Have you ever been to a theatre production where someone ate an imaginary object? Mimed a particular prop or had you believing that the black box they were performing in was actually a zoo, bedroom or palace??
This is one of the constructs of theatre. Actors use storytelling to take their audience on a journey that is supported by their own imagination -- and as human beings, we quickly ‘fill in the gaps’ with our minds. We call this suspending disbelief.
Because of this, theatre can explore ethereal themes, abstract concepts and take people on a journey beyond reality using just imagination. The Greek tragedies were famous for staging all of their violence off stage -- for it had more impact if the audience simply ‘imagined it’.
We’ve been using these techniques in business. It’s no secret that we all need to become more educated and aware of mental health in the workplace, but as the issues around this are complex and personal - it’s often hard to explain in diagrams and powerpoints.
Enter Serious Woo. We are designing a theatrical piece that uses theatre construct to help people understand the difficulties around mental health. Consulting with professionals and conducting workplace interviews, we are using theatre to step outside reality to hear someone’s inner thoughts, use physical representation, or a suspended moment in time and giving staff an experiential view of workplaces issues that has an incredible impact.
To go beyond an ‘understanding’ to a ‘realisation’ our theatre piece takes place in your workplace - in your time. Immersed in the world and suspending disbelief, we’ve finally found a way to have a deep impact on how businesses are addressing the mental health of their staff.
And we are pretty darned proud of it.
Get in touch if you want to learn more.
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