Theatre for Change Performs at North American Drama Therapy Association Conference

On Thursday, October 23rd, Theatre for Change performed their original production Don't Rock The Boat at CIIS in Namaste Hall.

The performance was followed by a discussion forum led by Dr. Ken Hardy, an internationally acclaimed clinician, author and diversity trainer. This was the last performance before the troupe headed to the North American Drama Therapy Association annual conference in Yosemite, where they were invited to perform on Friday, October 31st at a conference-wide venue. Judging from the immediate and sustained standing-ovation, we can safely say the performance was a grand success.

The Theatre for Change Project, which began in 2003, received the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) Raymond Jacobs Memorial Diversity Award, "in recognition of outstanding dedication to diversity in the field of drama therapy" (in 2012).

Don't Rock the Boat is the project's 7th original production. Other productions include: Scene/Unseen; Rhythms of Justice; Acts of Resilience; Speaking Up-Standing OUT; In Transit: Braking at the Intersections. DVDs of several past productions are available.

Theatre for Change performance pieces grow out of improvisation; methods of drama therapy, self-revelatory performance, educational theatre, and Theatre of the Oppressed; listening to stories within the group and in the Institute; and a lot of dialogue.

Each original theatre piece is collectively developed by the troupe and facilitator/director(s). The Project Director serves as consultant to the process, collaborates on the artistic direction of the final pieces (at times also co-directing, as with In Transit), and oversees the project as a whole. Theatre for Change productions revolve around diversity - aiming to educate, raise consciousness, inspire action, and meaningfully engage and entertain our audiences.

CIIS' Drama Therapy master's program is committed to personal healing as well as social transformation. For more information, please contact Renée Emunah at remunah@ciis.edu.