Atividade teatral e redução de vulnerabilidade: vivências de adolescentes e jovens em um grupo da cidade de Manaus

Abstract

Theatrical activity, as a form of artistic expression, is a mode of relation between the individual and society. Like all human action it integrates the identity of the one who acts and impacts on their subjectivity. Artistic activities in general have become a focus for research in areas like Psychology, Education and Health, with regard for the potential for intervention they might have. The use of theatrical practice has taken place as an intervention predominantly as a therapeutic or educational/transformative strategy, especially for people with some type of vulnerability. Theatrical activity is one of the forms of art that privileges body language and speech, as well as the development of the imagination, consisting of an individual-to-individual and, individual-to-world, mediation and may be associated with processes that reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience. In view of the vulnerabilities experienced by contemporary youth, it was questioned, in the light of Social-Historical Psychology, if theatrical activity would have the potential to promote resources that function as the transformers of the vulnerability framework and as promoters of youth resilience. The objectives of the present study were postulated as: To understand the experiences of a theatre group of adolescents / youth in the city of Manaus, as the potential promoter of transformations in the framework of vulnerability and the increase of resilience related to the artistic activities inherent in theatrical practice; to identify participants’ indicators of vulnerability; to identify indicative resources of the subjects’ resilience and to verify in which dimensions the theatrical activity is related to the modification of the vulnerabilities highlighted by the young people as being present in their daily lives. An exploratory qualitative study was carried out with 11 participants, between the ages of 16 and 21, from an amateur theatre group in the city of Manaus. The strategy for generating data was achieved by conducting theatrical game workshops, following the proposal of Viola Spolin, taking the theme of vulnerability, the theatre and its resources. The data was analysed using Grounded Theory. From the results, it was confirmed that theatrical activity has resources that enhance resilience and the ability to cope with adversity, mainly in the individual dimension (self-knowledge, learning to deal with one’s own emotional issues, developing creativity and reflexivity) and some affective-relational aspects (space for strengthening links, construction of new relational modes, and new ways of dealing with conflicts). However, performing in theatre in a social-cultural context that stigmatizes such practice and negatively labels its participants, constitutes an element that establishes new vulnerabilities. In conclusion, the potential of the activity strengthens resources to cope with adversities, including personal difficulties encountered in performing and being accepted and recognized through theatrical practice, and it can be a significant means of producing subjectivity and exercising citizenship.