TPC – Theatre for Power for Community

How can we understand power in order to transform it?

This is the central question of the first international training session for the European project ‘Theatre for Power for Community’, which brought together representatives from all the partner organisations in Zagreb, including Giolli, represented by Erica Raimondi, Roberto Mazzini and Jessica Merendi.

Over the four days we spent working together, we explored various approaches to understanding how power actually operates in relation to specific issues, and how communities can use this understanding to bring about real change. Through Augusto Boal’s ‘Great Power Game’, we compared different interpretations of the concept of power and experimented with an analytical tool designed for the community: a map to identify who holds influence, who could become an ally, and where opportunities for change lie.

Among the approaches explored in this first training session, a central focus was placed on community organising – a methodology that begins by listening to communities to identify shared interests, analyse power dynamics, build relationships of trust and transform these into organised collective action. This approach enriches the partnership’s shared toolkit and will be incorporated into the pilot workshops over the coming months.

We have also started to consider how to adapt the tools to the different groups involved in each partner’s pilot workshops, combining power analysis with participatory practices and the language of the Theatre of the Oppressed.

This is just the beginning: as the project progresses, these experiences will be collected in a digital handbook, which will be made available free of charge to anyone wishing to use theatre and power analysis to empower communities. We’ll keep you tuned in to the journey, step by step.

TPC is a continuation of the COFA (Community Organizing For All) project, which concluded in July 2025, and will use the same website to ensure continuity.

For more information: erica.giollicoop@gmail.com