Experiential Drama Therapy Workshop “The Multitudes Within Me”

Every person, from the moment of their birth, and even before that, begins to acquire aspects of their personality. These aspects can also be contradictory, as there is a possibility that in some situations a person may appear, for example, courageous, while in others is the opposite. Over the years these aspects become parts of the Self that seem to have their own memory, their own experiences, thoughts, and reactions. Walt Whitman in 1855 in his poem “Song of Myself” wrote:

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

In this workshop we will use drama therapy techniques such as role play, movement, dramatization, painting/collage, guided imagination, and storytelling, drawing on famous plays, which contain a multitude of different roles. We will explore characters that possess the full range of human emotions, aiming to discover unknown aspects of ourselves. By using dramatic projection, imagination, and embodied metaphor, we can access and work through our repressed and unexpressed material. This will help us gain more self-awareness, which will lead us to building a healthier Self.

Dramatherapy is a form of psychotherapy through drama and the expressive arts, and participants do not need to have any previous experience of it or theatre in general.

The workshop will be completed in 8 weekly (one-and- a-half -hour) meetings, the following Tuesdays, from 15.00 to 16.30 pm. Starting date: March 7, 2023.

The workshop will be facilitated by Despina Kalaitzidou, an award-winning playwright, teacher, and director. This workshop is part of the postgraduate diploma in Dramatherapy from the Institute of Therapy and Education through the Arts “Epineio” in collaboration with the Laboratory of Narrative Research, School of English, AUTh.

If you are interested you can email Despina Kalaitzidou at deskalai@yahoo.com, with a cc to dr. Maria Ristani (coordinator on behalf of the Laboratory of Narrative Research) at mristani@enl.auth.gr until March 3, 2023. In the email you can mention any information you want about yourself as well as plays you have some familiarity with. The group will be small (3 to 7 people) and closed, apart from the first meeting.

You can find more info on Despina Kalaitzidou here.

You can find more info on Epineio and Dramatherapy here.