🎭 Did you know that you can use drama to help you reflect on the year?
In my recent online #appliedtheatreworkshop, that’s exactly what we explored! Together, we reflected on ✨ 2024 ✨ and looked ahead to 🌟 2025 🌟. We celebrated successes from this year and then tackled some of the participants’ worries for next year—like preparing for a new job interview or concerns about their child’s well-being.
Using techniques like creating still images 🖼️ with our bodies and short inner monologues 💭, participants brought these stresses to life. By physically embodying their concerns and transforming those images into ones of resolution and triumph, we unpacked emotions, faced fears, and imagined new possibilities—all in a safe and supportive space.
This is what makes drama unique! It has the ability to create an embodied experience—turning thoughts and emotions into physical representations, which can then evolve into change and action. It’s an incredible way to process, reflect, and grow.
🌏 Delivering workshops in languages other than English (this time, Mandarin!) is always a humbling and rewarding experience. While Mandarin isn’t my mother tongue, I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to connect with a wider audience and make this work more accessible. Being able to create and reflect together once again highlights how drama and the arts transcend linguistic and cultural barriers. Its universal value in fostering connection and growth is truly the best!
We closed the workshop with a beautiful activity: imagining what the person who has resolved their particular stress might say to the one still feeling anxious about it. As ✨ 2024 ✨ comes to an end, I leave you with these wise and heartfelt words from the group. 💬
#AppliedTheatre #DramaInEducation #SocialEmotionalLearning #WorkshopFacilitation #ReflectionsAndGoals #2024Reflection #NewYearResolutions
Elana Shyong 