Theater as an Awareness Practice: 1955 - 2024, a Bus Ride
Maria Olga Athinaiou, Theater Practitioner - Processworker, Greece
WORKSHOP
At the International Conference "Theater/Drama & Inclusive Education"
Athens, March 21, 22, 23, 2025
Hellenic Theater/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr)
Language: English (with help in translation for Greek participants)
Limited number of participants
Brief Description
The workshop explores the approach to a historical event that remains an active social challenge today, inspired by the story of R. Parks, specifically the Greek publication "Rosa's Bus" (Kokkino Publishing – supported by the Greek section of Amnesty International).
The methodology is interdisciplinary and based on a combination of tools from Educational Drama, Psychophysical Theater, and the psychological approach of Processwork (Process Oriented Psychology). The first is pedagogically rooted in active learning through problem-solving and focuses on understanding oneself, others, and the world through processing social challenges using the form and language of theater. The second refers to Zarrilli’s definition where psychophysical theater involves ‘’the constant dialectical engagement of the actor between the “inner” and “outer” processes and experiences that constitute acting as a phenomenon and process taking place in and through the immediate stream of consciousness and experience of the performative moment’’ (Zarrilli, 2015, p.75). The third is an interdisciplinary and multi-level approach to human experience aimed at dissolving conflicts and achieving personal and social change through the development of awareness. The roots of the approach are found in the analytical psychology of C. Jung, quantum physics, and Taoism. It was developed in the early 1970s by quantum physicist and Jungian analyst Arnold Mindell and his colleagues, initially as a therapeutic approach but now widely recognized as an awareness practice, applying its methodology in a broad range of work with individuals, groups, and communities.
The structure of the workshop consists of the following stages:
a) introduction and participatory guidelines,
b) introductory experiential action,
c) immersion in the story and targeted participatory actions,
d) Group Process, an organized discussion led by the facilitator aiming to support the different sides of a topic by facilitating the expression and meaningful dialogue among all. This acts as a reflective practice to provide space and voice to participants so they can distill the dense experiential learning that has preceded and connect it to daily life. It is a deeply democratic and inclusive process.
Key objectives for participants are: a) fostering awareness around issues of race (power dynamics, privilege, white supremacy, white fragility, etc.) as well as initiating skill development in management; b) strengthening and promoting theater as an intervention in the school community and society; c) empowering the relationship between formal and artistic education.
The integration of Processwork tools into theater practice by a professional from both fields is innovative and is introduced through the theoretical and practical research of the author toward a ‘’Process - Oriented Theater Practice’’.
The workshop can address groups of adolescents and adult individuals (separately). It has been applied a) in adolescent groups at the Theater Education Workshop of the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory (2019-2023), b) in a group of educators at the National Theater’s seminar on youth theater (2022), c) with students from all grades in middle and high school at the Athens College (2024).
NOTE Language: English (with help in translation for Greek participants)
No prior experience is required.
Participants should wear comfortable clothing.
The workshop includes exercises that may involve physical contact.
Bibliography
Avdi, Avra, and Chatzigeorgiou, Melina (2007) *The Art of Drama in Education*, Metaichmio Publishing, Athens.
Dollan, J. (2005) *Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope in Theater*, University of Michigan Press.
Mindell, A. (1995). *Sitting in the Fire*. Portland, OR: Lao Tse Press.
Saad, L. F. (2020), *Me and White Supremacy*, Sourcebooks.
Zarrilli, P.B. (2015), “The Actor’s Work on Attention, Awareness, and Active Imagination: Between Phenomenology, Cognitive Science, and Practices of Acting.” In *Performance and Phenomenology: Traditions and Transformations*, ed. Maaike Bleeker, Jon Foley Sherman, and Eirini Nedelkopoulou, 75–96. New York and London: Routledge.
Maria Olga Athinaiou was born in Athens in 1978. She is a graduate of the Higher School of Dramatic Art of the Theater Organization Morphes (Empros Theater). She underwent further training in the working method of Russian director J. Alschitz. She apprenticed with P. Zarrilli on the psychophysical function of the actor/performer. She specialized in Educational Drama at the Porta Theater Workshop. She holds a diploma in Process Oriented Psychology. She works toward a theater practice based on process, focusing on personal development and psychophysical well-being in theater practices, supporting the creative process, and the social dimension of theater as a vehicle for change. She was responsible for the Theater Education Workshop of the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory (2014-2023). She collaborates with organizations in artistic and formal education as well as NGOs, implementing artistic/educational programs. As an actress, she has worked with Greek and foreign directors and has presented two directorial works.
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