Drama As Therapy
Drama therapy uses theatre techniques like metaphor, story, movement, character, improvisation and sometimes performance to help create transformative moments for individual and community healing.
Theatre Mirrors Life
This is what makes drama therapy such an effective modality. We have all been acting and improvising and following scripts our entire lives. We improvise our way through each moment and each conversation and each decision. We write the story of our life as we make these decisions. You're already a theatre artist without even knowing it.
Life Is Embodied
Like somatic experiencing, drama therapy offers an opportunity to get curious about our relationship with our bodies and how that shows up in our lives. We are embodied animals, even if it's easy to forget that.
I also know it can be very unfamiliar to use our bodies in this way. There are other ways we can explore drama therapy. We can use masks or puppets, we can create stories and characters, or we can write monologues.
"You want me to do what?"
Drama therapy can be scary at first. It is outside of the comfort zone for many people.
Just remember, you don't have to be good at it. There's no such thing as "good" in drama therapy.
What's important is showing up exactly as you are and being ready to try something new. Let me know if you are curious about it. There are different types of drama therapy we can explore to suit your needs!
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts"
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Psychodrama
Developmental Transformations
Role Theory
Psychodrama is a group intervention where group participants create scenes from their lives, dreams or fantasies to in an effort to express feelings, gain new insights and explore or practise new options.
Theatre of the Oppressed
Theatre of the Oppressed uses a large variety of games and interventions intended to motivate, encourage true dialogue and rehearse actions of justice and advocacy when faced with systems or experiences of oppression.
Developmental Transformations uses improvisational play in groups or pairs.
"Like all play objects, or toys, we eventually break, and are broken through mishandling by others. We have missing parts, we can't turn or talk like we used to, our batteries are low, and buttons do not work. Yet, though imperfect as we are, the desire for play overcomes, and we can be held and played with, be cared for and given pleasure to, and be kept in the playroom or bedroom or toychest for many years, just as we hold our loved but broken ones close to us. This is what being here is all about."
Role theory looks at all the different roles we play in life and considers how easy or difficult we are able to take on these roles across the various domains of our lives. Role theory explores any roles that conflict with each other or are confusing to us.
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We explore these roles in a variety of ways including talking, creating symbols for each role, or embodying them in movement.
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Five Stage Model
Five stage model is a group process where we move from playful drama improv games towards creating work that more closely resembles real life.
If You Want to Know More About Drama Therapy, Check Out...
LOCATION
Downtown Kitchener, Ontario
Virtual & In-Person Appointments Currently Available
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My practise is based in Kitchener, Ontario on the lands of the Haudenosaunee, Anishnabee and and Neutral Peoples and is also situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Neutral Peoples that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.
Past Group Offering 2021: Imbalanced: Embodied Community During Ontario's Third Lockdown
"The Imbalanced group was a great opportunity to be able to learn how to express myself in a creative way. I have never experienced therapy that felt fun! I looked forward to attending each week's session and often felt energized afterward. Megan is an excellent facilitator"
Imbalanced Participant