A UNESCO-recognized educational tool for implementing social change, FORUM THEATRE is a community-focused, facilitated style of theatre designed to address social issues and inspire action for change. Forum Theatre gives communities the agency to develop their own grassroots solutions and the ability to envision the positive outcomes of creating social change. The techniques of Forum Theatre creation are transferable to a wide range of community engagement and educational initiatives. Workshop participants will receive the skills to become better facilitators, artists, community leaders, and more socially-aware educators.

We are so glad to be receiving multiple requests for workshops throughout the year. And in response, we are now holding workshops every 3-4 months! Please check back on this page (or subscribe to our newsletter using the link at the bottom of the page) to be the first in the know about upcoming workshop offerings as they are announced.

Upcoming Workshops

Register for these online workshops here: https://forms.gle/4Dv93iVRSaVwNpPk6

INTRODUCTION TO FORUM THEATRE | ONLINE | Oct 20th & 21st, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

General: $100 + HST | CAEA, Students, Underwaged: $75 + HST

In this intensive all levels online workshop led by award winning Forum Theatre artist Simon Malbogat, participants will learn about the evolution of Forum Theatre and how this social justice-based theatre style can be used to spark community dialogue and empower grassroots advocacy. Through theatre games and discussion, participants will discover how Forum Theatre techniques of community participation, intervention, and improvisation can help build tool kits for character development, devised creation, and audience engagement. 

Prerequisites: None!

FORUM THEATRE PLAYWRITING | ONLINE | Oct 28th & 29th, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

General: $120 + HST | CAEA, Students, Underwaged: $90 + HST

Facilitated by Mixed Company Associate Artist Luciano Iogna, this two-evening online workshop will take participants through the fundamental process of Forum Theatre script development. Participants will learn how to use theatre games, exercises and techniques as research tools, how to ask explorative yet respectful questions, how to develop oppressive and oppressed characters, and how to care for the community knowledge which informs Forum Theatre script development. 

Prerequisites: Workshop participants must have taken MCT’s Introduction to Forum Theatre or have had some previous experience with Forum Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed. 

Bundle Discount: Register for both Introduction to Forum Theatre AND Forum Theatre Playwriting and receive a special bundle price of $200.00 + HST for both workshops, as well as a 25% discount for CAEA, Students and those identifying as underwaged! 

Bursaries

If you have questions about fees, please write to info@mixedcompanytheatre.com for details.

*In the spirit of removing financial barriers to access, Mixed Company Theatre is able to offer a limited number of bursaries to those who require financial assistance in order to attend the workshop. Please indicate your need for a bursary through the registration form for the workshop you wish to attend.

Venue

Our October 2020 workshops will be held online through Zoom. The link for the workshop will be sent to participants after receiving payment. For those unfamiliar with Zoom, the facilitators will start the workshops with a general overview of the important features for participating in the workshop activities.

Payment

  • Please make all cheques payable to “Mixed Company Theatre.” Cheques can be mailed to 540 Dawes Road, Apt 407, East York ON M4B2E9.
  • For payments through Interac e-transfer, please email us at info@mixedcompanytheatre.com.
  • Cash payments are not permitted.
  • Payment must be made on or before the start date of your workshop.

About Forum Theatre Instructor Simon Malbogat

Simon Malbogat is an award-winning theatre director, performer, and teacher with over 25 years of experience in Forum Theatre facilitation. Simon studied with the greatest contemporary popular theatre practitioners (Augusto Boal, Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, Yoshi Oida) and has directed and acted in over 50 new Canadian works. Throughout his career, Simon has been focused on bringing theatre to youth, resulting in over 40 Forum Theatre plays for young people and has worked with many community organizations such as the Community Initiative Project, Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club, the East End Community Health Centre, the Sears Drama Festival for Youth, the Social Planning Council of Peel and the Toronto West End Community. He has also taught at The University of Toronto, York University, Humber College, Queen’s and Brock University.

About Playwriting Instructor Luc Iogna

MCT Associate Artist Luciano Iogna has worked in theatre for over forty years across Canada. He has worked internationally on four continents in a dozen different languages, with more than two hundred theatres, communities, and educational institutions as an actor, writer, director and instructor. Luc has worked extensively using Forum Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed techniques on issues such as AIDS to workplace safety and violence, and he has worked with diverse cultural communities, trade unions, women’s organizations, and professional associations.

As playwright, Luciano has scripted more than 120 Forum Theatre produced plays. Two of his Forum Theatre plays produced by Mixed Company Theatre (SHOWDOWN and HOW CAN YOU TELL?) were nominated for Dora Awards.

About Masks of Manipulaton Instructor Peter Jarvis

Peter Jarvis has been an entertainer & performance artist since 1979. Facilitating artistic mime, dance, clown, mask and music have allowed Peter to work extensively in film, theatre and television on such shows as Sesame St and Cirque du Soleil. Peter Jarvis continues to enjoy performing internationally in the USA, England, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Poland, and Turkey. The Masks of Manipulation shown in the above photo are but one example of Peter’s talent as a professional designer and creator of masks.

About Mixed Company Theatre

Mixed Company Theatre has been producing innovative, socially-relevant theatre as a tool for positive change since 1983. Today Mixed Company Theatre is known for their commitment to inspiring communities and schools across Canada to create social change through theatrical practice. Our most recent activations include the InterGEN Project, a three-year initiative to connect seniors and youth from culturally diverse communities across the GTA through a series of creative workshops led by professional artists. These tales of family, migration, and cultural displacement was developed into two full-scale theatrical productions by renowned Toronto artists, Shelf Life and Spring Moon, which was covered by CBC News and OMNI Television.