autobiographical dramatic theatrical performance as a therapeutic intervention

Abstract

This paper articulates the basic features of Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance (ATP). Contextualizing it in drama therapy practice as a performance-based intervention, the paper describes ATPs roots in experimental theatre and grounds its features in psychotherapy concepts. The paper outlines the main therapeutic constituents of ATP: Narrating lived experience, shaping the material into aesthetic forms, embodying, and rehearsing personal stories that have been processed, performing in front of an audience, and integrating new insights in the post-performance reflection. Finally, a “warning” is voiced about the potential danger of using this intervention when it’s not adequate.