I read the preface, but I checked and though it's in the Google Books version of the book, it appears not to exist in the hard copy that everyone has (and which I have yet to receive). That being said, I'll comment on what I read because I found it fairly interesting despite some disagreements I had.

The preface details the story of Thespis, who rebels against the classic Greek chorus structure and, by separating himself from the group and speaking his mind on stage, creates the first protagonist. I guess it was interesting to see how Boal seemingly approved of this move that Thespis made, but wished, I suppose, that ALL chorus members rather than just one had done it. This, of course, goes against the structure we’ve come to associate with Western theater, where there are some protagonists and then, often, lots of supporting roles and the equivalent of chorus members.

I agree with the others in that I don’t, inherently, find this to be oppressive. Boal also speaks to how the stage is the sole territory of the playwright (and the director too I suppose), and once again, perhaps because I’ve been so “indoctrinated”, I can’t see why someone who has a vision to get across shouldn’t be allowed to write a play, have others act it, and get his or her message out to the masses. I understand the appeal of having everyone be an actor, and the freeing power that can have. Indeed, having done some Theater of the Oppressed workshops while Hector was here, I know firsthand that the work he did with us creating images of oppression or of problems we saw, and then having us construct our ideal images and images of our “antidotes” to the problems, was a really interesting and powerful experience. I feel, though, that this idea calls into question the whole idea of performance art, whether it be music or theater or what have you. There is validity in saying that everyone should be a musician or an actor of equal value, and yet I enjoy listening to or watching someone else’s creation put into action by those who are capable of both comprehending it and doing it justice. Calling the spectator-actor divide oppressive is not something I feel ready to do just yet.