Therapeutic Theatre

The relationship between the Call to Adventure and the journey towards self actualization is one of the most common themes of mythology and one of the richest in symbolic value. This call to adventure helps to establish the stakes of life’s personal and professional games and makes clear our goals as an active participant.

A very special experimental cutting edge theatre group that is dedicated to empowering individuals to freely nurse their imagination and originality in a safe supportive space is Drastic Productions founded by Liz Clarke and Lotty Lowri in 2006 as a positive response to offer performance experience to groups of people who might not normally have access to it.

The highly committed team at the theatre helps people to identify those aspects of self that require creative release, discharging exciting new energy into the psyche and dissolving long held inhibitions in the process and activating powerful archetypes. These archetypes could be said to represent specific functions and parts of the personality which resolve the tension in responsive feeling.

The valuable work that Liz and her talented team facilitate is unique in that it draws on a broad spectrum of post modern climate and cultures. As a combination of professionals they radiate enthusiasm and warmth as well as being vitally interested in creating an environment that offers a variety of mental stimulation, movement and experimentation. The team strength lies in their highly specialized approach to working imaginatively, providing a catalyst to bring about a profound transformation in others. Like a true catalyst in chemistry, they help bring about a change in a system and help guide others in their growth. Drastic Productions helps individuals to explore their surroundings in unfamiliar ways such as the use of taste, touch and sound. They believe that we are all creators and artists of our own individual experiences and responses to life. By living art, we become art.

In the concept of the Holy Grail an ancient and mysterious symbol for all the unattainable things of the Soul that all heroes and heroines search after, the ultimate boon or reward is a certain self knowledge and transformation that follows when we take possession of whatever we are seeking. It is the fundamental character of the universe to be active in the production of wholes and that the evolution of the universe, inorganic and organic, is nothing but the record of this whole-making activity in its progressive development.

The unifying force of all life phenomenon suggested by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who lived about “ 546-470 BC” was named physis and was conceived generally as the creative force of nature. It is the healing energy behind illness, the energized motive for growth and the driving force of creativity in an individual. The human will playing a crucial role as it represents the seat of primal power-the striving force that can be found in all creative individuals. Any act of deliberate creativity is a reaching out to create or co-create a relationship with another. All creativity therefore implies relationship and a desire for connectivity. The creative expression of the individual towards life is closely mirrored in the relationship between the creative individual and the collective –society. We are pro-social relationship-seeking beings who in order to evolve and rediscover ourselves have to continuously pay attention to our experiences, preserve our integrity, to experiment and promote our creative impulse.

Drastic Productions through its innovative programme of workshops and interesting series of seminars intends to heal the splits and divisions of the person and in doing so, valorizing personal responsibility and freedom to choose one’s life based on making healthy choices through the celebration of curiousity and joy in learning and unlearning for oneself, inspired by welcoming diversity, spontaneity and playfulness in an abundant sharing of emotional experience. Their workshops offer an opportunity for playful improvisation, communication and idea sharing. Liz and Lotty delve into character, story telling and physical theatre, always striving for inclusion and promoting positive images.

Each workshop leader has professional qualifications and experience in working with minority groups in quite challenging and unusual environments ranging from high security units, psychiatric wards, prisons and even nightclubs! Referrals by mental health services are accepted with participants presenting with an array of health issues such as depression and schizophrenia. The team do not work with a social label or medical diagnosis but with the whole person. They are not a drama therapy group and all their work is carefully planned and complies with their Vulnerable Adults Policy. Their skill in working with vulnerable people ensures that they manage any creative risks sensitively. Each session offers an opportunity for reflection and feedback.

Their most important and exciting work to date is dealing head on with how women with mental health issues are portrayed in the media. The team’s social and theoretical influences range from sex positive artist Annie Sprinkle to the work of long standing theatre companies such as Candoco and Back to Back in Australia. As Liz Clarke is a practicing live artist her work is mainly body based and so she brings in influences from this sphere. At present the team are planning to bring out their ‘The Dare Devil Divas Compendium of Super Heroes and Alter Egos’ which will be a graphic novel working in partnership with Bristol organizations and leftfield art book publishers. They have also been asked to perform and facilitate at several festivals this year and are hoping to take their place in national Arts and Health debates.

Good teachers and Mentors are enthused as the word comes from the Greek word en theos , meaning god-inspired or being in the presence of a god. Drastic Productions as modern day mentors who seek to empower individuals to make the most of themselves are strongly concerned with collective issues, what we all experience in common-the major victories and tragedies of our times and especially the expansion of consciousness and understanding that help us on our heroic journey to wholeness.

In the anatomy of the psyche, mentors represent the Self, the god and the g-ood within us, the higher noble self or conscience that acts as our inner guide when there is no one there to protect us or teach us right from wrong. Symbolically mentors stand for our own highest aspirations. Another important function of the Mentor is to motivate us and help us overcome our fear through encouragement.

If you would like to unleash the hero or heroine inside of you then I am confident that you will be fully supported in your personal quest by contacting www.drasticproductions.co.uk E-mail: info@ drasticproductions.co.uk or call Liz Clarke on 07748 805 674.

May the force be with you.

References

Capra, F.( 1978) The Turning Point: Science, Society and The Rising Culture. Toronto: Bantam.

M,Leau-Ponty, M (1962) Phenomenology of Perception. (C. Smith, trans) London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Zohar, D (1990) The Quantum Self. London, Bloomsbury.

Images reproduced from drasticproductions.co.uk

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