Assessing the Impact of Augusto Boal's “Proactive Performance”: An Embodied Approach for Cultivating Prosocial Responses to Sexual Assault

Although performance studies practitioners remain committed to body-centered pedagogy and sociopolitical issues such as racism, homophobia, and sexism, there is little empirical evidence to suggest the efficacy of this work. This essay presents a comparative assessment of a sexual assault intervention model influenced by Augusto Boal's work to a more traditional, didactic lecture and a standard control condition in the college classroom. After discussing various interactive and proactive performance models, quantitative evidence is introduced to suggest the efficacy of the intervention model.