Applied Theatre: Performing Health and Wellbeing

Baxter, Veronica; Low, Katharine E.

doi:10.5040/9781472584601

Cited by 15 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The lack of inclusion of arts scholars means there is a lack of theory integrated into discussions on how the arts were expected to support the interventions delivered, and it is unclear what was actually done in practice with local artists. Arts scholarship does engage with some of these issues 31 but not always in an interdisciplinary way where it is linked to outcomes of interventions (hence not meeting our review inclusion criteria). The lack of social science input likely leads to a dominant focus of the literature on outcomes as opposed to the processes used to achieve these.…”

Section: Contribution To the Literature (Empirical)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coproduced, arts interventions for nurturing care (0–5 years) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs): a realist review

Gale,

Ahmed,

Diarra

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesCommunity-based arts interventions have the potential to support contextually relevant nurturing care programmes and policies that adapt to different settings. Understanding the distinctive features of using the arts in local, culturally specific ways in low/middle-income countries (LMICs); how this varies by context; and gaining a better understanding of the perspectives on desirable outcomes for communities is important evidence that this review generates.DesignWe conducted a realist review of papers that covered outcomes related to child health or development (0–5 years) AND arts-based approaches AND community-based, participatory approaches AND based in LMICs using a range of databases and other networks. A coding framework was developed covering context, intervention, outcomes, mechanisms, study, sustainability, transferability and scalability.ResultsThe included papers reported 18 unique interventions. Interventions covered 14 countries, with evidence lacking for South America, Arab countries and parts of Africa. Lead authors came from mostly clinical science-based disciplines and from institutions in a different country to the country/countries studied. Intended outcomes from interventions included clinical, health systems/organisation, changes in practices/behaviours/knowledge/attitudes, and wider social and educational goals. We identified three demi-regularities (semi-predictable patterns or pathways of programme functioning): participatory design based on valuing different sources of expertise; dynamic adaptation of intervention to context; and community participation in arts-based approaches.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that arts-based, nurturing care interventions have greater potential when they include local knowledge, embed into existing infrastructures and there is a clear plan for ongoing resourcing of the intervention. Studies with better documentation of the lessons learnt, regarding the intervention delivery process and the power dynamics involved, are needed to better understand what works, for whom and in which contexts.

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Section: Contribution To the Literature (Empirical)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Coproduced, arts interventions for nurturing care (0–5 years) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs): a realist review

Gale,

Ahmed,

Diarra

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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“…There is also little attention in public documents to the ways in which institutions and services benefit from such marginalization. Funiciello, (1990) has termed this 'the poverty industry' and worried, like Baxter (2017) that this has led to a focus on the failure of the oppressed to achieve their own liberation:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who is Responsible? Neoliberal Discourses of Well-Being in Australia and New Zealand

Freebody

Mullen

Walls

et al. 2018

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This paper argues that policy agendas and proposals about social change and wellbeing are evident in the implementation of applied theatre projects through technologies such as evaluation practices and funding applications and effect public discourse about who the participants are and why they are or are not 'being well'. Like public policy, applied theatre for social change cannot 'get to work' without first establishing a problem that needs to be solved. We consider the ways in which the discourses of funders, governments and communities call on applied theatre practitioners to frame particular issues and/or groups of people as problematic and the implications of doing so within neoliberalised policy contexts. This issue relates to existing debates about the extent to which the conceptions and models of change that underpin many forms of applied theatre are affected by funders and governments. This paper engages with this critique as it explores current donor and public policy discourses related to well-being in Australia and New Zealand. It draws on specific policy documents and funding schemes in the two contexts to discuss the mechanics and politics of 'change' as a key character in the work of applied theatre and performance in each country. The paper attempts to understand the way the field might navigate systems, technologies, policies, and public understandings of wellbeing, social change, personal change, and social good to produce work with and for participants within neoliberal structures.

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“…Theatre facilitators engaging in processes and activities that explore personal narratives and/or LGBTQQ issues can find themselves having to navigate the gray area that exists between theatre (arts) in health practice and drama therapy. Drama therapy is the intentional use of drama and/or theatre processes to achieve therapeutic goals (www.nadta.org), while theatre in health practice positions drama skill building and theatre making as primary aims, with health benefits as welcomed outcomes (Baxter & Low, 2017). Even if programs are not structured with the intent of engaging in drama therapy, the absence of trained MH professionals can create challenges for how organizations can safely provide affirming spaces for LGBTQQ youth to connect with one another, explore their identities, and express themselves freely.…”

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confidence: 99%

Theatre Connect: Key Strategies for Facilitating LGBTQQ Youth Theatre Programs

Pufahl

Reina-Munoz

Bayne

2021

Health Promotion Practice

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Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQQ) often experience heterosexism, homophobia, prejudice, and bullying in addition to the typical demands of adolescent development. Applied theatre programs have been shown to empower youth, improve mental health and well-being, and create positive identity and interpersonal relationships and, as such, have the potential to strengthen a range of protective factors for LGBTQQ youth. However, when programs engage participants in personal narratives, practitioners must be prepared to deftly navigate between the two domains of theatre in health and drama therapy. Since 2017, the University of Florida’s (UF) Center for Arts in Medicine has offered an afterschool theatre program for LGBTQQ youth in partnership with clinicians from UF Health’s Youth Gender Clinic and faculty in the Mental Health Counseling training program in the College of Education. Theatre practitioners lead the program in partnership with mental health professionals, who participate in sessions and are “on call” for participants. Program facilitators have developed a set of guidelines for organizations attempting to start LGBTQQ or other youth theatre programs in their local communities, which include the following recommendations: (1) prioritize safe and ethical practice through creating sustainable partnerships between mental health counsellors, experienced theatre practitioners, and local LGBTQQ organizations; (2) develop a clear contract between participants and facilitators regarding program goals; (3) utilize Baim’s drama spiral as a conceptual tool and limit program activities to the first four spiral rings; (4) emphasize “play” and skill building rather than LGBTQQ topics.

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Applied Theatre: Performing Health and Wellbeing

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Coproduced, arts interventions for nurturing care (0–5 years) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs): a realist review

Coproduced, arts interventions for nurturing care (0–5 years) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs): a realist review

Who is Responsible? Neoliberal Discourses of Well-Being in Australia and New Zealand

Theatre Connect: Key Strategies for Facilitating LGBTQQ Youth Theatre Programs

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