| Extended projects ( 2 days - several weeks ) | |
| Utilizing Applied Theatre techniques, participants define their goals, investigate causes of and solutions to problems which concern them, and explore alternative choices to the ones they have made in daily life. Perception and habit-breaking exercises help remove barriers to change, image making looks toward the roots of issues, and interactive simulations allow rehearsal of choices for real life implementation. Applied Theatre exercises will focus on: |
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• Open dialogue and participant agency
• Problem definition • Determination of causes • Recognizing emotional responses • Developing active and empowering solutions |
| An Ilustration: Young people in a special program for “at risk” students were not only having difficulty succeeding in school, but were responding emotionally to their situations and behaving in ways that the school felt were inappropriate. Suspensions were frequent, and the morale of some of the students very low. Center for Applied Theatre facilitators came to the school two afternoons a week for seven weeks (total time twenty-eight hours). During that time, we used Applied Theatre techniques to help students find their own voices and express their frustrations in clear and non-threatening ways. At the end of the residency, the group presented four brief plays about their situations to other students and members of the community. One of the plays invited audience interaction, and over the course of the evening other students, and many adults, tried on the “at risk” label and attempted to present alternatives to the main character’s choices. During a follow-up series of workshops the next semester, students explored how they came to be labeled “at risk” and, in cooperation with the writing program, created poems, stories, and even raps which they shared with each other. |
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| "The performers were successful in engaging a very diverse group of at-risk teenagers." Justin First, Coordinator, Teen Programming, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee |
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