The department of theatre and film studies’ production of Augusto Boal’s biting comic book satire The Misadventures of Uncle McBuck will run Feb. 21–23, 26–29 and March 1 at 8 p.m. and March 2 at 2:30 p.m. in the Cellar Theatre in the Fine Arts Building.
Regular admission is $15; admission for UGA students and those older than 60 with ID is $12. Tickets may be purchased at the University Theatre box office in the lobby of the Fine Arts Building weekdays from noon–5 p.m. or at the theatre door one hour before show time. Reservations may be made in advance by calling the box office at (706) 542-2838.
One of the most influential living figures in contemporary theatre, Boal is world renowned for his manifestos and techniques for what he has famously called the “Theatre of the Oppressed.” Outside of his native Brazil, however, Boal’s prolific and highly successful work as a playwright is virtually unknown. The performance will not only be the first full-fledged production of this particular play in English, but the first of any Boal play in the U.S.
To mark the occasion, Augusto’s son, Julian Boal, along with Doug Paterson, founding director of the Center for Theatre of the Oppressed in Omaha, Neb., and professor of dramatic arts at the University of Nebraska, will lead a series of workshops in conjunction with the performance.
Two sessions each of the “UGA Theatre of the Oppressed” workshops will be held Feb. 23 and 24 (11 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m.) and one evening session will be held Feb. 25 (7-10 p.m.) in the Fine Arts Theatre. Topics will include Boalian theatre games, Forum Theatre, Rainbow of Desire and Invisible Theatre. Registration is $15 per day or $30 for a three-day pass. The workshops are free to UGA students, faculty and staff, or with a ticket stub from The Misadventures of Uncle McBuck. Registration information is available from Amy Roeder (aimeng99@uga.edu) or Dina Canup at (706) 542-2093.
Boal and Paterson also will take part in a roundtable discussion on applications of the Theatre of the Oppressed on Feb. 25 from 12:20-1:10 p.m. in Cellar Theatre. They will be joined by an interdisciplinary group of UGA professors including Robert Moser, assistant professor of Romance languages, Misha Cahnman-Taylor, associate professor of language and literacy education, and George Contini, associate professor of theatre and film studies. A screening of the film Jana Sanskriti will follow the discussion at 1:30 p.m. in Room 53 of the Fine Arts Building.
Boal wrote The Misadventures of Uncle McBuck (as Aventuras do Tio Patinhas) in 1968 at the height of a fascist military takeover in his homeland, Brazil. Consisting of 30 short scenes, the play is set in a generic Third World under attack by “ideological aliens” who are advocating an end to military rule and a more democratic government. Boal blends cartoonish fantasy and violent reality, slapstick humor and political parody to comment upon the absurdity of a world unraveling due to pressures of ideological conflicts, military interventions and most importantly, America’s cultural and economic imperialism.
The UGA audience will be in for a singular theatrical experience when seeing this play. The 22 actors involved in the production will use all three of Boal’s most famous theatre techniques to advocate social change: “Invisible Theatre,” where the audience is not even aware a performance is happening, “Image Theatre,” where actors use physical images to suggest possible solutions to social issues and “Forum Theatre,” where the audience actually plays a part in deciding the direction and outcome of a play and thereby acquires necessary tools to initiate social change in their own lives. The plays also features absurdly non-sequitur, crude humor like TV shows Family Guy or South Park.