Theatre, A Sixth Sense: Lack

Drama Therapy Handbook by Lamia Abi Azar

Synopsis:

The rapport I have built with theatre and therapy is rooted in a fascination with our bodies and their capacity to evolve autonomously vis-a-vis what I would simplistically name "our mental dimension"". My professional memory is thus weaved with different episodes from my work life that have revealed to me certain pillars of the drama therapy process I have come to adopt throughout my practices. These revelations always occurred at two levels and followed several phases. First in my body/mind, on stage, or during a session I would be moderating. Then through the analytical writing of said episodes. It is through this back-and-forth between the practice itself and the writing process that I can best describe the empirical mechanism that slowly led me to develop the drama therapy method that I present in this handbook. It is thus self-referential and does not in any way pressure to offer a generic definition or presentation of drama therapy. 

The Author:

Lamia Abi Azar is a theater maker, performer, and drama therapist, co-founder and co-artistic director of the Zoukak Theatre Company (2006) and Zoukak Studio (2008), Beirut.

As a strong believer in the power of imagination as an agent for change, she led a wide number of psychosocial interventions providing workshops and training programs to diverse groups in various contexts in Lebanon and abroad, connecting socially engaged work with artistic research and practice.