ΕRASMUS +Living Art Art of Living
In our work concerning “counselling at prevention”, we usually associate groups with specific population targets. For each population group, there is a particular framework for training, according to their needs and their role in society. However, these population targets coexist in real life, in the community, at school, and in the family. Based on this simple remark, we wanted to discover common points, where people trained by the prevention centre (parents, educators, adolescents) could coexist in a mixed group of volunteers, a mixed theatrical group. The mixed theatrical group has written a script through a drama therapy approach and process work, for a possible theatrical play. The title of the play is “The Slap” and it talks about a case of conflict at school and the involvement of the family. The theatrical group went on, and presented “The Slap” at the Apollon Theatre of Syros in April 2005 and at the 18th European Festival of New Theatrical Groups in Grenoble, in France.
Through these four years that the theatrical group “Thiseas” exists, certain processes functioned within it, creating a new relationship among parents, educators and adolescents. New principles, values and dreams emerged, so that human relationships can be more functional, especially when they are based on communication and cooperation, through mutual expression and creativity of a theatrical group. By bringing people together to act for the good of the community, voluntary action creates bonds of trust and encourages cooperation; in other words, it creates social capital. In case the people who volunteer have different nationalities, religions, financial standings and ages, the fact of their acting together can contribute to an increase of social harmony.