Theatre for Change

Theatre for Change

A Project of the Drama Therapy Program
Theatre for Change is a project initiated by the Drama Therapy program in 2003. The aim is to use theater to raise consciousness about diversity at CIIS and beyond—in ways that reach (the audiences’) hearts as well as minds.

Original theatrical performances are created by a troupe of drama therapy students to open dialogue on issues of race, racism, difference, and equality. We encourage audiences to become more aware of the nuances and impact of oppression and privilege, and to fight injustice on personal, institutional, and societal levels.

Theatre for Change performances are developed through methods of drama therapy, Theatre of the Oppressed, improvisation, theater-in-education, and self-revelatory theater; listening to stories at CIIS; and a lot of dialogue.

Collaborative Creativity
Troupe members collaboratively create a new piece over a period of four or five months. A select graduate and/or advanced student in the program serves as facilitator and co-director of each new production. Renée Emunah joins in the artistic direction of the pieces and oversees the project as a whole.

In 2005, Theatre for Change performed the piece Scene/Unseen at the National Conference on Drama Therapy in Portland, OR. In 2006, CIIS invited the troupe to perform at a faculty retreat on diversity.

In 2008, Theatre for Change performed the piece Acts of Resilience at the National Conference on Drama Therapy in San Francisco. A professionally filmed and edited DVD has been created of Scene/Unseen.