Feelings Center Stage: Using Playback Theatre to Process Emotions

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Gina H. Moore, ARTreach 180Follow

First Presenter's Institution

ARTreach 180

First Presenter’s Email Address

gmoore@crosswalkusa.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Gina Moore, LMSW: Having spent 24 years directing a successful high school theatre program, Gina Moore chose to leave traditional education in 2007 to develop and implement program curriculum for ARTreach 180, a therapeutic arts program born out of her expressive therapy work behind the razor wire with juvenile offenders. Now in its fifteenth year, ARTreach 180 has used the arts to help hundreds of teens process difficult emotions, build healthy relationships, cope with trauma, and reimagine their futures. Throughout her career in education, social work, and expressive therapy, Gina has seen firsthand the healing power of the arts to improve emotion regulation, conflict resolution, self-awareness, and empathy. Passionate about increasing mental health services in schools, she continues to train educators and youth development professionals with creative strategies to navigate adolescents from risk to resilience.

Second Presenter's Institution

ARTreach 180

Second Presenter’s Email Address

mattbook220@gmail.com

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Matthew Rodgers: A recent graduate of Kansas State University’s Drama Therapy program, Matthew enjoys working as a teacher, storyteller, and applied theatre artist as he continues on his path to becoming a Registered Drama Therapist. A former student of Gina Moore’s, he earned his undergraduate degree in theatre at Columbus State University and now is a site director for ARTreach 180, a therapeutic arts program in Henry County, Georgia. Betting against the easy cynicism of today, Matt takes the view that hope is a deliberate and disciplined practice that requires curiosity, wonder, spontaneity, and community.

Location

Session Six

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

In playback theatre participants share stories from their lives and then watch as other group members improvise those stories onstage. When students share vulnerable stories and then watch as peers use movement, sound, and interaction to portray the inner experiences of the storyteller, it enables them to witness their own emotions from a safe distance, providing validation and new perspective. The process also builds creative collaboration, active listening skills, and empathy as participants witness and connect to the experiences of their peers. The improvisational and participatory nature of playback theatre makes it a unique tool for teenagers to explore challenging emotions. Participants in this session will experience playback for themselves and be equipped to share the activities with their students.

Brief Program Description

The power of story is not in the words themselves but in the sharing of them. This workshop will explore how Playback Theatre and other applied theater activities build community and emotional literacy though shared stories. Participants will embody and transform personal narratives into dramatic presentations that unite us. Come play with us as we explore practical tools you can use with your students.

Summary

This workshop is suitable for conference attendees with experience and/or interest in using playback theatre and other applied theatre methods for training students to manage difficult emotions, strengthen social-emotional learning, and facilitate resilience. The objectives of the session are as follows:

Participants in this workshop will be able to…

• Increase their understanding of how playback theatre builds SEL by actively participating in the session’s activities.
• Facilitate new creative modalities with their students to help them navigate difficult emotions appropriately.
• Gain deeper therapeutic insight by fully investing themselves in the creative process.

The session will combine the presentation of current research with highly interactive applied theatre activities and meaningful discussions. Participants will be given the opportunity to engage in three different forms of playback theatre followed by discussion, self-reflection, Q & A, and networking opportunities.

Concepts to be covered include a) Playback and Applied Theatre—definitions and various forms; b) Emotional and mental benefits of creating and responding to storytelling c) How witnessing one’s own story creates new perspective and validates emotions; and c) Using simple playback theatre activities regularly as preventative and restorative measures with students.

The content of the workshop is applicable for all middle and high school programs and may also be adapted for older elementary students. Since participants will not only receive a written guide for each of the activities but also engage in the activities themselves throughout the session, they will leave fully equipped to implement the activities in their own programs should they choose to do so.

Evidence

The most recent CDC data (2022) indicates adolescent mental health has worsened since the pandemic with increasing rates of depressive symptoms, suicide risk, and emotional abuse. Clearly youth development professionals and educators must take measures to mitigate this crisis and collect as many tools as possible to train students to manage their intense emotions and deepen healthy relationships. Playback theatre is one such tool that has been shown to foster social-emotional learning in young people (Glaveanu & Benson, 2017).

In playback theatre audience members share personal stories which are then re-enacted by the others in the group. This process allows young people to gain perspective and empathy as they witness their own and others' lived experiences performed on stage (Duatepe-Paksu & Ubuz, 2009).

According to McConachie (2020), multiple studies have found playback theatre to be a collaborative, creative approach in building social awareness, perspective-taking, and relationship skills in an educational setting. The dramatization of stories allows students to safely explore complex emotions, develop self-awareness, and build relationship skills, thus promoting social-emotional growth (Jennings, 2011).

The combination of storytelling, improvisation, and dramatic portrayal makes playback theatre an innovative way to nurture social-emotional competencies in young people. All activities in the workshop are well-aligned with trauma-informed theory and practice and may be widely implemented and adapted, using no special equipment or materials and in an informal, non-threatening setting.

REFERENCES:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data summary 2021. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBSDataSummary2021-508.pdf

Duatepe-Paksu, A., & Ubuz, B. (2009). Effects of drama-based geometry instruction on student achievement, attitudes, and thinking levels. The Journal of Educational Research, 102(4), 272-286.

Glaveanu, V. P., & Benson, N. (2017). Creativity and risk-taking in play: Does Playback Theatre promote social-emotional learning?. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 8(2), 157-175.

Jennings, S. (Ed.). (2011). Dramatherapy and social theatre: Necessary dialogues. Routledge.

McConachie, B. (2020). Engaging pupils through process drama. The Routledge International Handbook of Creative Learning, 335-345.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to increase their understanding of how playback theatre builds SEL by actively participating in the session’s activities.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to facilitate new creative modalities with their students to help them navigate difficult emotions appropriately.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to fully invest themselves in the creative process in order to gain deeper therapeutic insight.

Keyword Descriptors

Drama therapy, Playback Theatre, Applied Theatre, Social-Emotional Learning, Adolescents, Storytelling

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-6-2024 11:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Moore, Gina H., "Feelings Center Stage: Using Playback Theatre to Process Emotions" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 58.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/58