NADTA 2024 Conference

Despite dis/abled individuals making up 16% of the population, with that number on the rise, discussions about disability justice and drama therapy are sorely lacking. How can dis/abled drama therapists make room for their dis/abled identities and dis/ability justice in their work? And how can dis/abled drama therapists find restoration and healing inside and outside of their own work, in a world that is often hostile towards dis/ability and dis/abled individuals? This workshop will have participants reflect on these questions, using a critical disability theory and dis/ability justice lens, and find community and dialogue with one another as they explore their understanding of how dis/ability and ableism impact their work and lives. In this workshop, members from Lesley University's Dis/ablity Lab and the Disability Justice Group with NYU will join together to host this collaborative conversation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only highlighted but also exacerbated health system discrimination, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, including those at the intersections of age, race, Indigeneity, socioeconomic status, ability, migration status, gender, and sexual orientation. With the United Nations Research Roadmap proposing the elimination of discrimination in health service delivery as a key goal, many studies have tried to develop effective strategies. Existing interventions have primarily focused on educating about the existence and effects of bias, as well as providing skills training for bias management. While effective in raising awareness, these interventions were often not done in clinical settings and have not led to sustained changes. This presentation will focus on a New Frontiers in Research funded collaboration to innovate the use of participatory theatre strategies to illuminate and reduce discriminatory attitudes and behaviors among healthcare workers. The goal is to develop theatre-based interventions that will be piloted and evaluated for potential future implementation with health system leaders. The project is co-led by researchers representing the US, Canada, and Indigenous communities (primarily the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Métis territories). The project team consists of researchers and collaborators from universities, health systems, arts organizations, and local communities. Reciprocity, respectful relationships, and community engagement are core to this project's approach.

Crossing borders can be confronting and generate toxic stress related to immigration, poverty, discrimination, lack of services, past trauma and language difficulties. Sometimes borders become barriers inside of the relationships of family when there's no time to create a safe space for acceptance. In the context of the Covid, this factor could generate family violence. The World Health Organization (WHO) proposes to prevent violence by fostering safe, stable and nurturing relationships between children and their parents and caregivers. Parc-Extension Youth Organization (PEYO) has offered for more than thirty years a program of intervention based on utilizing Art and Storytelling in schools located in the culturally diverse neighborhood. This program had positive impacts on the reduction of anxiety (Beauregard et al., 2017; Rousseau et al., 2003.) Responding to the risk of violence, PEYO has adapted an Art and Storytelling program at home with the aim of reducing family anxiety. While respecting family values and dynamics, a series of eight workshops based on interactive stories and creative expression activities encouraged the exploration of dreams, challenges, life knowledge and the multiple living spheres that immigrants experienced in their daily life. In a space focused on acceptance and play, family members reinforced their relationships, developed resilience and built hope. The presentation of Art and Storytelling intervention will be an experiential adventure of playing a tale. A short video of a workshop with an immigrant family will also be presented and the significant learnings of the three years of this research will be discussed.

Members of the Living Arts Playback Theatre Ensemble, Merry Ross and Vicki Dello Joio have come together once again after their successful run of 2 Women, 2 Stories performed from 2012 to 2019. This time they are exploring the transformational nature of mother-daughter relationships in their two self-revelatory pieces. Using autobiographical therapeutic performance techniques including improvisation, developmental transformations and story-telling, they take a deep dive into the trial, tribulations and triumphs of this primal and complex relationship. Merry's solo performance, "This is Why I Pay for My Children's Therapy", is a comic and poignant exploration of her relationships with both her two daughters and her mother and grandmother. It looks at how inter-generational trauma can be addressed and healed, when one is committed to doing it differently. Vicki's solo performance, "It's About Time", navigates the challenging end-of-life journey she travels with her mother, while celebrating and exploring the complex dynamics of their relationship. As Vicki transitions from daughter to mothering her own mother, she finds the humor and sorrow in letting go.