NADTA 2024 Conference

Michelle J. Buckle, a black female drama therapist, and Stephen Snow, a white male drama therapist, have both created substantial autobiographical performance projects focused on racism. Michelle used the autoethnographic performance methodology and Stephen developed his project in the autobiographical therapeutic performance format. Both have performed their pieces several times. Both projects were catalyzed by the murder of a black man. So, both explore the core of racist trauma in our world, but from very different perspectives. Over the past two years, Michelle and Stephen have engaged in a deep sharing about their individual projects and all the challenges of doing drama therapy work on the topic of racism. They have cajoled, criticized and challenged each other in an honest, open and sensitive way. Now, they would like to open this intimate conversation to the drama therapy community as a whole. Both presenters have wanted their projects to open up an authentic conversation on the topic of race, a topic that provokes such great vulnerability and fragility! Both have felt the transformative power of such conversation. Both believe it is a time when such conversation is profoundly needed. To supplement the conversation, Michelle and Stephen will provide poignant clips from their performances, as well as presenting, live, some of the characters they created for their pieces. Their presentation will be moderated by Nisha Sajnani who will bring her expertise on intersectional and intercultural drama therapy to the process of interviewing the two presenters and facilitating a conversation with the audience.