability to deliver Theatre of the Oppressed programming to our community, we weighed a series of proposals - including the potential for additional layoffs - before voting to reduce hours for all administrative staff members from now through the summer. "
February 20, 2025 at 7:33 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
We've posted a short re-cap of our 2024...

as well as the application link for our April training!

www.tonyc.nyc/2024recap
A photo of a performance taking place in a bookstore. A woman lies across chairs that are standing in as a park bench. Another woman is leaning over her, and a man dressed as a policeman watches. To one side of the background, we see audience members watching.
January 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM
tonycaction.bsky.social
It's the day of alllllll the fundraising! Our fall campaign "Uppercuts to Budget Cuts" has a funder offering a 2 for 1 match through the end of the year. We're calling it "The Knockout Before the Clockout" - here's the link to contribute: givebutter.com/c/uppercuts
A graphic featuring a bell in the center, an arm with an extended fist coming into the top left corner. Banner of text says "The Knockout before the Clockout" and two speech bubbles say "the match of the century" and "up to $10,000!"
December 3, 2024 at 3:34 PM