The pandemic and subsequent national lock down has brought about new and different ways of doing things and we had our taste of doing things differently by way of our first ever virtual performance. On Saturday 18 July we were pleased to deliver extracts from Shades Of Our Lives to delegates of the Dramatherapy South West conference. The theme of the conference was “Listening In And Speaking Out”, a particularly apt theme for 2020 as we all need to listen more to each other in these challenging times and encourage the sharing of stories for a greater awareness of issues to be addressed.
Our performance was titled “What Do You See?”, and we spoke about the motivations for our stories and devised work. This was followed by a Q&A with delegates who explored themes with us on the Black Lives Matter campaign, facing systemic barriers and, role models.
We were delighted with the feedback on our performance which included the following statements:
“… that is incredible work you are doing. Thank you. It was so powerful and moving, and touched me so deeply…”
“The performance and generosity with the depths of your answers to the QA questions was very much appreciated.”
“A real treasure to have some thought-provoking performance in these times of enhanced Black Lives Matter awareness… Each monologue was very different yet interconnected.”
“Incredible… very powerful and moving. Important to be looking at these issues as an organisation.”
“It was a privilege to watch this performance, which was profound & impactful, and the Q&A afterwards really enhanced the process.”
What is Dramatherapy?
The Health Professions Council Standards of Proficiency for Arts Therapists document (2003) describes Dramatherapy as:
…a unique form of psychotherapy in which creativity, play, movement, voice, storytelling, dramatisation, and the performance arts have a central position within the therapeutic relationship. Dramatherapists work with body and mind and make use of stories, myths, play-texts, puppetry, masks and improvisation as therapeutic interventions.