Creating Alternative Realities: workshops and playwriting for communities of women recovering from violence

“创造另类现实”是一个以实践为导向的研究计划，重点是与脆弱和处于危险中的社区一起工作，并为他们写剧本。根据我迄今为止作为一名剧作家的经验，我在写作时致力于弱势群体(在学校、监狱、妇女招待所)并与之接触，我建议的是一个持续研究方案，这将帮助我理解在这些社区情况下工作时我需要考虑什么。这意味着我需要了解是什么造就了一个与弱势群体一起工作的“安全”环境。例如，作为一名戏剧从业者，我如何能够使用戏剧游戏、练习或写作技巧来鼓励那些不习惯于制作环境的人更好地自尊和创造力？通过这种方式，我的目标是建立一套在社区环境中与弱势群体合作的“良好做法”指导方针。然而，更具体地说，由于我认识到一个项目不能简单地关注任何弱势群体，我想进行这项研究，重点是从暴力中恢复的妇女。长期以来，我一直对关注受压迫的女性社区--尤其是年轻女性--的戏剧创作感兴趣，并希望将这种兴趣、甚至是激情带到我的项目中。因此，我建议与三类从暴力中恢复的妇女社区合作：接受家庭暴力的妇女；生活受到刑罚制度影响的妇女；以及从贩卖卖淫中恢复过来的妇女。暴力是这三个群体的共同因素，但与此同时，尽管我知道这三个群体之间可能存在相似之处，但我也需要重点关注差异：不同的经历、不同的需求以及恢复自尊和发现创造力的不同途径。虽然我在剧院和社区背景下有丰富的工作选购经验(见简历)，但到目前为止，我还没有能够从研究的基础上来处理这一问题。我的支持案例文件概述了一项计划中的研究方案，旨在让我更全面地了解哪些适用的战区技术和战略最有效、最适合与我合作的群体，并评估这种技术和战略对其他脆弱、受压迫的社区的相关性和适用性。作为一名相信戏剧是社会和政治辩论的公共论坛的作家，我认为在当今时代，当许多戏剧从业者、作家和公司都对弱势群体的戏剧表现表现出兴趣时，研究和反思向他人发出‘声音’的最合适的方式是很重要的。因此，结合我对研讨会实践的考虑，我将研究当前的戏剧实践和理论，以了解什么是为从暴力中恢复的妇女“创造替代现实”最合适和有效的戏剧手段。所有这些研究都将为写一部新剧提供素材。作为一名作家，作为一名戏剧家，剧院将成为我提议的AHRC资助的研究计划的公共平台。

'Creating Alternative Realities' is a practice-led programme of research that focuses on workshopping with and playwriting about and for communities who are vulnerable and at risk. Drawing on my experience to date as a dramatist who writes with a commitment to and engagement with vulnerable groups (in schools, prisons, women's hostels), what I propose is a programme of sustained research that will assist me in understanding what I need to think about when working in these community situations. This means that I need to understand what makes for a 'safe' environment working with vulnerable groups. How, for example, as a theatre practitioner, am I able to use drama games, exercises, or writing techniques to encourage a better sense of self-esteem and creativity in those not used to a 'making' environment? Working in this way, I would aim to establish a set of 'good practice' guidelines for working with vulnerable groups in community settings. More specifically, however, as I recognise that a project cannot simply focus on just any vulnerable groups, I want to undertake this research with a focus on women recovering from violence. I have a long-standing interest in playwriting that focuses on oppressed communities of women - young women especially - and would want to bring that interest, passion even, into my project. Hence I propose to work with three kinds of communities of women recovering from violence: women coming to terms with domestic abuse; women whose lives have been affected by the penal system and women recovering from being trafficked in prostitution. Violence is the common factor in all three of these groups, but at the same time, as much as I am aware of the possible similarities between the groups, I shall also need to focus on difference: different experiences, different needs and different routes to the recovery of self-esteem and the discovery of creativity. While I have had extensive experience of workshopping in theatre and community contexts (see CV) / I have not, thus far, been able to approach this from a research basis. My case of support document outlines a planned programme of research that is designed for me to arrive at a more complete understanding of what applied theatre techniques and strategies work best, are most appropriate, to the groups that I am working with, and to assess the relevance and applicability of this to other vulnerable, oppressed communities. All of this work would then be of relevance to practitioners from health, social, and theatre communities, and, of course, to the women's communities themselves.As a writer who believes in theatre as a public forum for social and political debate, I consider it important in our contemporary moment, when a number of theatre practitioners, writers and companies are showing an interest in dramatic representations of vulnerable groups, to research and to reflect on the most appropriate means of giving 'voices' to others. Hence, in tandem with my consideration of workshop practice, I shall research current dramaturgical practices and theories in order to understand what the most appropriate and effective dramatic means might be for 'creating alternative realities' for women recovering from violence. All of this research will feed into the writing of a new play. As a writer, as a dramatist, theatre will serve as a public platform for my proposed programme of AHRC funded research.