The Wildcard Workbook: A practical guide for jokering forum theatre

An interactive and graphic manual for facilitators (known as "Jokers") who use forum theater as a tool for community building, social activism, and creative advocacy.

Published by Theatre of the Oppressed NYC (TONYC), this workbook serves as a comprehensive guide to the techniques originally created by Augusto Boal. It defines Theater of the Oppressed (T.O.) as a practice where stories of injustice are performed by the people who live them. The book focuses on Forum Theater, a process where the audience — referred to as Spect-Actors — intervenes in a play to brainstorm and improvise resolutions to social problems.

This is a hands-on methodological toolkit for anyone looking to use performance for social change. It breaks down the role of the Joker (the facilitator who moves the group from oppression to liberation) and provides a week-by-week overview for building a play. It also covers Legislative Theater, showing how these performances can lead to real-world policy wins, such as influencing municipal ID laws or housing policies.

Source: Theatre of the Oppressed NYC (TONYC)
Language: English

Author: Sulu LeoNimm, Liz Morgan, and Katy Rubin.

Year of publication: 2022