Theatre ADAD

Theatre ADAD - Domestic Violence production Plenet conference 2010 Theatre ADAD uses interactive drama to engage young people at risk or excluded from mainstream education to promote personal and social responsibility and citizenship.

ADAD has worked with Thames Valley Partnership to explore the use of art as a way of engaging people and communities. The highly animated, energised and immediate experience of live theatre provokes reactions and participation from young people who generally struggle with more conventional methods of learning.

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The dramas provide teachers and students with a powerful and effective way of tackling difficult issues such as drugs, relationships, gang and peer pressure and the consequences of offending. They encourage young people to develop positive life skills to help them make and implement more responsible lifestyle choices.

The plays are performed for young people in mainstream education and young people attending Pupil Referral Units or Learning Support Units.

'Wasted'

'Wasted' is one of four dramas in ADAD's 'Play it Straight' programme and focuses on substance abuse. The play is followed by a workshop which takes its lead from the ideas, comments and questions raised by the young people.

In the workshop, the audience are asked to identify important moments of choice for the characters within the play. These moments can be re-run and an audience member is invited to take part as one of the characters to see if they can change/influence the outcome.

For many of the young people, the situations and characters resonate with their own lives, representing things they can easily identify with. This engagement helps build a greater feeling of inclusion.

Building Capacity

Many of the young people excluded form mainstream education can be withdrawn and even hostile and suspicious of those seeking to help and educate them.

The value of taking part in the dramas is not confined to learning more about the subject of the play. The value is in the long-term effect of taking part and learning the life skills needed to deal with everyday life. These skills easily transfer into being more able to deal with legal problems.

The three main elements needed for legal capability are knowledge, skills and attitudes. All of these characteristics are illustrated below using the example of the performance and workshop about substance abuse, 'Wasted'. All the dramas make a special contribution to developing skills and changing attitudes.

Knowledge

Young people are frequently misinformed about the legality and the effect of substance abuse. The play aims to dispel myths and stereotypes, offering accurate and credible information. To maintain audience engagement, the information is conveyed according to the experience, understanding, ability and needs of the group.

As a result, young people develop their understanding of the law and associated social issues. Practical information about how to spot possible signs of drug abuse, what to do when confronting suspected drugs use and how to deal with 'emergency' situations is covered and participants find out about the agencies providing advice, support and information.

Skills

Many of the young people in the audience have low self esteem and lack confidence. This inhibits their ability to communicate effectively and make decisions.

During the workshop, the audience is invited to meet the characters and to challenge and discuss their behaviour. In 'Wasted', the main character is Ryan who moves from being a 'relative innocent' to being a seasoned drug user on the verge of arrest. The audience are asked to identify important moments of choice for Ryan. Critical points are re-run with a young person taking part to see if they can change or influence the outcome. It is through this analysis that participants begin to consider their own lives and circumstances and how they might respond in similar circumstances.

Taking part in the play and having the opportunity to influence the outcome is critical to the success of Theatre ADAD. The approach challenges young people and helps them to develop the necessary life skills to resist peer pressure and implement personal choice.

A fundamental skill for many troubled young people is the ability to build up resilience to external influences that can put their future well-being at risk. In this instance, the strengthening of resolve to resist peer pressure is immensely important.

'Students were happy to comment on how they need to "draw the line" and how difficult it was to do this in front of friends. One of our students took part in the play, sensibly and managed to get the point across that bad situations can be changed.'

Comment by a member of PRU teaching staff

The exercise helps young people to reason and think critically and by so doing develop their communication and problem-solving skills.

The building of resilience, improved cognitive, communication and decision-making skills are all vital life skills that will help young people succeed in other areas of life.

Attitudes

A deep seated feeling of alienation is common among many of the young people who first encounter Theatre ADAD. The central challenge for the theatre group is breaking down the barriers - overcoming the feelings of mistrust and suspicion, and finding ways of engaging the young people in the learning process.

A key to the success of Theatre ADAD is the rapport they manage to build with their audience. Adopting an open, friendly, respectful and non-judgmental approach is rewarded with young people feeling able to take part and energetically contributing to the debates.

'I sneaked a look around the hall and not one person was chatting or their attention starting to drift, they all had their eyes riveted to these people.'

Comment by Year 7 pupil

In some cases this can be a real breakthrough for young people who have lost their confidence, and their ability to express their views.

Better knowledge and skills improves confidence leading to a greater sense of self esteem. For example, a pupil when asked if she could remember a time when she felt good about herself had initially said "no", and then thought again, and said,

'Yes, I can think of a time, it was in the drugs workshop when the theatre people came. I felt clever because I knew all the answers and I felt really good about myself.'

Improved self esteem helps young people to become more optimistic about life - to be more independent, self-sufficient and socially competent. It cultivates a sense of inclusion, responsibility and social awareness. Higher self esteem helps to build the confidence needed to positively interact with the people and agencies encountered in everyday life.

This group of young people have already been excluded from mainstream education and are arguably more at risk of becoming more marginalised, increasingly embarking on risky, anti-social and criminal activities.

This exciting and creative form of public legal education extends to these very vulnerable young people the potential for personal development and achievement, and improves their ability to make a positive contribution to the communities in which they live.

Details

'Wasted' was part of 'Play it Straight' a programme developed by Theatre ADAD and Thames Valley Partnership. It was launched in 1994 and was developed and piloted with the support of Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance as part of their Community Involvement programme.

It is suitable for young people aged from 10 to 14. It is an extremely adaptable programme and has also proved to be very successful with older age groups and in Pupil Referral Units. The programme has also been used in parent awareness session and conference and training events by organisations such as Business in the Community

A comprehensive resource pack on drug related issues goes with the programme.

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