Nothing is going to remain the way it is. Let us, in the present, study the past, so as to invent the future.

Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it.

We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it.

It is not the place of the theatre to show the correct path, but only to offer the means by which all possible paths may be examined.

The theater itself is not revolutionary: it is a rehearsal for the revolution.

The theater is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it.

Empathy is the most powerful weapon [...]

Anyone can do theater, even actors. And theater can be done everywhere. Even in a theater.

Theatre is the art of looking at ourselves.

The Theatre of the Oppressed is theatre in this most archaic application of the word. In this usage, all human beings are Actors (they act!) and Spectators (they observe!).

Theatre is the most perfect artistic form of coercion.

Dialogue isn’t a competition to be the smartest or the most correct person in the room

A thought that is almost beautiful – a thought that you speak not, but that you cherish within you at this moment, will irradiate you as though you were a transparent vase.

Go spend time with the aspen trees. They'll tell you how it works. They'll tell you to look to your roots for energy. They'll tell you there's warmth below the surface.

Then very faintly, he heard above his head the low familiar murmur of the sea outside. At once the comfortable noise made him cheerful, and he even remembered what they were supposed to be.

Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results.

My main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon.

But she had to know words. She had to know everything.

In Europe, architects consider themselves artists. They think they're special when they win a competition.

I'm still learning, you know. At 80, I feel there is a lot I don't know.

All that hoops are good for is to clean dirty shoes and keep fellows at a distance.