Memphis Magazine, Spring 1992

Therapy Theatre

by MARILYN SADLER

All of us occasionally struggle to express our deepest feelings, but people with mental illness have a harder time than most. Next month, to help mental health patients tap their powers of self-expression, the Mental Health Association will begin offering classes in theatre and dramatic arts.

"Self-expression is vital to healing," says MHA Executive Director Nancy Williams, "and the essence of self-expression is found in theatre."

The seven-week series of sessions, taught by local theatre professionals volunteering their time and services, will start in mid-March and cover poetry, playwrighting, voice, dance, mime, improvisation, and role-playing with masks.

The idea for the classes sprang from MHA workshops held last summer during which mental health clients learned improvisation techniques. Workshop leader William Baker, a fine arts instructor at Memphis State University, encouraged the group to share their frustrations and concerns. One participant, for example, may have been suffering from the unpleasant side effects of medication, like restlessness, drowsiness, or tremors, Baker would ask that person to improvise a situation that would express what feelings the phrase "side effects" evoked.

Later, under Baker's direction, the seven workshop participants formed Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe and wrote a play based on their experiences. Entitled Alice in Understand, the play is aimed at mental health professionals and caregivers to help them better understand the mental health patient's point of view. Since last fall, the troupe has performed Alice at Charter Lakeside, Memphis Mental Health Institute, and various mental health centers.

Troupe member Don Boyette, who also serves as program coordinator for the spring classes, feels his theatre experience was good therapy. "It brought me out of my shell," he says, "and helped me connect with others who share my problems, ideals, and desire to be heard."

Baker hopes the spring classes will expand the troupe's skills by exposing its members to all aspects of theatre and, at the same time, help them find the best way to express themselves. He also hopes the classes will attract more participants. "The classes are part of our ongoing mission," he says. "We want to expand the public's consciousness of mental illness and to improve the system by helping mental health consumers speak up. We want them to come out of the closet, to say 'We're creative and we have something important to say,'"