Drama Therapy Workshop (Oct 14, 2006)

I was extremely fortunate to hear of this Drama Therapy workshop conducted by Dr Robert Landy (Founder and Director of NYU's Drama Therapy Program) and Ms Emily Nash (Artistic Director and Director of Training and Supervision at Creative Alternatives of New York), thanks to my classmate Kathy Brennan, a 2nd year Drama Therapy student in the Master's track. I was not particularly sure what the workshop entailed, but because it was my first opportunity to do the thing I really loved and enjoyed while working with inmates in Singapore, I just had to go for it.

Entitled "THE FUNCTION OF THE GUIDE IN THERAPEUTIC DRAMATIZATION", the workshop participants talk about their guides as if they had known them all their lives. It is a tad strange to hear this during the introductory sharing. For example, one participant comments she knows her guide really well, but sometimes she just wants to chuck her aside and be alone. Another participant wants to know how to get rid of the false guides in her life. I find that I am already thrown into a therapy session with a string of vocabulary which I am not familar with. And it is funny (to me, at least) to see how the supposedly imaginary voices we often hear when we rationalise about issues -- like the polar Good vs Evil images that appear in cartoons -- become so real and so human when the participants referred to these voices as "he" or "she".

Robert then gives the analogy that we, as parents, sometimes do not know what to do as parents. We gain our experience by doing, and learning from our own parents who learned from our grandparents. So how do we become guides for our children if our guides have been imperfect guides? Now, that makes logical sense. As therapists, we are often guides for our students/clients, but how can we be guides unless we know how to be guided? And it is that step to find out who our guides are, and how to listen to them.

Part 1: Improvised Dance and Conflict Resolution

We then went into an improvised piece, with 2 participants moving in polarity and the third, a guide, trying to find out what their needs are, and aiming to resolve that conflict. I went into the circle and started hammering the floor. Another participant joined me, and I saw her feet -- and started hammering her in aggression. It was a rather violent image we were creating, full of tension and anger. The guide came into the circle and instinctively soothed me. When my energy dissipated slowly, I began finger-playing with her. Slowly, the other girl joined in and we started playing with our fingers in a dance. Still focused on the minute details like the fingers, I suddenly heard Emily say, "It's ok. You can look into each other's eyes." It was then that I began to look at the 'victim's' eyes and saw something I never saw -- and a smile flashed across my face. It was a genuine sense of connection and we improvised a little longer and then, separated.

Issues that arose from this improvised movement include:
1. As guides, we sometimes don't know what to do. Or at least that's what we think. But when you are in it, trust your instincts.
2. As guides, we sometimes need to step out and observe first before entering the space.
3. As guides, what are their needs? What are your needs? What can they give to you? It's a 3-way relationship.

I remember sharing that a simple form of encouragement like "It's okay to look at her eyes" almost gives me permission to do something else... and that, in itself, had a soothing effect. It was simple yet powerful. As a guide, we may offer suggestions like this.

There was a lot more to the workshop which I have learned. And I have the urge to stop detailing my life lest I bore you. But now I don't really care if you cared enough to read. But as a form of testimonial of my own growth, I will continue to pen down this wonderful journey I undertook, so that years from now, I would remember this as one prominent landmark in my quest for the Guide.

Part 2: Guided Imagery & Blind Walk

We then went through a guided imagery, where I saw in the sea a snake swimming quietly towards the beach. It moved on the sand, creating curvy patterns that were unique. I wasn't sure where it was heading, but it glided gingerly from side to side. He was the "journeyor". Along came the "guide" in the form of a bird looking down. It was a pigeon. A white one. A delicate one.

Then we partnered each other and went on a blind walk. I remembered touching different parts of the room, and identifying the door knob, the table, the piano, the wall. But there was one thing I couldn't identify. I had to stretch upwards to reach it and it felt very different. It had a velvety feel, like an overhead shelf but it had a cylindrical bar from top to bottom. I was intrigued, but before I knew it, I was moved into a different part of the room.

Later, we came together and shared as a pair. I realised that I was thrilled with the unknown object and wanted to stay with it for a longer period of time. But because I was led away, I did not resist but followed through. It was comfortable and safe when I touched other objects on "ground" level or waist level, but I really wanted more of the "above my head" level objects.


Part 3: Monologue and Role Play

Having had a whirlpool of different experiences, we wrote a monologue from the perspective of the Guide. We then read it out, and there were some participants with rather strong emotions, and stuck feelings, that Robert and Emily stepped in with a dramatisation of it. Some other participants reaffirmed each other's readings and it offered great comfort for every individual.

I witnessed for once the power of the role play. It appeared very much like the Empty Chair in Gestalt Therapy, but we use two actors in this case, sometimes inter-switching roles at appropriate and meaningful moments when the Guide needed to give advice, or when the Journeyor needed to hear advice.

According to John, my monologue was full of compassion and gentleness. And the words that my Guide left with the class are "Before you can REACH UP, Edmund needs to REACH OUT. Before he can REACH OUT, he needs to REACH IN."

Afternote:
When I was walking home from the subway, I felt energised. I felt extremely "alive", having made connections on a human level, but more so, having made connections with myself. Believe it or not, I didn't feel that lonely on the way back because I started "conversing" with my Guide... and seeing how my life has been thus far. The images were strong. It suddenly dawned on me to see my life's vision and journey as characterised by the images of the bird and the snake -- solitary figures, almost always in conflict, but very grounded (or at least try to be) and an ambitious reach towards the sky.

The feeling cannot be described in words, but I just felt a surge of life, a pulse, an energy. I was renewed, refreshed, and recharged.