Legislative theater uses roleplaying to engage community members in identifying solutions to unjust and inequitable systems and institutions, then translating those ideas into new laws.
It’s a paradigm-shifting technique that began in Brazil and has spread around the world.
Here’s how it works:
In legislative theater, communities, advocates and policymakers work together in a creative process to identify, develop and build support for new legislation. Through interactive theater shows, community members act out solutions to situations of oppression, then work with officials to transform them into new laws or changes to existing laws.
Originating in Brazil in 1992, legislative theater has been used around the world to develop creative solutions for issues such as homelessness, inequitable justice systems and workers’ rights.
The Legislative Theater process:
1. WATCH an original play based on community members’ lived experiences and problems.
2. ACT on stage to intervene in the play and test ways to address the problems presented.
3. PROPOSE policy changes to address the problems, and deliberate together with policymakers.
4. VOTE on the policy proposals that emerge from the plays, and make collective commitments to action.
“The legislative theater performance reinforced that there are consequences to the laws we pass, and showed how they affect people’s lives.”
Legislative theater in action:
Resources for further learning:
