Based on theories from: Educational or Process Drama. Improvisaiional Theatre. Drama Therapy and Psychology: this thesis is an in depth exploration of a methodology for educational drama that can be used lo examine values. This method proposes a system that will assist participants to discover and assess their own altitudes and bring them into dialogue with other value systems. The theoretical focus of this thesis was drawn from selected theorists: Roai. Iz/.o. Panely, Vogler and Heathcole amongst others: which conlribuled to the establishment of a practical methodology that provides a process of self discovery through improvisational drama and role-play. The dichotomous relationship between art and nature (perceived rcalitx), allows the participant lo engage in the discourse of self evaluation and social conscientisaiion. The methodology is based on the narrative structure of myth and the archetypes that populate mythic landscapes. Myths relate the journey of a hero, who undergoes personal growth as the result of a change of perspective. This occurs during the hero's journey from her ordinary world to a special world where adventure and danger awaits. The hero must find the elixir that will heal her own wounds and the wounds of her communitw Ihe archetypes play a unique role in helping the hero lo face her own desires, values and altitudes and to lest these \ allies in the Ileal of physical battle or emotional turmoil. With Participatory Action Research as main methoclologv. the thesis used questionnaires, interviews, journal entries and dramatic workshops for data gathering. The longitudinal nature of this exploration look place over a period of two years and the cohort group comprised of adolescent girls and boys, aged 14 to 16 years. The research found that the method was very successful for inciting critical discussion and moral debate. In the safety of the dramatic context, the cohort group gained new understanding about the conflict between the good of the community verses the individuars desires. Consequently they were able to come to terms with those desires that influence their behaviour and talk about these in relation to other values. Keywords: Values interrogation, educational drama, process drama, drama therapy, drama journeys, improvisation, role-play, social conscicntisation. Tcmenos, dramatic play, educational play, archetypes, psychological transference, meaning making process, practical methodology, dichotomy. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This thesis examines the use of the participatory forum theatre methodology for HIVIAIDS education ina factory setting in Durban, 2003. The paper explores the field of Entertainment Education (EE), which is the strategic use of entertainment forms for health education and behaviour change. This thesis offers an overview of some of the modern theories of behaviour change and how EE is used in development communication. I investigate participatory communication theory, the work of Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire, and the principles that inform Augusto Boats forum theatre methodology. EE strategies and communication and behavioural change theories inform the design and practice of the PST (problem solving theatre) projec( which is the case study for this thesis. This thesis outlines the process of the PST project, researching the environment at the chosen factory site, and the prevailing knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS, the creation of an appropriate forum theatre play, as well as observations and comments on the performance at the factory. Final summative research investigates the impact that the forum theatre had on the audience. The conclusion points to the tensions in theory and practice that were highlighted through the PST project, and suggests how forum theatre, as an EE strategy, can be further used in a factory setting. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This thesis examines the perception of the city of Johannesburg through a participatory theatre pilot project titled “Breaths of Joburg”. It looks at how different stakeholders, such as the performance director, professional and student actors, as well as the writers who inspired the texts used as a basis for the theatre, the live audience as well as the social media audience perceived Johannesburg and whether their perceptions changed after experiencing the play. The texts were inspired by the writers’ desire for social change in the city of Johannesburg, however, this change was not perceived by the other stakeholders. As the play, which was initially intended for an adult audience, had to be adapted to a predominantly child audience due to the need for change of location, this influenced the storytelling and language used in the play. Arguably, this change contributed to the lack of perception change within the stakeholders. All stakeholders who were Johannesburg residents developed strong positive emotions for their city throughout the production of the play and the performances thereof due to their perception of authenticity and their pre-existing knowledge of the city. Their perceptions of the city, however, remained the same while live audience members who came from outside of Johannesburg did not perceive the city in the same way and reported a feeling of hesitation. Humorous and educational content within the play aided the performance director to transform the city of Johannesburg into a space for experiences and gathering meaning. While social media aided in promoting the play to a highly relevant pre-defined audience in and around Johannesburg, it did not actively aid in influencing the perceptions of its social media audience beyond measured metrics such as “likes” and “shares” on Facebook and Instagram.

his study discusses the benefits of Popular Participatory Theatre (PPT) as a research method with which to investigate the culture of silence around HIV/AIDS issues in Malealea Valley, Lesotho. Popular Participatory Theatre provided the means by which the community named, reflected on and initiated action with regard to their problems. This research will contribute to the growing body of research which aims to uncover effective modes of communication which could lead to behaviour change. This study employed the qualitative research methodology. This was in recognition that qualitative research involves in-depth understanding of human behaviours and the reasons that govern that behaviour, and looks at the reasons behind various aspects of behaviour, perceptions, beliefs and attitudes. Qualitative research seeks meaning rather than generality and contributes to theory development (Miller et al, 2003:192-3). In-depth interviews and focus groups were also used as instruments for data collection. The findings of the study indicate that socio-economic issues such as language, cultural practices, the way that Basotho are brought up and power dynamics around patriarchy contribute to the culture of silence. The Malealea Theatre Project helped the Malealea community to re-examine some of their beliefs and cultural practices. The findings also indicate that popular participatory theatre is an effective research method that can be used to collect data while also leading to community action. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

This thesis is located within the discourse of contemporary, participatory performance. It offers a cultural materialist reading of the relationship between neoliberal capitalism and identity, and its adjunct community, to consider the extent to which participatory performance might challenge the individualistic aspects of the neoliberal ideology. The thesis questions what it means to participate in capitalist democracy in the contemporary moment, interrogates how one might exercise participatory agency both within and outside the theatre space and contemplates the function of participatory performance in a period of democratic discontent. I argue that the case-studies contribute to creating communities of individuals thinking about how to develop capitalist democracy in a more egalitarian direction. The thesis primarily employs close performance analysis of nine case-studies that all occurred in the period 2013-2014. These analyses occur across three chapters that each address a differing form of participation. Chapter One considers the significance of the re-presentation of performer acts of participation within demarcated theatre spaces, challenging the concept of the successfully, aspiring neoliberal identity. Chapter Two focuses on acts of audience participation invited within conventional theatre auditoriums to defamiliarise one’s motivations for acting or not. And Chapter Three centres on immersive performance experiences in which the audience member becomes the art object, inviting them to recognise their indebtedness to others. The thread that coheres this broad cross-section of participatory performance practices is their desire to use the act of participation and the platform of performance to reconceive of what it means to do politics by using artistic and cultural means. Collectively, the case-studies advocate the need for continued co-operation with others and the on-going co-creation of meaning, which eliminates knowing, outcome and end-result, to challenge instrumental understandings of political progress. The thesis conclusion asserts this point by considering the shared theatrical techniques employed across the case-studies that destabilise binary modes of thinking to enhance their ethico-political potential. It also reflects on this argument in light of the election of a majority Conservative (neoliberal) government in 2015.

This research studies how participatory theatre (PT) as a communication tool can promote development and social change in the city. Using a project developed in Johannesburg (SA) that engages the city’s socio-spatial concerns through performance, the paper analyses the participatory creative process utilised and in which ways it opened a space for debate and critical thinking. The objects of the study are the medium (the theatre), the context (the urban) and the creative stakeholders (the participants) and how they influence each other when creating the fictional space of the performance.  The findings suggest that, after participating in the performance’s making process, stakeholders have enhanced their ability to connect their lived experiences with the social-spatial issues of the city and have a better knowledge of the topics covered in the play. One significant aspect of this project is that the participatory approach has given participants a unique opportunity to exchange personal views of the city and find commonalities, and theatre has provided the medium to represent, negotiate and transform their relationship with the city.

In the spring of 2010, I worked with four street youths from Durban to create a short fictional film based on their lives. There were two main components to this project: first, a series of drama workshops and second, the film-making process. The filmmaking process consisted of the participants improvising scenes based on their street lives that I captured on film. This project engaged with Theatre for Development and Participatory Video practices. The young man who initiated this project did so because he wanted to change people’s perceptions of youths who lived on the streets. Additionally, he wanted to change his own perceptions of himself. The film provided baseline data regarding how the participants viewed themselves and their lives on the streets. Analysis of interviews conducted after the completion of the project, when compared with the baseline data, demonstrated social impacts that occurred as a result of making the film. This data was coded and interpreted using François Matarasso’s (1997) positive criteria for the social impact of participating in arts projects as well as corresponding negative categories that I generated. The film, once coded, demonstrated that the participants felt negatively about their lives on the streets, with many examples emerging from the categories Lack of Social Cohesion and Lack of Agency. In contrast, the interviews revealed positive social impacts across all categories, but especially in relation to Personal Development, Local Image and Identity, and Community Empowerment and Self-Determination (Matarasso 1997). The participants reported that they felt differently about themselves as a result of the project. They also said that there had been a change in the way some people treated them. Findings revealed that the film project resulted in positive social impacts on the street youth participants. As a result of the film, they engaged in critical thinking and reflection related to Paulo Freire’s (1970) notion of praxis. They also wished for changes in their lives and in some cases enacted change. It was significant that social impacts and change extended to youths in difficult circumstances. In conclusion, this research proved that participating in the film project broadened and enriched the lives of the participants. Problems arose in terms of sustainability. Further projects and research are needed to establish the possible impacts from longterm and sustainable arts projects on youths from the streets. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This dissertation for the M.A. in Creative Writing consists of a full-length play, titled Last Laugh and a mini-dissertation. The mini-dissertation explores the phenomenon of Theatre-for-Development, which differs significantly from the performance tradition of classical African drama. The study identifies ways in which Theatre-for-Development practitioners, animators or catalysts, (interchangeable names given to agents who teach target community members theatre-for-development skills) abandon the conventions of classical African drama performances, in terms of the form of plays, stage management and costumes. They find different and less formal ways to tackle the social problems which the target communities experience. The origins of Classical African drama are traced from the western tradition, from which it borrows heavily, and there is some discussion of the socio-historical conditions that prevailed during the time when African playwrights performed those plays, and the rise of nationalism in colonised African states, which in part influenced their production. This study then examines how the socio-political dynamics in the Zimbabwean post-farm-invasions era gave rise to Theatre-for-Development projects in the newly resettled farming communities that faced social development challenges. Despite the land gains peasants enjoyed, the resettled communities found themselves in places far away from schools, hospitals, shops and social service centres. That was the source of their problems. It will be shown how government sponsored Theatre-for-Development groups to mobilise the people, through theatre, to initiate home-groomed solutions to their social and economic problems during a time when the government was bankrupt and the country’s economy was shattered by the destruction of the agricultural and mining sectors, triggered by the invasions of the white commercial farms. The Ziya Community Theatre’s production of Sunrise is analysed in the light of these considerations. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / English / unrestricted