This workshop is based on my current doctoral research entitled: Looking for the Gold - A Critical Ethnographic study using Dramatherapy to explore voice, agency and power at the intersection of private and public in aged care. The study explores the intersected and co-constructed nature of residents’ lived experiences and the socio-cultural environment in which they live. The findings of my study reflect a number of challenges for the residents whose living space is constantly permeated by those who work, study of visit within their home. Dramatherapy is found to be invaluable alternative space in which residents can exercise agency and voice through a variety of creative methods. One such method is the use of story and enactment. Working with story in a small group setting enabled a symbolic exploration of the themes which were pertinent in residents lives.
The proposed workshop will include the experience of therapeutic storytelling and enactment as well as time for group reflection. The participants will be invited to engage with a variety of Dramatherapy tools in order to warm up their imagination and bodies and symbolically explore the themes of community resources and community gathering from an embodied perspective. I will share insights into how I utilised this type of creative engagement both as a method of research inquiry as well as offering a possible tool for change with the research community. I will explain my approach to ‘community as a client’ and explore the potential of Dramatherapy beyond the therapy room – as a tool for change and social action in the ageing community. Participants will have an opportunity to explore how themes of the chosen story reflect on the community environments in which they work or live and the potential for further creative engagements.