Tactical Performance: The Role of Theatrics in Social Movement Organizing

Video still from L.M. Bogad’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland talk, showing a presentation slide titled “The Irresistible Image” with Bogad visible in the upper-right corner.

L.M. Bogad presenting Tactical Performance: The Role of Theatrics in Social Movement Organizing for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, November 2025.

In November 2025, I joined the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland online for a talk and discussion on “Tactical Performance: The Role of Theatrics in Social Movement Organizing.”

I explored the history, ethics, aesthetics, and practical concerns of tactical performance and creative activism, from the powerful sociodramas of earlier social movements to contemporary groups using humor, spectacle, serious play, and theatrical intervention in struggles for social change.

I also drew on my own experiences working with artist-activists and social movements over the last 25 years.

Watch the talk →

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Voice Performance in Julie Wyman’s The Tallest Dwarf

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Tactical Performance in Oaxaca, Mexico