Abstract
The Penwithen Boys were introduced to drama after Vita Nova, a community theatre group comprising recovering addicts, took Scratchin’ the Surface to their school. It was a play that documented a young man’s demise as he gets caught up with drug culture. This experience spoke to the boys.The school invited me to make a play with the boys as I had done with Vita Nova. We created the play called Til’ it all Went Wrong. This play was performed at an International Conference at Exeter University in 2002. As a consequence, one of the participants at the conference, ignorant of the boys’ backgrounds, invited the young people to perform at the Baltic Festival of Love.
Against what seemed like insurmountable obstacles the boys, teachers and volunteers, and myself made it to Latvia. It was a life-changing experience. This trip took place in 2002, now 19 years ago. Retrospectively this unplanned drama project can be seen as a unique case study in which to carry out a longitudinal study regarding the transformative effects of applied drama.
Why is it that some young people have their cards marked before their education even begins? My quest began as an attempt to track down the lost boys. I wanted to discover if the experience of the applied drama project had remained with them. As a passing memory or something more.
As my research developed I realised that I was also part of the study. This epiphany led to me taking an autoethnographic approach to the work, one which encompasses my role, as facilitator within the field of applied drama spanning over 25 years.This thesis offers evidential weight to the importance of applied drama and theatre as an instrument of change and the possibility of hope.
| Date of Award | 26 Apr 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Tim Prentki (Supervisor) |