Theater of the Oppressed Techniques: Rashomon
Inspired by filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's study in multiple
perspectives, Rashomon is an improvisatory technique that
highlights the role of perception in the creation of the
"Other." Rashomon is specifically designed for the study of
the rigid patterns of perception that create a
negatively-charged Other, in an oppressive, closed,
recurring situation; as such, it is particularly suited for
exploring the role of individual perception in generating
biases and hate.1) Workshop members are asked to volunteer to tell the story
of an incident of oppression that has happened to them, and
that is likely to recur. The situation must involve
well-established, antagonistic relations with others. The
oppression is experienced by the narrator, or protagonist,
as an impasse; it results from the objective interaction of
people situated in a circular, conflictual social setting.2) When all the stories have been heard, the group votes and
chooses the story that has evoked the greatest collective
resonance. The protagonist of the featured story then
chooses fellow participants to play the other characters of
the story, and together they improvise the scene.3) Next, the protagonist makes an exaggerated image,
involving the whole body, of how he/she felt and saw each of
the other characters during the preceding scene, and gives
them their corresponding image. They, in turn, take it, wear
it, and freeze. The protagonist finally makes an image of
how he/she felt and saw him/herself, and freezes. Keeping
their images as masks, the characters then begin to
improvise the same story, repeating the same dialogues and
interactions.4) Each of the other characters then gets to create a set of
images that all will wear during successive improvisations.
Each time, the dialogue and the interactions are filtered by
the masks. The number of improvisations depends on the
number of characters.5) When all the images have been generated, the scene is
improvised once more. This time, however, the characters can
alternate between the masks that they have worn; they can
chose at any given moment the one that feels most
comfortable to them or that best helps them to obtain what
they want.6) At this point, the study of a circular, closed situation
ends, and there begins a new moment: attempts to transform
the situation itself. The Rashomon technique now expands
into a lightning forum. The characters shed all masks and
improvise the scene one last time. But now, members of the
audience become "spect-actors." They can yell "Stop" and
intervene in the action at any given moment by replacing the
protagonist in order to show him/her alternatives to the
behavior illustrated in the scene, alternatives that they
feel are more empowering.Rashomon is based on the premise that our perception of the
Other is a social construct mediated by stereotypes. It also
posits that, within the context of the "spect-actor"
relation, the use of living body imagery in a
three-dimensional space to explore patterns of perception
that give rise to deformed, incomplete, or mistaken
impressions offers the opportunity to develop a unique
critical perspective. Rashomon is a powerful critical tool
that can be used to collectively challenge stereotypes and
promote greater understanding and empathy with others.The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory
122 West 27 Street 10 floor
New York, New York 10001
(212) 924-1858
(212) 674-6506 (fax)
http://www.toplab.org