ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author begins with a prequel in the 1950s–early 1960s, when much of what artists called political theatre challenged aspect of the status quo through its subject matter but maintained it by taking place in institutionally designated spaces with separation between professional performers and habitual spectators. She discusses established art venues to public places. The author focuses on performance projects that seek both aesthetic and efficacious impact through any means necessary, leading artists to either expand their skill sets or collaborate with people who have the expertise to extend beyond the aesthetic frame. The space of performance was open to question; environmental theatre seated spectators in the midst of the playing space. The theory of change underlying Theatre of the Oppressed is where its political meaning is most manifest. At the root of community-based theatre's power is recognition that people get at least as much from making art as by seeing it.
