interactive theatre

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Music and Arts in Action | Volume 1 | Issue 1 | June 2008

Interactive theatre: Drama as social intervention

JOHN WILLIAM SOMERS

Department of Drama | University of Exeter | UK*

ABSTRACTIn the book Performing Communities, ill Ra!ch, Artistic Director o" #S$base%

&ornerstone 'heater &om(an), is *!ote% as sa)in+:

o! cannot (re%ict -hat art chan+es. o!/re na0ve i" )o! think )o! kno-

)o!/re +oin+ to chan+e the -orl% -ith the art )o! create. It/s e*!all) na0ve an%

irres(onsible even to ackno-le%+e that art chan+es the -orl% 1

2Leonar% an% 3ilkell), 4556, (. 748

Altho!+h I %o not ar+!e the im(ossibl) e9treme (osition that artcan ;chan+e the

-orl%/ I %isa+ree -ith the basic tenet behin% Ra!ch/s comment. As a theatre$maker

-ho "or man) )ears has create% %ramatic e9(erience -hich has the e9(ressintention o" brin+in+ abo!t chan+e, I am convince% that, -hen sha(e%, tar+ete%

an% %elivere% in (artic!lar -a)s, theatre an% other "orms o" %rama e9cite chan+e.

In or%er to achieve this, the %ramatic intervention m!st consist o" artistic o!t(!t o"

the hi+hest *!alit) embe%%e% in relevant (e%a+o+ic, sociolo+ical an% %ramatic

a((roaches. 'he trick is to balance e""icac) -ith artistic merit.

'his article e9amines the theoretical !n%er(innin+s "or this kin% o" %rama an%

theatre an% (rovi%es e9am(les o" this -ork in action.

Altho!+h this article %eals -ith %rama intervention, other art "orms can also brin+ chan+e.


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INTRODUCTION: O!T" #ND $#RD" INT%R&%NTION

Theatre audiences normally comprise random groups of people and whileindividuals may be affected by the form and/or content of the play theatreperformances do not generally explicitly aim at audience change! The exception ispolitical theatre " now an almost absent genre from #ritish theatre " where carefulcommentary or radical propaganda does aim to change people$s awareness of andattitude to %issues$!& 'ost theatre practitioners would ( feel subscribe to a moregeneral %humanising$ aim for theatre that audiences should leave performances moresensitive to human nature its foibles and strengths!

)or many years my theatre practice has aimed overtly at change! The wor hasranged across Drama in Education in schools drama worshops+in many countries(nteractive Theatre and community theatre!,-cross this range ( have sought both toinstigate %hard$ change . that is well"defined attempts to confront audiences or

worshop participants with particular issues . and %soft$ change where the purposeof maing and performing the drama and the participation of others in witnessing itis less well defined

%oft$ intervention can be difficult to identify since in a sense all theatre might beconsidered to tae this form! 0erhaps its main feature is that it has a purpose albeitdiffuse! )or example a play ( originated and directed in +111 which had an originalscript primarily devised by community participants celebrated seven real stories fromthe location in which they lived! (t was performed at seven sites around thecommunity! (ts purpose was to celebrate aspects of the community$s heritage and anyother achievements were secondary to this aim!

#y contrast the more specific purposiveness of %hard2 intervention maes it easier torecognise! (t aims at changing difficult psychological political and social conditionsand is exemplified in the wor of political theatre activists in many countries! 3erethe dramatic experience is used explicitly to inform and galvanise public attitudes andopinion and to encourage remedial action! %3ard$ intervention carries ris especially

when performances openly criticise the existing power structures and ruling elites!4n 5anuary &st &676 for example in ahibabad on the outsirts of Delhi (ndiaafdar 3ashmi2s theatre group 5ana 8atya 'anch 95anam: was performing a play .%3alla #ol$ . which dealt with the factory worers$ struggle with employers andgovernment! 3ashmi was attaced and illed by a group opposed to the message histheatre company was propagating!;

'y wor is usually carried out in contexts where those participating andadministering the initiative are in consensual agreement on the drama$s intent! (tranges from the %soft$ end to the middle of the hard/soft spectrum! -ll of my effortsto bring change through dramatic experience fit under the umbrella term -ppliedDrama!


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APPLI! !RAMA

-pplied Drama involves a customised dramatic experience in specific societalcontexts . prisons for example . with the expectation of creating positive change!0ut simply -pplied Drama %has a ie theengineer who can change aspects of the model and its context " stronger side

winds heavier lorries thicer steel " so variables of the drama model can bechanged " this time the parent is more angry the amount of money stolen isgreater etc?

+! That our identity can be seen as a personal narrative which is constantlyextended and modified by the effect of the many other narratives " globaland local " and experiences to which we are exposed?

,! That by entering the fictional world created in the drama we may gain greaterunderstanding of our own personal narrative! This is a ma


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perceptual form C!$! This externalising of the inner is an essential aspect of art$sfunction 9p! A1:!

The struggle to mae a story to clarify the issues our feelings and those of otherpeople involved in events allows us to come to terms with the complex and

potentially chaotic signals that bombard our psyches! tory permeates our wholeconsciousness for without its organising framewors we would be unaware of ourexistence except in the moment of experience! torying allows us to engage in threefundamental processes " to=

organise momentary experience into a series of memories?

predict a future?

experience vicariously through the stories of others aspects of the worldwe ourselves do not experience!

The first gives rise to notions of who we are . identity rooted in memory! Thesecond allows us to have hope expectation and to organise our actions! The thirdforms the basis of much of our learning and is the source of most formal education!

PRS$"AL ST$R%

The most fundamental psychological need humans have is to now %who we are$!4ur personal identity is painstaingly built throughout our lives and embedded in itare our notions of self"worth! David 8ovitH 9&66: maintains that we construct ourpersonal story much lie an artist maes a wor of art selecting and orderingexperiences into a memory ban that becomes our signifier of identity! 'uch of

what happens to us in life is deemed by our memory to be insignificant and is left onthe cutting room floor as we continuously edit the %film$ of who we are! Ioodmental health reJuires us to develop and maintain a coherent personal story that werespect and in which we find value and meaning! 'uch psychological therapy isdevoted to the reordering in some way of the patient$s personal story! Thedebilitating effect of the absence of a sound personal narrative is demonstrated forexample in the helplessness of -lHheimer$s sufferers!

5ohn >oce said 2( am what ( remember myself being2 9tevens &66B p! &66: and (am suggesting that this 2remembered story2 may be re"edited! The more effective thefictional story"encounter is the more liely it is to intersect with our personal storyand to change our perceptions of how the world is and our vision of our part in it!

MTA(ST$RIS

@e inevitably move in a world that contains stories other than our own in fact theyconstantly surround us! ome we choose to experience such as the novel film or Tprogramme although we almost never have control over their production! 4thersare as invisible as the air we breathe . national identity stories the unspoen identityof our family social behaviour patterns that we absorb from society for instance!

ecent research confirms that the imagined world can impact on the individual

personal story! @or by EliHabeth >oftus 9Juoted in adford +11&: a psychologist atthe University of @ashington shows that imagined events or those witnessed onfilm result in people being more liely to believe they have experiencedsuch events

M!sic an% Arts in ActionFJohn Somers 455= G ISSN: 7$75 G a+e 6http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/interactivetheatre


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producing what >oftus$ calls %false memories$! >oftus found that people who wereased to imagine being lost as a child were when Juestioned months later muchmore susceptible to believing that this had actually happened to them! >oftus says=

(n a sense life is a continual memory alteration experiment where memories are

continually shaped by new incoming information! This brings forth ethicalconsiderations! (s it oay for mareters nowingly to manipulate consumers$ pastsL

I"TRT)T&ALIT%

Drama$s power to change attitudes is rooted in the notion of intertextuality thedynamic relationship and intertwining of stories in this case the interpenetration ofthe performed story with the story which forms the personal identity of theindividual! esearch of the context in which -pplied Drama is to be used is essentialif the optimum conditions for successful intertextuality are to be created! Theintricate intertextual dynamic created when in community theatre inhabitantsperform their own histories$ thereby discovering more about and placing themselves

within the community$s identity involves a productive collision of the personal thecommunity and context!

APPLI! !RAMA*S RSARC#! C$"T)TS

Effective intervention reJuires the drama to be %applied$ in researched andunderstood contexts! This applies whether the drama used is rooted in worshops

with little or no intention of performance is the product of a scripted play or is adevised performance! (f the drama is a scripted play then of course the playwrightmust mae herself familiar with the field of human experience dealt with! (n single

worshops the leader will need to bring all information which might be digested by

participants although the latter may be able to research the topics themselves priorto the worshop! @hen worshops stretch over several days or wees ongoingresearch can be conducted by those involved and similarly when a devised wor isundertaen!

@ithout in"depth researchit is unrealistic to expect that drama participants will beable to capture the reality of those affected by the issues being dealt with!

-uthenticity is a necessary Juality of the drama if we are to expect audience ornowing worshop participants to feel the relevance of the drama for them! Thus an(nteractive Theatre programme on stress and suicide in the veterinary profession

which will be performed to practising vets and vet students must capture the

psychological social and technical reality of a vet2s life!7

The research process worsbest when all participants are engaged in it leading to a pooling of understandingwhich enhances the group$s insight and supports a sense of ownership of thatnowledge and the emerging drama!

@here drama practitioners expect to find the content of the drama in anotherdiscipline . as in the veterinary programme referred to above . interdisciplinary co"operation is essential and potentially inspirational! ( have wored recently withpsychiatrists historians bioethicists police social worers and clinical psychologists

7 ;Research/ here involves (artici(ants in collectin+ relevant in"ormation on the to(ic bein+ e9amine% -ithin the%rama. Relevant material is +athere%, "or e9am(le, "rom s(ecialist literat!re, research articles, ne-s(a(er an%ma+aine archives, -ebsites, s(ecialist or+anisations, (ro"essional bo%ies, cam(ai+n +ro!(s an% intervie-s -ith

e9(erts $ incl!%in+ those e9(ert b) e9(erience as -ell as (ro"essional s(ecialisation.= Kets in the #3 have a s!ici%e rate "o!r times the national avera+e. I create% in 4556 an interactive 'heatre

(ro+ramme ;ractice Im(er"ect/ -hich "oc!se% on this iss!e an% -hich -as acclaime% b) the (ro"ession. It -asto!re% a+ain in 4557.


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specialising in eating disorder! They are able to provide specialist nowledge in theresearch stage advise on the developing narrative and critically review any dramaticrepresentation of their professional world! The benefit for the co"operatingdiscipline is that drama approaches are able to mae realistic models of issues thosespecialists find hard to raise! Thus sensitive issues are usually dealt with through

generalisations which do not locate the issue in particular socially detailed contextsthereby lessening the learning impact!

SPCI'ICIT%

'any important moral and ethical issues do not become interesting if dealt with asgeneralities! (n a case of theft for instance is the money stolen &1 Euros or &1111EurosL (s it stolen because of greed or desperate needL 5udgements about the levelsof legal and social transgression depend on the circumstances and Drama allows usto create such detail and to embed the issues in the lives of believable human beings!

The issues therefore become context specific!

T#RAP&TIC I"T"T

The successful drama experience is implicitly therapeutic! -pplied Dramaparticipants understand the dramatic experience through reference to theirmemory/personal story but more importantly the drama experience also enablesthem to recategorise their memories to reedit their personal stories as a result oftaing part in drama that connects fundamentally with who they consider they are! (nthis way -pplied Drama provides experience that leads to personal growth throughmeaning"maing in a complex reflexive relationship between dramatic experienceand personal identity! -s ( argue later although some of our personal story may be

liable to modification through rational consideration deeper ones may only beaccessible through artistic and spiritual experience!6

(t is axiomatic that worshop leaders teachers and educational and communitytheatre companies generally expect that some change for the better will tae place asa result of their wor! -t the very least there is an expectation of %doing good$!Mertain drama activities aim at achieving potentially complex psychological andemotional shifts " the wor of dramatherapists and psychodramatists for example!

-pplied Dramatists often wor outside but close to the direct therapy Hones! @e areallowing participants in drama to contemplate %other$ that which may be differentfrom us to consider %what might be$ and to compare it to %what is$! )or many in

society the prospect of change is too painful or threatening to contemplate! #yinvolving participants in a fictional experience that does not focus on their ownattitudes feelings and behaviour 9but which has relevance to them: the immersivedistancing effects of drama experience can create conditions for reappraisal andchange!

Drama worshops can be seen as a ind of social laboratory in which we examinethe attitudes values and relationships of chosen people in selected situations! Theyadd to our personal and societal understanding of the human condition! @hen weengage in drama we need to employ a spirit of playfulness and openness! 'any ofthe discoveries we mae in drama are serendipitous and although the structures

within which we wor must almost always be clear it is not possible to predict how


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the drama experience will affect individual participants! (t is this tension betweenpredictability and unpredictability consolidation and change completeness andincompleteness reality and fiction that provides the dynamic space for attitude andbehaviour change!

'#RTICI'#NT %N(#(%)%NT

(f the conditions for participant change are to be optimised effective engagementwith the drama and the issues carried within it is essential! The aim is to create asituation in which the participants %care about$ the story and the people within it!Instructingthem to care has limited effect! The feeling of involvement relevance andownership must be generated by the activity! -ccepting that the wor has beenconceived to have the maximum chance of being


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The compound stimulus is composed of a number of artefacts . ob


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-udience members responded enthusiastically to the envelope$s content=

( thought the preparation material an excellent idea! The expenditure and incomesheets " very good= really highlighted the situation " reinforced by the irony of beinggiven first refusal on extra land! The obituary set the generational context of thefarm FCG >oved the map= fictional but localised!

9espondent &; 0:

( loved getting to grips with the Mhaplain2s problems and then having a chance todiscuss it with the rest of the audience and the cast then going on to see thedecisions being taen! - great sense of audience involvement and one of the bestthings ( have seen in years!

9espondent &6 0:

(n spite of nowing that the material was fictional one audience member admitted tospending two hours hunting through local maps to find the farm!

M$RAL ATTAC#M"T

'ost European theatre still taes place in a darened auditorium with an illuminatedstage! The protocols suggest a strict demarcation between performers and audience

with the latter usually expected not to spea or interact openly with the stage action!The nature of (nteractive Theatre is different in that it expects and supportsaudience members$ engagement with the story and its characters! MonseJuently the

distinction between the audience and performance spaces is intentionally blurred!@hen the compound stimulus is used the audience often will come to theperformance with prior nowledge of story elements together with hypotheses


Figure ": The #urford compound stimulus


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about what is going on in the characters$ lives! The interactivity and follow"upactivities see productively to employ audience involvement and to allow them toexercise their moral concern for those in the story!

The enduring attraction of story at its best is the acceptance that the described

experience of others has relevance for self that in the detailed circumstances andstruggles of other human beings we recognise aspects of our own!

TAR+TI"+

Unlie the usual theatre experience -pplied Drama practitioners usually now thecomposition of the target audience/worshop participants! This enables them tocreate a dramatic experience which is most liely to engage participants! This doesnot preclude some variety in target participants? in my recent pro


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'uch is now nown about the mental state of farmers and the ways in which the)oot and 'outh Disease outbrea exacerbated the situation!&+ The play and itsaccurate representations of the farming Mhaplain family provided validation forfarmers$ experiences! The event also allowed farmers to come together to witness acollective concern for a family in trouble! This had a %de"solating$ effect helped by

the way in which some farmers seemed to networ in relation to the play! ightly ornot many farmers feel disenfranchised and the play provided a forum in which theiropinions mattered and their expertise was valued! -s a group which often findsexpression of emotions difficult they were able to provide advice to the Mhaplains in

ways that shared and alleviated pain perhaps providing some ind of healing andrestoration! (n that it recognised farmers$ problems the play could be seen as solace"maing drawing off some of the pain and combating isolation!

-nother significant contribution to the theme of validation is the presence of acommunity in which validation is being sought! )armers were taling to those theylive amongst but with whom they may have little contact! The fact that six of the ten

performances were on farms helped to reinforce this as farmers were %on their ownterritory$!

(n these ways (


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agrees to the facilitator$s further offer of help! he leaves the room whilst theaudience Juestions the people in the story and discuss ways of helping her! hecomes bac and they suggest that she tal to her piano teacher! -n improvised sceneis staged between these two characters in which the piano teacher tells the girl thatshe has a special talent!

-fter the scene ends the facilitator ass the girl how she feels! he is more positiveand after some deliberation she agrees to give the raHor blade to the facilitator! Thereis no magic solution . many of her problems with parents and peer group remainbut the audience have brought her bac from the brin of self"harm and started aprocess of healing!

The purpose of the compound stimulus and performance is to bring an audience toa point where they are involved in and %care$ about the protagonist and his/herdilemma! The interactive phase . in the example above taling to the charactersdiscussing ways forward for the protagonist and watching the outcome of their

advice gives space for audience members to exercise moral engagement and concern!That engagement is prolonged through follow"up and extension activities!

T# C$MPRSSI$" $' MA"I"+

Those engaged in the processes of dramatic improvisation and theatre"maing usethe dramatic language to concentrate meaning in the semiotics of representation! (fthose processes are successful the artwor contains compressed truths about humanexistence and people$s search for significance! (f the outcomes are performed andthe representations resonate with audience members that compressed meaningexpands within the receivers! The dramatic language is therefore lie poetry a

heightened form of expression!

)T"SI$"

( use a variety of approaches to assist the participants to sustain the affect and effectof the drama! ome of these are obvious pedagogic techniJues . writing a letter toone of the characters in the story in the wee following a performance reflecting inan organised session 9or lesson in schools: on aspects of the story and the issuesraised creating poems or dramatic improvisations which plumb the topic further forexample! ome can be more obliJue! -s part of the follow"up of an interactiveprogramme performed to &+ year"olds in Exeter 9England: on the topic offriendship the school students discussed the characteristics of true friendship!3aving chosen the most important five Jualities everyone made coloured beadbracelets which were tied onto friends$ wrists! -s collectively we held each bead inturn we spoe the Juality associated with that colour! - large sheet was produceditemising the Jualities with the appropriate colour next to it! -s ( left the classroomthat day ( turned and saw two children touch bracelets in a form of tryst (see next

page)!



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(n another (nteractive Theatre programme which dealt with interculturalrelationships groups of students made written declarations about how humanity

should behave in the next seventy years to ensure


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VAL&ATI$"

Discovering whether the drama experience has achieved the change intended is noeasy matter! 4ften it is difficult to


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interviews with participants asing participants to respond in writing or to eep a logof their experience asing them to complete short stories before and after the eventare all possible evaluation devices! (t is relatively easy to assess attitude change!

5udging the effect of the drama on behaviour is much more difficult and reJuiressensitive longitudinal research!&, 4ne techniJue ( have experimented with is to

interview participants many months after their involvement! @oring on theprinciple of that which we remember holds personal significance for us in anunpublished study ( found that around &7N of participants in an (nteractive Theatreprogramme for &+ year olds had near total recall of the programme and its story;7N remembered aspects of it and the remainder could remember nothing of theexperience!

ATTIT&! C#A"+

ome of the stories that contribute to our personal family community and nationalidentity are close to the surface of %nowing$ and may be open to rational discussion

examination and modification! These represent the values and attitudes that are mosteasily changed! The fundamental stories that form the foundation of self howeverare so deeply embedded in our consciousness that they are not easily told or oftenexplicitly understood! tephen Mrites posits that the deepest stories of our identitythat inform us of who we are . those that form the strongly held basis for anaggressive criminal$s behaviour for example " may only be accessible through artisticand spiritual experience!&;@hat artists may be doing and ( include child artistsamong them is attempting constantly to articulate those deep stories their own andthose that give collective identity to their culture! -s a subversive activity art alsoJuestions and challenges those stories sub


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Developing realistic assessment procedures for this area is difficult! -nd yet weharbour a belief that by attempting to raise and experience certain %life areas$ indrama participants are gaining more humane attitudes that they are at the very leastnot becoming more negative about the people examined and the issues raised!esearch ( conducted with experienced UK drama teachers illustrates that to believe

otherwise would be intolerable! The teachers maintain that their chief criterion forchoosing material to wor on in lessons is its suitability for maing good drama!

They state they do not aim to achieve developmental or attitude change and thateven if they did such changes would be impossible to assess! @hen ased howeverif they would be happy if a more negative attitude was being taen by students tosay old age following a series of lessons on this topic they were adamant that theybelieved there was a positive effect! The evidence suggests that deeply embedded intheir philosophies was a belief that drama changed students %for the better$ as a resultof their contact with issues embedded in lesson material!&A

esearch shows that -pplied Drama involvement is one of the most effective ways

of altering attitudes and behaviour!&B

- meta"analysis of existing published researchby 5ames Matterall for example found that=

Drama helps with understanding social relationships complex issues and emotions?improves concentrated thought and story comprehension! 9Matterall 5 +11+:

esearch ( did in the &671s based in thirty"five schools across the UK showed thatstudents positively changed their attitudes to disability as a result of experiencing aseries of structured drama lessons!&)ollowing experience of the (nteractive Theatreprogramme %4n the Edge$ a community mental health nurse said=

@ith the best will in the world mental health worers do tend to become

desensitised to the individual$s experience and that of their family! The play washumbling and will also affect my practice by highlighting the human experience!9)emale community mental health nurse evaluation form:-

The Jualitative data suggest that the programme has provoed careful thought aboutthe effects of stigma and discrimination on people suffering from mental ill healthand there is some evidence of attitude change towards a more tolerant and accepting

view of those who are in this context regarded as %different$! The programme canthus be seen to be successful in meeting its three aims! 0rofessionals in the field were

very supportive of the wor believing that it would achieve attitude change amongstthose who experienced it=

The 8ational Early (ntervention in 0sychosis programme depends for its success onimproved relationships and understanding between young people schools andcolleges families and mental health professionals! 24n the Edge2 is far and away themost effective vehicle that ( have encountered to expedite this! (t is an interactiveplay that brilliantly depicts the descent into psychosis of a young person and thecomplex interaction with his parents school and first girlfriend and their attitudes tomental illness and mental health services! The play engages audiences of school andcollege students teachers families and mental health staff and is organised in a waythat leads to a dialogue between these different groups that can only lead to a

a(er (resente% b) me at the secon% International Drama in E%!cation Research Instit!te, #niversit) o" Kictoria,

7, as )et !n(!blishe%.6 See Taskforce on Underage Alcohol Misuse, 3ate


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reduction of the barriers stemming from stigma leading to better care and morehumane interventions!

9>etter from Dr #rian 'artindaleMonsultant 0sychiatrist

@estern European Oone representative to The @orld 0sychiatric 4rganisation:

( will use this programme as one of my case studies and as an example of worwhich attempts to achieve well"defined change!

$" T# !+

This play was created by a group of final year drama students in the chool of0erformance -rts University of Exeter under my direction! (t is an example of %hardchange$! @e were assisted by an -dvisory Iroup comprised of a psychiatristpsychologist mental health service users drama therapist and representatives ofmental health charities! ubseJuently it was toured by Exstream Theatre .ompany of

which ( am -rtistic Director!

The aims were=

To reduce stigma associated with psychosis?

Educate people about mental health issues?

ignpost routes to support and recovery!

The programme forms part of an initiative to achieve earlier intervention inpsychotic episodes as evidence shows that success and speed of recovery are related

to reducing the time lapse between the appearance of the first symptoms andeffective treatment and support!

-s & in ; people will experience metal health issues during their life&7it is imperativethat we adopt a more open attitude to discussing and understanding them! )ollowingextensive research ( created a story and wrote sections of dialogue from it! This wasreviewed by the -dvisory Iroup


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The four"phases of the programme were=

Phase one: compound stimulus

(n the case of %4n the Edge$ this comprised a shoebox which the audience is told

was found under a seventeen"year"old boy$s bed!

Phase two: the performance

0rior to the performancestarting the facilitator used thecompound stimulus to drawfrom the audience thehypotheses they had formed

when woring with it the weebefore! he then said %o thoseare some of your ideas about thepeople who are in this story and

what$s happening to them! @eare now going to see what reallyhappened$! he then placed thebox under the bed on the stagearea and the ;1 minuteperformance began! (t showed aboy who gradually descends into

a psychotic episode ending in acrisis scene!

M!sic an% Arts in ActionFJohn Somers 455= G ISSN: 7$75 G a+e 7=http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/interactivetheatre

Figure /: The contents of the shoe%ox

Figure 0: The actor playing Terry is hotseated


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Phase three: interactivity

-udience members are invited to tal with someone next to them about what theboy is experiencing and how those around him are reacting to his behaviour! Theyare then invited to Juestion . %hot seat$ " the characters to gain a better

understanding of their motivation and feelings! -udience members then brea intogroups to discuss how each character could support Terry through his ill health! Thecharacters then sat in front of the reassembled audience and received advice on howto move the story on!

The facilitator a mental health nurse then diagnosed Terry$s condition and gaveinformation on how and where to see help in such circumstances!

Phase four: follow-up

- one hour classroom follow"up session is held approximately a wee later! >ed bythe teacher this was to enable students to reflect on and consolidate nowledgegained through the programme! Each school/college was given a copy of theeducation pac %#ac from the Edge$ which could be used as a resource to supportthe session!

Evaluation

- very sophisticated evaluation of this programme was carried out!&6(t showed thatsignificant changes had occurred! These included increased student awareness andnowledge of psychosis? greater awareness and consideration of stigma and


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discrimination amongst families and those affected by psychosis and? greaterawareness of where to see help!

'$RSI+#T

This very unusual theatrical experience . an example of attempts at %soft change$ isbased on a real story of the crash of a Ierman 5uners 77 bomber in the Tale alleyin &6;&! (t was written by a first"time local playwright ose @atts and was performedin a marJuee near the spot where one of the Ierman airmen hit the ground . dead!(t too place in 0ayhembury a small East Devon 9England: rural parish!+1The aimof the pro


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which is performed predominantly by and to members of that community 95ellicoe&67:!

+"SIS

(n +11; ( a Tale alley resident devised and organised a sixteen"session %MommunityTheatre chool$ which comprised multiple worshops on writing acting directingdesign music technical and mareting!+,These were led by appropriate professionals!everal initiatives emerged and ose @atts a first"time playwright wrote Foresightdeveloping the play over two years with my support!

4 'he 'heatre School -as "inance% b) E9eter #niversit)/s &omm!nit) O!treach (ro+ramme.

M!sic an% Arts in ActionFJohn Somers 455= G ISSN: 7$75 G a+e =http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/interactivetheatre

Figure 3: 4erman 5uftwaffe airmen


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ST$R%LI"

@hen out metal detecting )ranie and his friends 9including his %sort"of $ girlfriend5oanna: discover some debris from a second world"war aircraft! )ranie tries to cleana cigarette case which he can$t even open! 3e places it on his bedside table whilst he

sleeps? during the night it opens and reveals its stories!

)ranie discovers that his Ireat Irandmother who was )rench had an affair with aIerman airman in occupied )rance! 3e gradually unravels the events leading to thecrash partly by using documents belonging to his recently deceased grandfather!

The play ends with )ranie having gained moral insight into the nature of violenceand war! 3e returns to the spot where the cigarette case was found and reburies it

wishing to place the memories where they belong! 3e also inters in the hole a deadbuHHard which he previously saw wheeling above the fields! 3e is %watched$ by those

. alive and dead " who have also gained insight and who understand what he hasacJuired from the incidents portrayed! -udience members then waled outside theperformance marJuee to hear the real farmer describe how his father found the deadIerman airman! - real @@(( aircraft flew over trailing smoe to the sound of atolling bell!

'$RMAT

-s well as a bus ticet of the &6;1s audience members were issued with adocumentary programme days before attending the play! This contained bacground

information on the events on which the play is based! >ocal historian obin taneshad researched the topic and prepared a boolet which was on sale from 5uly +11!

-udience members arrived by vintage &6;1s buses at Tucmill )arm 0ayhembury

M!sic an% Arts in ActionFJohn Somers 455= G ISSN: 7$75 G a+e =4http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/interactivetheatre

Figure 16: 7intage %us


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where Foresightwas staged in a large marJuee! 'ilitary and other vehicles of the timestood outside the marJuee and as audience members entered the marJuee they wereable to loo at an exhibition of related material and video recordings of interviews

with eyewitnesses!

The play was performed %promenade style$ with the action happening in amongstaudience members! The performance marJuee was pitched in a field close to whereone of the bodies landed! >ive music involved a choir and instrumentalists! Two largescreens were used for pro


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0articipant and audience responses were almost universally enthusiastic! 4neaudience member said=

The sense of community was also a powerful theme that came across in Foresight! (found the inclusive nature of the event inspiring! )rom the old to the young Foresight

provided a point of engagement that enabled a community$s story to be told througha combination of education music performance interaction and digital media!-' B

-nd another=

( was most impressed with the production which was ambitious but carried outwith a confidence which assured success! The scale of the piece from such a smallcommunity was staggering FCG The whole evening was very moving? ( was born


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participants had not taen part in theatre of any ind and conseJuently some feltvulnerable in the early stages of rehearsals! ensitive directing is necessary if one isnot to %lose$ such contributors but the ultimate satisfaction for all involved comesthrough nowing that the artistic product is of high Juality! Knowing how to managethese two essential factors is perhaps the ma


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AB$&T T# A&T#$R

*ohn +illiam omers is a Honorar) #niversit)

interactive theatre

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