DESCRIPTION OF THE PLAY:
The first production of the 2026-2027 season is “And It Is The People Who Should Wield It”: An Original Forum Theatre Play by Loyola Students. In Forum Theatre, participants create a vibrant, complex play that explores an oppressive situation or system that affects their lives and the people around them. Then they use that play to spark a dynamically interactive, embodied town-hall-style discussion with spectators, many of whom become what Augusto Boal called spect-actors, transgressing the boundary between audience and stage. Together students & director Kelly Howe will create an original play focused on a still-to-be-decided social justice topic (or multiple intersecting social justice topics), and then they’ll share the play with each of their audiences, forum-style. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in interactive theatre and, more specifically, Theatre of the Oppressed, which is likely the most popular collection of theatre for social justice techniques in the world. The specific focus of the play–meaning the social justice topic(s) that will be at the heart of it–will be determined through a combination of upcoming surveys and conversations with students, with the topic finalized by early August. We want to wait until close to the end of summer to complete that last phase of topic selection to ensure that our focus feels as freshly relevant as possible!
DIRECTOR'S CASTING CONSIDERATIONS:
Auditions for this play welcome performers of any race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, ability, body physicality, religious affiliation, form of neurodivergence, nationality, citizenship status, etc. We will actively aim to feature the most diverse cast possible. While the monologues that students prepare for auditions will of course be a factor in casting, the short essay answers provided by students at two key moments of the process (on the audition form and during the callback process) will receive at least equal consideration. Sincere student curiosity about (and passion for) the project is especially important for a production of this nature.
All who audition must be committed to helping maintain a mutually supportive environment, one that is characterized by open-mindedness, kindness, patience, curiosity, equity, and respect for the full personhood of all members of the team.
ON SCRIPT CREATION, CHARACTERS. AND FACILITATION:
There is no script or list of characters to review for this project because the play will be devised by Loyola students and director Kelly Howe during the rehearsal process itself. Kelly, an experienced practitioner of Theatre of the Oppressed, will facilitate the devising process and help edit what is created to ensure that the play makes a clear and accessible invitation to its audience. Nevertheless, student ideas and students’ social justice concerns will be the project’s guiding stars. Because we will create the play together, it is impossible to know right from the outset exactly which character(s) an actor will play when they are cast. What each actor will be guaranteed upon selection for the ensemble is that all ensemble members will perform live as part of the production AND that every effort will be made by the director to ensure the most meaningful experience possible for every performer. In all moments, however, obtaining actor consent will be pivotal. For example, as the play is developed, students will have the opportunity to decline to play a specific role if they are not comfortable embodying that role. In other words, accepting a casting offer for this production does not mean that you automatically must embody any role the director might wish to assign to you. The process will be far more collaborative (and, again, consent-based) than that. Some or all students might play multiple characters; some might not. We will know more as the process unfolds, since we cannot predetermine too much. One key element of a genuine Theatre of the Oppressed process is that many of the discoveries are made collectively. One of the particularly exciting things about this kind of theatre is that all students will have some agency in shaping the play.
A live Forum Theatre experience is facilitated by someone Augusto Boal called the Joker. The Joker is the person who explains the guidelines of the Forum Theatre section of the performance to everyone in attendance and then facilitates all elements of participation by the audience, the potential “spect-actors.” The primary Joker for this project will be the director, Kelly Howe, meaning that she will joker at each performance. That said, for at least some performances, we expect that there will be a co-Joker collaborating with Kelly so that students can practice their skills as facilitators, too. The student dramaturg will be invited to co-Joker for at least one performance; other students with interest in theatrical facilitation techniques can also contact Kelly (khowe2@luc.edu) if they think that they might want to be considered as a possible co-Joker. You do not necessarily need to be a performer cast in the play itself to be selected to be trained as a co-Joker.
AUDITIONS: August 24, 6-10PM, MUND 125
Each auditionee should prepare a 60-second monologue from any play written after 1925. For example, the monologue can be in the genre of Realism or a more obviously stylized genre like Epic Theatre, magical realism, absurdism, expressionism, etc. The piece can be dramatic or comedic. All of those options are equally welcome! If you don’t have a monologue prepared, you are still warmly welcomed to audition! We will have a few monologue options available onsite at auditions for you to use.
As part of the audition process, auditionees will also provide answers to several short essay questions, and the responses to those questions will be considered alongside the student’s work on their monologue. Two of the essay questions are below, and a third short essay question will need to be answered by any auditionees who are called back for the second night of auditions.
CALLBACKS: August 25, 6-10PM, MUND 125
The audition monitor will notify you via your LUC email if you have recieved a callback.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Rehearsal Dates: August 27, 2026 - September 16, 2026
Tech: September 17, 2026 - September 23, 2026
Performances: September 24 & 25 at 7:30PM and September 26 & 27 at 2:00PM and 7:00 PM (6 performances total)
This project conflicts with rehearsals for TARTUFFE