Art as Activism and Education: Creating Venues for Student Involvement and Social Justice Education Utilizing Augusto Boal\u27s Theater of the Oppressed

This article demonstrates the use of Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed as a way to actively engage college students in a dialogue about social justice, privilege, and equity. Art as a form of activism, acting as a form of self-expression, and role-playing as a method of self-exploration all become a transforming experience for the actor and the audience. This discourse delves into the topic of contemporary activism’s learning outcomes and manifestation on university and college campuses, and speaks to how performance can become a method of both personal and social liberation. The journey of the author in a newly-founded, student-led theater troupe at the University of Arizona is the basis for the study