Exchange Talk: Tactical Performance - The role of Theatrics in Social Movement Organizing

In this talk/discussion, Bogad explores the history, ethics, aesthetics, and practical concerns of tactical performance and creative activism. The powerful sociodramas created by the American Civil Rights Movement and the American Indian Movement create a framework for the talk, followed by other groups such as the Yippies, the Wobblies and ACT-UP. The talk then examines these groups’ descendants such as Billionaires for Bush, Reclaim the Streets, The Clown Army, and the Yes Men, as well as grim and gripping actions by Iraq Veterans Against the War and 1000 Coffins. Finally, the author will discuss his recent work for election fairness with his troupe of dancing ballot boxes, Delivering Democracy, and with indigenous Mexican farmworkers in California, to create performance for climate justice and better, fairer pay and working conditions. Bogad draws on 25 years of experience as an artist-activist, having worked with most of the contemporary groups he discusses as a writer, performer and strategist.

L.M. Bogad is a Guggenheim Fellow, performance artist, and professor of Cinema and Digital Media at UC Davis. He creates playful, theatrical interventions for social movements worldwide, from Chile to Egypt, blending humor with activism. Author of Tactical Performance, Electoral Guerrilla Theatre, and Performing Truth, his performances include ECONOMUSIC, COINTELSHOW, and TAHRIR. Bogad founded Delivering Democracy, a troupe of dancing ballot boxes combating voter suppression, and hosts the podcast The Plague. A cofounder of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, he has collaborated with farmworkers and global movements for labor, climate, and social justice for over 25 years.