Abstract
This article explores two distinct and unique groups of men not usually associated with theatre performance: veterans and prisoners. Each author was closely involved as an artist-researcher in one of the respective applied theatre projects that took place in two separate cities within British Columbia, Canada. Belliveau worked on developing and directing Contact!Unload in Vancouver where he worked with military veterans who experienced psychological related trauma injuries while serving overseas. In Victoria, Prendergast participated as an actor and co-deviser with a group of federal inmates in a collective theatre production called Here: A Captive Odyssey, which traced the history of the William Head prison. These two case study projects represent examples of what might be called “inreach” theatre education programs. This articles explores the process and implications of collaborating with veterans and inmates in devising the two separate theatre productions.
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- 1.
Man/Art/Action was a 2-year project funded by Movember Canada under the umbrella of the Men’s Depression and Suicide Network (http://menshealthresearch.ubc.ca).
- 2.
The meta-drama frame of the Director and Actor is influenced by Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author.
- 3.
Pre and post interviews with the veterans clearly indicate the psychological benefits the four men experienced during the 3 month process.
- 4.
The Prison Arts Collective received funding for the project from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Capital Regional District Arts Development Office.
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Belliveau, G., Prendergast, M. (2019). Shadows of History, Echoes of War: Performing Alongside Veteran Soldiers and Prison Inmates in Two Canadian Applied Theatre Projects. In: Finneran, M., Anderson, M. (eds) Education and Theatres. Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education, vol 27. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22223-9_14
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