The play Asyl in Tyrol was very touching, especially the starting scene in darkness. The plays were thought provoking on a meta-level and showed the power of Theatre for Living. Some people were surprised about the struggle of the persons in support of asylum-seekers - a lot of powerlessness to be seen! A good friend of mine was very surprised about the issue of competition between the asylum seekers. Which person would be more worthy to be granted asylum? Which person should be helped first? Their struggle for survival does not seem to end at the safe place they are in now....!!! I am sure the project gained a lot of understanding for the audience on several levels. Congratulations!
Katja Volgger
Audience member, Innsbruck, Austria
I greatly admire the achievements of David Diamond and his Theatre for Living (Headlines Theatre). He is following his own path, doing extraordinary and groundbreaking work in several fields, like his work with many First Nations communities in Canada and the US. For what he has already done, is doing, and certainly will do, David Diamond deserves all our support.
Augusto Boal,
(1931 -2009)
Brazilian Theatre Director and founder of the Theatre of the Oppressed
I want to say thank you David for the invention of Corporations in the Head. Whenever I have worked with it - it was a fascinating journey! In two weeks I am invited to the Universities of Flensburg and Kiel (both up in the very north of Germany) to offer and facilitate Corps. In Flensburg it will be a interactive theatre evening within a lecture series on de-growth, where we will focus on the impact of corporate messages / marketing at the campus. I find it fascinating that a interactive theater exploration is invited instead of a academic lecture at this evening. In Kiel it will be a workshop with students and(!) teachers from the university with a focus on how Media & Corporations Marketing is influencing learning and teaching cultures a the university.
Dominik Werner
Theatre for Living training workshop
About Theatre for Living
During its 37 year life, Theatre for Living (Headlines Theatre) Society produced many hundreds of projects and became recognized as a world leader in community specific, issue-oriented theatre, winning numerous awards. While the work became to be known as Theatre for Living, it evolved out of my own work as a professional actor, Brazilian Director Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, and a life-long interest in physics that overlaps with very generous invitations to collaborate with numerous Indigenous communities in Canada and the US.
Headlines Theatre was founded in 1981. I was a co-founder and became Artistic Director in 1984. Between 1984 and now there have been over 650 Theatre for Living projects! Theatre with the community by the community. The work has happened and continues with many groups around the world including First Nations, refugees, women's groups, environmentalists, street youth, health practitioners, the homeless population, universities, Peace Studies, theatre companies, medical institutions and more on subjects such as racism, violence in the home, school and workplace, the legacy of Residential Schools, language reclamation, harassment, suicide, gangs, addiction, sustainability issues, the mechanization of mental health, making Reconciliation true and honourable, and now (in 2025) more and more on ways to ‘reach across difference’ in our terribly polarizing world.
For a complete view of projects from 1981 to 2018, click here.
Components of Theatre for Living
Rainbow of Desire (3 hour stand-alone event or one day)
As a one-day workshop, after a half-day of warm ups and group building work, the Rainbow of Desire explores our own internal voices that complicate our relationships with other people and stop us from achieving our goals. This series of transformative techniques allows us to see how we contain many different desires and fears at any one time. The exercise is not a psychoanalysis of an individual, but rather an exploration of a metaphor that reflects the group consciousness as the particular relationship offered becomes a symbol for the entire workshop group to investigate blockages around a certain issue. By learning to identify these internal voices, we begin the process of understanding ourselves and each other. We learn how to navigate multi-layered moments in complex relationships. Both 'sides' of a conflict are honoured in order to get beyond symptoms (the fact that a conflict is occurring) and into root causes.
* Rainbow of Desire is also available as a three hour event. In this case an audience of up to 300 comes into a performance space. The Rainbow comes from them.
* Us and Them (the inquiry) was a large scale project that used the Rainbow of Desire technique. I still get asked to offer Getting Beyond Us and Them” events today.
Cops in the Head - and their Anti-bodies (3 hour stand-alone event or one day)
As a one-day workshop, after a half-day of group building work, Cops in the Head addresses those internal voices that have embedded themselves in our psyche. It is not always external forces that we struggle against - sometimes internalized voices that originate from other people are equally powerful. Cops in the Head are the voices of people who put up stop-signs and say, "you can’t do that", "you're stupid", "no good" etc. People who have somehow blocked us and over time their messages have taken up residence inside us, affecting the way each of us listens, sees and acts. This workshop helps participants and living communities identify these voices and liberate themselves in a creative and entertaining way.
* Cops in the Head is also available as a three hour event. In this case an audience of up to 300 comes into a performance space. The Cops comes from them.
* 2º of Fear and Desire was a large scale project that used the Cops in the Head technique that investigated “What stops us from taking action on global warming?”.
* Reclaiming Hope from a Culture of Fear, a touring project, is an adaptation of Cops.
* Corporations in our Heads, yet another touring project, is another adaptation of Cops.
Rainbow of Desire or the Cops in the Head are included as part of a full Power Play session on the second or third day of the workshop.
Image Theatre (1 - 3 days)
Image Theatre uses image-making to help the group analyze how their individual issues are interconnected and where solutions might exist and ways to manifest them. This workshop will not go to public performance. The games and exercises explore moments of struggle out of workshop participants' lives. The issue is determined by the organizers before recruitment / publicity begins so people know what they are signing up for in advance. The depth of exploration depends on the duration of the workshop and the willingness of the group. Especially in instances where there is not enough time or interest for performance, an Image Theatre workshop is a good way to introduce a community to Theatre for Living.
Your Wildest Dream (2 - 3 days)
This innovative community visioning technique uses Image Theatre and instant printed photos. Each day starts with group building work.
Day 1 focuses on how the community may manifest dysfunction. What does this look like? A distilled image of the dysfunctional community is photographed and put on the wall. Day 2 distills the wildest dream of the community. What does this look like? This image is photographed and put on the wall, far away from the first image. Now the group creates images that exist somewhere between the image of dysfunction and the dream. Each image is photographed and then a discussion ensues about where it fits between the first two images. A natural analysis takes place; as images move around, the symbolic journey of both the living community and the individual participants becomes apparent. The community is then left with this highly symbolic "map" that leads from the image of dysfunction to the wildest dream.
Your Wildest Dream workshops have been conducted with a group from the Nuxalk Nation in Canada, the Passamaquoddy Nation in the US, the Uniting Church in Australia and a theatre company in the Netherlands.
Power Play including Forum Theatre (6 days)
A Power Play incorporates Image Theatre and either Rainbow of Desire or Cops in the Head and play creation to explore issues and create community-specific theatre. The product is an audience-interactive Forum Theatre event.
Through various theatre games and exercises a POWER PLAY builds trust and understanding within the workshop group. To a large extent these games and exercises are non-verbal. Using Image Theatre, we ask participants to look into moments of struggle in their own lives. Having asked the community-based sponsor organization to pre-determine general subject matter (violence, racism, gender roles, etc.), the participants make their play(s) about issues they have identified as most important to them and their community, within the subject matter under investigation.
I do not define the content for the participants; they are the experts in their own lives. I provide investigative theatre tools and help them make the clearest and most theatrically effective plays possible. The participants do the work, empowering themselves and finding both an individual and group voice in the process - often identifying issues that restrict the development of both themselves as individuals and the living community.
Participants also learn some basic acting skills for the Forum Theatre (audience interactive) event which takes place at the end of the workshop.
Forum Theatre is a unique type of participatory theatre. The plays that develop out of the six-day process are usually quite short, perhaps 2 - 4 minutes in duration. A play is performed once, all the way through, so the audience can see the situation and the problems presented. The play builds to a crisis and stops there, offering no solutions. The play is then performed again, with audience members able to "freeze" the action at any point where they see a character struggling with a problem. An audience member yells "stop!", comes into the playing area, replaces the character they recognize is in a moment of struggle, and tries out their idea. The Forum Theatre event is vibrant, entertaining and empowering. From a group of 10 or 12 participants there will usually be 3 short plays. The entire community event is, ideally, 2 - 2.5 hours long.
Theatre for Living Training including Forum Theatre (6 days)
I offer three intensive training workshops, valuable for anyone who is interested in using the language of the theatre as a part of our everyday vocabulary - artists, activists, social workers, educators, etc.
(I offer these workshops in Vancouver each July or August and also offer them as trainings in your community.)
What happens in a Theatre for Living training?
The only way to give people Theatre for Living techniques is to do the work with them subjectively. As people come to the Vancouver Trainings from around the world and from very different contexts, I have found over the years there is something we all will share. Be prepared to use your own life experiences as someone who works on or is interested in 'social justice / human rights' as subject matter in the training. This can apply inside you, your friends/family, work or the larger context. Likely a combination of these! Because this is a training session, we will spend one hour each day (starting on day 2) looking objectively at the previous day's work.
Level One 6 days, 8 hours/day. 30 participants maximum
This initial level of training will delve into Group Building, Image Theatre, and Rainbow of Desire. We will also prepare short plays for a non-public Forum Theatre event. Level One training is open to anyone who is interested in using Theatre for Living techniques, regardless of their experience with theatre. Level 1 follows a Power Play format, but does not build to public performance. Starting on Day 2, the first hour of each day is set aside for objective process questions/discussion. Level one is the first 6 days of the 10-day training, below.
Level Two 6 days, 8 hours/day. 30 participants maximum
The Level Two workshop is open to people who have taken a Level One training. In the Level Two, participants facilitate games, image animations and Joke Forum Theatre with feedback.
The days (generally – this may change)
| DAY | ACTIVITY |
| 1 | Group building, issue investigation, Participants facilitate group building games and Images with feedback, Circle |
| 2 | Discussion, Group building (participants facilitate), issue investigation, Forum Theatre structure, Play creation, Circle |
| 3 | Discussion, Play rehearsal, directed by D. Diamond, Circle |
| 4 | Discussion, Participants facilitate group building games, Forum Plays with feedback, Circle |
| 5 | Discussion, Participants facilitate group building games, Forum Plays with feedback, Circle |
| 6 | Discussion, Cops in the Head (participants facilitate interventions), Your Wildest Dream, Discussion, Circle. |
10-day combined Levels 1 and 2 Training. 11 days (day 7 is OFF), 8 hours/day. 30 participants maximum
This training is open to anyone who is interested in using Theatre for Living techniques, regardless of their experience with theatre.
The days (generally – this may change)
| DAY | ACTIVITY |
| 1 | Group building, issue investigation, Image Theatre, Circle |
| 2 | Discussion, Group building, issue investigation, Image Theatre, Circle |
| 3 | Discussion, Group building, issue investigation, Rainbow of Desire, Circle |
| 4 | Discussion, Group building, issue investigation, Forum Theatre structure, Play creation, Circle |
| 5 | Discussion, Group building, Play rehearsal, Circle |
| 6 | Discussion, Group building, Forum Theatre, Circle |
| 7 | DAY OFF |
| 8 | Discussion, Participants facilitate group building games and Images with feedback, Circle |
| 9 | Discussion, Participants facilitate group building games, Images and Forum Plays with feedback, Circle |
| 10 | Discussion, Participants facilitate group building games, Forum Plays with feedback, Circle |
| 11 | Discussion, Cops in the Head, Your Wildest Dream, Discussion, Circle |
To learn more about TfL workshops, and how you can bring a Theatre for Living process to your community, please contact David Diamond at hello@theatreforliving.com
Testimonials
"Having practiced applied theatre for nearly 10 years, this 10-day Theatre for Living Training workshop in Vancouver was a breath of fresh air for me—both inspiring and invaluable. Your TfL approach to Image Theatre took my understanding to the next level. I also realized that the roles of facilitator and theatre director lead to slightly different types of questions. Being aware of my dual roles as both facilitator and theatre director reminded me to embrace curiosity and to allow myself to follow where that curiosity leads. The Training has opened doors to new possibilities for experimentation and exploration."
Man-Ching (Ginny) Tam, Hong Kong
"This is truly crossing the boundaries of our differences and moving toward a dance which celebrates and honours our diversity."
Lori Whiteman, Superintendent Aboriginal Education Unit
"It is wonderful to be in the presence of a teacher who has worked with the same set of techniques for decades, and honed them sharper and sharper. David's work is inspiring because it is both great theatre and great activism, and comes from a deeply thought out philosophical position."
Robin Davidson, workshop participant, Brisbane, Australia
"I feel like I have been saturated in the best possible way by the language of Theatre. This TfL training workshop has given me many real life skills, some of which resonate on an emotional level, and others on more of a practical level. I can't wait to begin applying them to my community."
Krista Lynch, Theatre for Living trainee
"I am someone with training and experience using theatre within communities (particularly those "at risk"). Us and Them (the inquiry), that used the Rainbow of Desire technique, was one of the most insightful and inspiring performances I have been to and left me more aware of people around me, how we interact and the possible reasons for the ways we perceive each other (and The Other). It made me want to discuss these ideas and characteristics of human behaviour with the people around me, to share Us and Them with others."
Amy Bradney-George, Vancouver, BC
"It was amazing and I did not expect it to be like this. It was very interesting and I liked it a lot particularly the Rainbow of Desire. We learned to listen to each other and to support each other. Hope we can do it all over again."
Alice, student at University of Bethlehem, Palestine
"I attended 2º of Fear and Desire last Saturday and was completely blown away by the experience. As a sustainability educator, I have been attending numerous conferences and meetings to gather a reading on what people are actually doing to make effective action and changes regarding climate change. I always leave such events saddened because they usually simply add to the ever-growing grave database about the severity of the matter, but fall short of analyzing why our society has become the way it is in order to break free from it and create the drive and motivation to change. Experiencing 2º was so refreshing because it went straight to the source, the human psyche, and examined it with honesty, respect, and witty humour. Furthermore, the performance was strikingly tangible and personal to the audience members and participants. The show helped each of us understand our mental processes a bit better, and develop a sort of solidarity with each other in recognizing and processing through our common struggles. Thank you so much for the wonderfully deep work you have done."
Elisa Lee, Vancouver BC
"The work that Theatre for Living accomplishes, not only in Vancouver but all over our province, restores my own faith that change for the better can happen for youth who, at the moment, feel there is no future for them. The work done here with Cops in the Head will substantially effect how these young people will deal with confrontation in their futures. New ways to deal with their anger and frustration can lead them toward of feelings of success rather than failure, power rather than powerlessness and "I have a choice" rather than reacting with rage. It is hard to find the brilliant words I need in order to express my thanks enough."
Wendy Wood, Youth Programmer, The Gathering Place
"Corporations in Our Heads was engaging, inspiring and thought-provoking. I came out questioning all of the messages that we are fed and the way that I deal with those messages. I came out realizing just how deeply embedded these messages are in our culture, our society and ourselves. It was an emotionally moving presentation that was expertly executed."
Erin Giesbrecht, Prince George, BC
"I am writing to thank you for the experience to participate in the "Seniors Speak Out" Power Play. My gratefulness and appreciation goes to David Diamond, through whose firm but kind guidance, we where encouraged to submerge deep into our stories, fears and souls. Because he encouraged us to speak from that place of true knowing, that joined a group of strangers into companions on the same journey - one of understanding abuse. David Diamond's expertise in understanding the human soul made it possible to be sincerely working toward the best outcome of performance. I am grateful and amazed by the possibilities THEATRE FOR LIVING can provide."
Monika Koernig, workshop participant, cast member
