The Embodied Mind in Drama Therapy
“Drama Therapy is an active, experiential approach to facilitating change. Through storytelling, projective play, purposeful improvisation, and performance, participants are invited to rehearse desired behaviours, practice being in relationship, expand and find flexibility between life roles, and perform the change they wish to be and see in the world.” —North American Drama Therapy Association
This experiential introduction to Drama Therapy introduced the practice by drawing on the Integrative Five-phase Model and the group experience. The session involved movement, improvisation, and group work. Experiential activities will be intertwined with theoretical framing and discussion of the method. The workshop covered techniques that honour multiple ways of knowing and learning while putting forth an integrated arts based approach to creative group work.
About the Drama Therapist
Evan Hastings has a passion for theatre as a vehicle for social change. His work illuminates the intersection of Drama Therapy and Theatre of the Oppressed, creating engaging performances that raise urgent issues and stimulate conversation and action. Hastings has had the honour of working across all four corners of the globe, from the fault lines of war zones to the halls of Harvard; from collaborating with prisoners in high security facilities to engaging families through open air performances in public spaces. He is the Founder of Shadow Liberation, a participatory shadow theatre initiative to end gender violence.
