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Keywords: Leadership-development training, cultural activists, funding, social change, grantmaking, arts and social changeIntroductionIn May 2008, I enrolled in a master workshop with Augusto Boal, the father of Theatre of the Oppressed, and his son Julian at the Brecht Forum in New York City. A great deal of time has passed since this special session, but it is significant because it was the last occasion Boal came to Manhattan. He died on May 2, 2009.The workshop was just one of many training sessions in leadership development I attended during my 10 years in Manhattan.1 As a longtime cultural activist and budding scholar, I felt these experiences were essential to my personal and academic growth. This particular session, on Rainbow of Desire and Forum Theatre, was designed for novice and experienced facilitators and practitioners of the Theatre of the Oppressed. The techniques are innovative approaches to public forums, rooted in Brazilian popular education models and the cultural movements of the 1950s and 1960s. The platform is designed to invent ways of confronting oppression in a participatory democratic way.Boal began every session with a discussion of the Theatre of the Oppressed tree. Participants assembled around a large ink drawing of a powerful oak or redwood. Boal started off with his mantra: theatre of the oppressed, by the oppressed, and for the oppressed. Then he pointed to the roots and fertile ground, the words "Ethics, Solidarity, and Philosophy" scrawled across the bottom left side and "Politics, Multiplication, and History" on the right. He emphasized that Theatre of the Oppressed is a blend of unique, independent techniques that are interconnected and that the tree draws its nutrient sap from the roots.Boal would then direct our attention to the trunk: "Games." He explained that games incorporated two fundamental societal traits: They have rules and they offer creative freedom. "Without rules, there is no game; without freedom, there is no life" (Boal, 2006, p. 4). Games are played throughout the workshop; they help build community.Next, Boal steered our attention to the branches and leaves, the heart of the system. He briefly described his Theatre of the Oppressed armory. "Image Theatre" was on the lower branch; "Forum Theatre" was near the top. Each leaf illuminated the other techniques: "Newspaper Theatre, Rainbow of Desire, Invisible Theatre, and Legislative Theatre." "Direct Action," although not a specific Theatre of the Oppressed method, had its own petal. In the context of Theatre of the Oppressed, direct action happens when this form of creative expression moves from the stage to the streets.Lastly, Boal underscored the fruit on the soil and the bird in the sky: When the produce drops to the earth the bird swoops down, grasps it in its beak, and transports it to other commonwealths. The Theatre of the Oppressed seeds spread and the transformative power of art takes hold.Boal would then summarize this segment of the session, which is also documented in Aesthetics of the Oppressed: "The objective of the whole tree is to bring forth fruits, seeds and flowers: this is our desired goal, in order that the Theatre of the Oppressed may seek not only to understand reality, but to transform it to our liking" (Boal, 2006, p. 7).Augusto Boal may be physically gone, but his presence looms large. His son has picked up the torch and Boal's many disciples continue to educate the next generation of cultural activists. What follows is a reflective account of my experiences with this type of leadership-development training and an invitation to funders to invest in similar programs for other cultural activists.Definition of TermsTheatre of the Oppressed gatherings attract arts professionals and practitioners, academics, social-change activists, community development advocates, and an assortment of people from other fields. They engage in the process for a variety of reasons. …

Funding Leadership-Development Training for Cultural Activists: A Reflective Essay