"Your work in the mental health space is needed now more than ever."
Elana Berlin, Program Officer, The Walder Foundation
What The Researchers Say:
Five separate studies by teams of mental health professionals have produced results that suggest:
Professionally taught arts programming can contribute to well-being and may contribute to brain health through promoting an enhanced ability to focus;
Art can serve as a useful therapeutic method to assist patients to open up and share their feelings, views, and experiences;
It is well-documented that such activities can be used as non-medical interventions to promote public health and wellbeing;
The arts as a tool for enhancing mental health wellbeing suggest that participatory arts activities and clinical arts interventions [should be] made more widely available in health and social settings; and
Participatory arts activities produce outcomes which support recovery, specifically including enhancing connectedness and improving hope.
In particular...
theatre programming has been shown to help participants:
• Feel less isolated
• Learn how to solve problems
• Express how they're feeling
• Set goals
• Relate better to other people
• Understand themselves and their experiences more clearly
• Improve self-esteem and self-worth
• Develop better coping skills at home, school, and/or work
• Broaden the range of expression of emotion
• Use creativity, imagination, and play to practice reacting to difficult situations
• Get to the point of addressing problems quickly
• Escape from the pressures of life into the imagination
• Interact with others in a safe, comfortable environment.
Sources: PubMed of the National Institute of Health, The Recovery Place, Psychology Today and verywellmind.com
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long are the plays?
Each staged reading runs thirty minutes or less. Due to the intensity of the trauma being enacted, we follow Strindberg's dictum to “impose no more suffering than is absolutely necessary.” Discussion with the audience often follows.
What is the purpose of these plays?
Broken Shoulders seeks to inspire people to rejoin their shattered lives after their “Big Shoulders” have been broken under the weight of trauma and misfortune. We do this in three ways: first, we show them they are not alone in their struggle by telling stories about real people facing similar challenges; second, we offer choices they can make by focusing on the often-heroic decisions made by these individuals; and, third, we spark their imagination by telling these stories within the format of a staged reading.
Who is served by these readings?
The first persons to be served are those who read a part in the play. This is why a Kintsugi Circle is so powerful. The second persons are those who hear and see the reading.
Who reads the different roles?
We often have a mix of professionally trained actors and clients/employees of the sponsoring organization. In some cases, and with regular training classes, all readers are clients.
Can you do these on-line?
Yes. Ideally, we present this in person. However, we have done on-line and achieved remarkable results.
What will the training classes look like?
With you, we can design an on-going program of Kintsugi Circles consisting of acting training, playwriting training, rehearsal, and performance before peers.
Can you design a play just for my group?
Yes.