I would identify myself I as a contemporary practitioner with interests in Directing, Writing, Facilitation and Theatre of the Oppressed and Theatre in Education (TIE). These are topics I have engaged with throughout my studies and took further interest in. My main focus has always been TIE because I love how powerful some performances can be made, as well as being educational for the audience. I have always been a creative individual and interested in the arts, and I believe that a lot of children and young people are more likely to engage with an interactive piece of theatre that is fun and involving, rather than a lot of theory with someone speaking at you. I believe that TIE can have an impact on children and young people’s views on topics such as bullying, social media, sex education, smoking, alcohol, drugs, sexual exploitation and fire safety etc. These are topics that adolescences wouldn’t really know about or think some things are cool just because they see someone else older than them doing it such as smoking. However, if a piece of theatre that shows consequences and solutions to certain situations, they will understand the seriousness of something’s and also build knowledge on what to do in a serious situation and take action, such as, sexual exploitation or fire safety.
The context I would like to work in is within education or the community doing Drama Therapy. I would like to take the practical skills and knowledge I have learnt whilst being a practitioner, away from the stage and transfer them into a therapist environment, and use these skills in the form of therapy. The focus I am aiming for is to work with children and young people, this is because I have gained a lot of experience throughout my studies and feel I work better with this age group, rather than people older. To get me to this stage of being a drama therapist, I would like to gain some experience working within youth theatre or a youth group of some kind. This will allow me to create an engagement between children and young people of different ages. I have always wanted to be a drama therapist, and I think it’s important to have more people aspiring to become drama therapists because it is not a popular job and there are not many opportunities unless you go to certain universities or areas that specify in this job. It is an unusual form of therapy but can be very effective for some people. Drama therapy his quite a competitive area to get into because of the little amount of people being accepted onto certain university courses, so it’s important that I gain knowledge and gain the experience to help me stand out when applying for jobs or further studies.
Further down the line when i successfully qualify as a drama therapist and I am accredited by the British Association of Dramatherapists (BADth), I would like to find work within the NHS to start off my career and focus on working within the community such as social services departments or young offender units. Or if I want to focus on the education side of things then potentially work in schools. I hope to become self employed after the experience and qualifications I gain, as this has always been what I have wanted growing up, so to be self employed in something I am very passionate about is a bonus.