Students' Own Prison Drama Tackles Behaviour Change
20 June 2012
A group of Creative Expressive Therapies students delivered a series of theatre workshops to inmates of a nearby prison.
Drama plays a very important role in the experiential learning for prisoners. This project enabled them to understand from past experiences and was extremely valuable.
”Ray Duckworth, Director of HMP Dovegate
A group of University of Derby students proved their determination to use drama to help others by delivering a series of theatre workshops to inmates of a nearby prison.
The three BA (Hons) Creative Expressive Therapies degree students, Sam Gomersall, Tuuli Albekoglu and Libby Long, led four half-day workshops with groups of up to 15 inmates of HM Prison Dovegate near Uttoxeter over the last year. The students, who chose to lead the sessions at the prison as part of their final year project, planned and devised drama exercises to promote behaviour change in the prisoners.
Libby Long, 26, originally from Meath in Ireland, said: "We used drama exercises such as changes in physicality and improvisation to create characters and scenarios where the participants could act out and understand people's actions and decisions, and their consequences.
"Although it was understandably difficult for some of the participants to allow themselves to engage with drama at the start of our sessions, by the end we had built up a good level of trust and each person felt comfortable using drama to tackle some of the problems that may have led to their prison sentence."
Ray Duckworth, Director of HMP Dovegate, said: "Drama plays a very important role in the experiential learning for prisoners. This project enabled them to understand from past experiences and was extremely valuable.
"I am keen to introduce similar projects in the future, and believe they could be effectively used by other establishments."
University of Derby Lecturer, Ava Hunt, said: "By choosing to work in the prison the students tested their ability to employ their skills of using drama in education supporting behavioural change.
"As the group was made up of Creative Expressive students their facilitation skills were of a very high quality, and they did fantastically well in the challenging environment of an all-male prison. This was a real test, but the feedback has showed that both students and inmates really benefited from the sessions.
"We must thank the Geese Theatre Company - which delivers interactive drama, staff training and consultation within the Criminal Justice System - for coming into the University to deliver a number of guest lectures, and for inspiring the students."
Other groups of BA (Hons) Creative Express Therapies and with BA (Hons) Theatre Arts students took drama into schools and worked with young offenders as part of their final year projects.
For more information on Creative Expressive Therapies or Theatre Arts degrees visit website www.derby.ac.uk
