If you've read our 'The Company' page you may have noticed that a few of us mentioned coming to 'Nuts' following Drama Therapy. If you're anything like me, I had no idea such a thing existed so when I was offered it as part of my recovery I wasn't too keen. How was acting supposed to help me with the carnage that was my life post-suicide attempt! 

But it was Gerald who explained to me that it might help me to express what I can't put into words. That I might be able to 'act out' what is in my head, that I could do and say things in a dramatic (and safe) environment that I would never consider doing in reality. That role play wasn't something to be avoided like the plague (think 'teambuilding' at work - absolute cringefest), that it could actually be a useful tool. 

The standard slogan for mental health is 'talk to someone' and I completely agree. However, when you've got to a point where you can't put things into words because you can't make sense of anything, you're numb and you're wading through treacle, sometimes to just 'move' can lead to places you never thought possible. If you can't put into words how angry, distressed, confused or even happy you are, you can find a posture or a facial expression instead. In its simplest form, that is drama therapy. But it's not always acting or role play. Some drama therapists use imagery, be it pictures, shapes, figures or props - they can all be used as a device for expression. 

I asked Gerald to describe Drama Therapy through his eyes and he explained it perfectly -

 "I think, for me as a Dramatherapist, the most rewarding aspect of the work is watching folks, 'muck about' as I call it.  As an arts based therapy one of our purposes is to enable an individual or group to engage in a  creative process in order explore very complex and traumatic experiences.  We trust the creative measures that we put in place to gently guide the person to the trauma, through:  metaphor, analogy, images, music, drama, script, small world objects, sand-play, pebbles, shells objects... in fact by any creative means we can introduce.  I call it 'mucking about', because there is less confrontation in that than if we say, 'we are going to focus upon the trauma'.  Watching people, who have had difficult and traumatic childhoods, play and laugh and realize gently that they are in fact exploring the trauma is part of the reward; it's an understanding that creativity is inherent in all of us, and it is a tool we can all use.  It may meander its way towards the  answers for the questions we have, but it always arrives at them."

For me, it has literally saved my life. Coming out of my first crisis, my first overdose, not knowing who I was or what was happening to me, it allowed me to explore decades of buried emotions that never would have reached the surface, that never would have been faced. And it builds a degree of acceptance as you get to know yourself again, or maybe even for the first time, as you gradually start to heal. I can now say with absolute certainty that I know myself more now than I ever have. And that is massive.

So, if you're going through your own struggles with mental health issues maybe consider Drama Therapy. And if, like me you've never heard of it, hopefully these few words have given you a little insight. If you're a student wondering which road to go down in your career in Mental Healthcare, maybe consider becoming a Drama Therapist. People like me need people like you! 

KS

We are often asked how we create our characters and a big part of that is a technique called 'hotseating'. Having never acted before, when Gerald first suggested we 'hotseat' our characters it sounded like some form of torture. But it's more like an interrogation actually. Let me explain...

So, as the actor we get sent out of the room to return as our character, and we are invited to take a seat in front of the rest of the Company. The actor must stay in character for the duration of the hotseating which is usually around 10 minutes. The Company members will then ask the charatcer any questions about themselves or their situation (pertinent to the storyline) which they feel need clarification, explanation or exploration. Once over, the character leaves the room and returns as the actor to the rest of the Company completely unscathed from the experience!

As a Company we always work hard to build a solid backstory for our characters which never gets seen by the audience. We get to know them intimately, and hotseating really helps that process. We often hotseat each character 2 or 3 times as the piece progresses to really bed in their personality, as well as their feelings towards other characters and how they interact. The questioning will usually start with the basics, eg 'how old are you, do you have any family' etc but eventually it turns very deep as we bore into their very soul for answers. It can be very intense! But we always get to the bottom of what makes them tick, what their intentions are, where their weaknesses are and ultimately 'why' they are. 

The process can be a lot of fun, but it can also be quite distressing. This obviously depends on the storyline and the background of the character that we are building. It's an organic process for the individual actor and they are always in control. As a Director, Gerald always gives us the freedom to create the character and he very much runs with what we give him, whilst gently shaping it to fit whatever narrative we are working with. We often use our own life experiences as a base for characters whilst also being aware of where our boundaries are to keep ourselves safe. 

Once the actor has returned to the room we have a debrief. There are 2 reasons for this, firstly to discuss what we have learned about that character and how to move forward in the piece with the new knowledge, and secondly ( and most importantly) so that the actor can decompress and return to themselves in the safety of the group. ​