Forum Theater

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Test and evaluate practical verbal and behavioral interventions for a specific interpersonal or systemic conflict.

Use it when: Use when a team or community faces a recurring, unresolved friction and needs to rehearse ways to intervene before facing it in real life.

Skip it when: Skip when the group lacks psychological safety, when the central conflict is actively litigated or abusive, or when participants need quick analytical decision-making rather than behavioral rehearsal.

Group arrangement: Whole group observing a performance area, with individual participants stepping into the acting space one at a time.

Timing: Source recommends 90 to 150 minutes; structured here at the standard 90-minute minimum.

Materials and tools

• 1 shared script or scenario prompt
• 1 flip chart with markers
• Chairs arranged in a semi-circle around a clear 3x3 meter playing area
• Simple neutral props if needed (e.g., 2 chairs, 1 table, 1 notebook)

Before participants arrive

1. Clear a performance area at the front of the room with audience chairs in an open semi-circle.
2. Rehearse the 3-minute problematic scene in advance with 2 to 3 designated actors or co-facilitators so the conflict and power imbalance are explicit and unresolved.
3. Write the core guiding questions on a flip chart visible to the entire room.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we are using Forum Theater. We will show you a short, 3-minute scene showing a difficult situation that ends badly. You are not passive viewers; Boal calls you 'spect-actors'. After you see it once, we will run the scene again. Anyone in the room can call 'Freeze!', step into the playing space, replace the person facing the challenge, and try a different tactic. Our actors will stay in character and respond realistically.

How to run it

1. Introduce the format and rules 10 minutes

   Explain the role of the spect-actor. Establish ground rules: no physical contact, actors will maintain realistic resistance rather than capitulating immediately, and observers can support from their seats. Introduce the characters and context.

2. Perform the unresolved scene 10 minutes

   Designated actors perform the scripted scenario start to finish without interruption. The scene must end at a point of high tension or defeat, with no resolution. Ask the room what choices led to that outcome.

3. Replay and spect-actor interventions 40 minutes

   Start the scene again from the beginning. Instruct the audience to call 'Freeze!' when they see an opportunity for a different choice. The person who calls freeze taps out the protagonist, takes their physical position, and improvises a new tactic. The opposing actors respond naturally to test the feasibility. Facilitator steps in to freeze again after 2 to 3 minutes, or when the intervention reaches an impasse or conclusion. Reset and repeat for 3 to 4 different participant interventions.

4. Analyze interventions 20 minutes

   Facilitate a structured debrief of the tested approaches. Compare what caused the scene to shift versus what reinforced the conflict. Record workable strategies on the flip chart.

5. Synthesize real-world actions 10 minutes

   Ask participants to note one concrete tactic from the interventions that they can apply in their daily work. Hear brief examples from 3 to 4 volunteers.

Debrief questions

• What specific words or body language shifted the power dynamic during the interventions?
• Which proposed solutions felt realistic, and which assumed the other person would simply give up?
• How can the most effective interventions be adapted into our actual working routines?

Finished output: A flip-chart list of tested interpersonal strategies and behavioral interventions that succeeded against realistic resistance.

Remote

Run via video meeting. Pin the performers' feeds to the main screen. Audience members use the audio call 'Freeze!' or type 'FREEZE' in chat. When frozen, the spect-actor turns on their camera and microphone, replaces the protagonist (who turns camera and mic off), and plays the scene out in the spotlight view.

Hybrid

Not recommended. The physical proximity, nonverbal dynamics, and rapid interruptions work poorly when participants are split across local and virtual spaces.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose to observe, verbally coach a replacement actor from their seat, or directly enter the performance space.
• Participants can pass on taking the stage without giving a reason by declining the tap-in prompt.

If the session gets stuck

Audience is hesitant to call freeze or step into the scene.

Facilitator calls freeze at a key decision point, turns to the room, and asks: 'What could they say right here?' Once a participant suggests an idea, invite them into the space to test it.

The spect-actor tries an unrealistic 'magic wand' solution or the other actors give in immediately.

Pause the action and ask the room: 'Did the other person surrender too easily based on what we know about them?' Ask the antagonist actor to maintain realistic friction, then restart.

Terms used here

• Spect-actor: An audience member who actively steps into a theatrical scene to alter the dramatic action rather than remaining a passive viewer.