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Why this approach works |
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honest communication and how it can equip and prepare individuals to make decisions, and then empower them to take action based on those decisions. The Normal Way... To explain, let me use the example of HIV/AIDS dramas that are commonly used in Sub-Saharan Africa. If you’ve never seen this sort of educational play in real life, think of the scene in the film THE CONSTANT GARDENER (2005) where there’s the colourful gathering in Kibera. Tessa Quayle (Weisz) is among the buzzing crowd watching 3 performers from Kizingo Arts Troupe in red and yellow performing ‘Huruma- AIDS play’. This will give you a good idea of conventional educational drama where a message is conveyed from the performers to a watching audience. These types of dramas are hugely popular and commonly used, and can raise awareness about the causes and impact of HIV and AIDS. However, they do not allow the communities to comment on their own experience of AIDS or to practice the skills needed to protect themselves from contracting HIV. Therefore the impact is limited. This is just the beginning... There are numerous alternatives and more powerful ways in which drama can be used to make an even more positive impact. Look to the text on the left to allow me to illustrate exactly how it can work.
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So you think your organisation is already using drama? What makes this approach different and how does it work on the ground? It is widely understood that drama can be used to ‘get a message across’ but there is limited understanding of just how powerfully drama can be used to aid really |
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The Role of the Facilitator The facilitator guides them through the whole process and makes sure that the action is useful, interesting and entertaining. They also make sure that the experience is a positive one and that people go home challenged but happy. The Benefits The model above is more powerful because · dialogue is opened in a community, · skills (such as assertiveness, negotiation, communication etc.) are practiced, · views about the issues in their community are expressed and · the audience is involved in their own mobilisation towards positively impacting their community.
The example given above is just one of an almost infinite variety of dramatic techniques and models which can be successfully employed in a wide range of situations and on any topic or issue. Unlike conventional performance-based drama, the methods and processes involved in bringing and rehearsing ideas, in discussing and reflecting on view points and in co-operating to solve a problem that the community recognises to be important enables the audience to be active participants instead of passive observers. What Dramatic Freedom Offers I can help your organisation create powerful and relevant dramas and can train personnel to facilitate them, enabling your organisation to get incredible results in the communities you work with. I am an experienced and expert facilitator with the proven ability to create a positive change in the situations of disadvantaged and oppressed people from a range of cultures.
For Human Resource Teams I have received many requests to use my skills to aid consultations and internal trainings for organisations. Even the most complex and uncomfortable of subjects have been handled with sensitivity. Examples of these consultations include conflict, motivation, gender and professionalism.
Just Ask... Due to this huge range of options, and thanks to the great variety of situations where these techniques can be used, I offer a free no obligation consultation where we can discuss your needs and then develop a tailor-made implementation plan to meet your exact situation.
Please feel free to contact me for more examples and scenarios where these innovative dramatic techniques can be used.
Equally, I would be delighted to arrange an appointment with you to discuss the potential applications for your organisation, without charge and without obligation, naturally.
To contact us, please email: info@dramaticfreedom.com |
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Taking it to the Next Level A troupe of actors perform a dazzlingly entertaining and funny story. The depth and power of the play takes the audience on a journey where they recognise themselves in the characters and are moved by the events, they are especially moved at the end when they are shown an ending that is not the happy one they were hoping for. Instantly a facilitator offers the audience the chance to try and save the day. The play is shown again, but this time audience members can stop the action and demonstrate alternative decisions the character could make. A brave lady gets up on stage and performs an intervention where she suggests her husband (still played by the original actor) goes for a blood test to check his HIV status. She believes he has been having an affair but he denies this. Her husband gets violently angry at her request and storms out. Presumably to his lover. The scene stops; the volunteer is applauded. The facilitator asks “did this work?” “why not?” “people are saying that asking him to get his status checked is a good idea: how could the wife had done things differently to get a better reaction from her husband?” A second volunteer leaps up onto the stage and clearly explains her concerns to ‘her husband’ then insists he goes for a blood check for his own health as well as her own. The audience waits with baited breath for his response… he doesn’t look angry. Good news! He agrees as she’s been so fair and clear about what she wants him to do… however he’s too ashamed to use the local clinic in case they judge him, and he’s too busy to go travel to another. The scene stops the volunteer is applauded. The facilitator asks “did this work?” and guides the discussion with the audience. “Could people here feel anxious to use the clinic?” “Why?” “Does the stigma that you’re talking about have an impact on HIV in this community?” “How could that be changed?” The discussion and intervention continues until the community are happy they have succeeded in changing the course of events for the character or until they run out of time to do so. |
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I hear and I forget. Confucius
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Make contact for a free no obligation consultation 0117 908 9998 07792 821996 info@dramaticfreedom.com |
