This is Me: The Semiotics of the Mask in the Work of the American Geese Theatre Company
John Bergman
Hollins University (United States)
Abstract
As the founder of the Geese Theatre Company USA and co-founder of the Geese Theatre Company UK John Bergman has conducted therapy for male, female and juvenile prison inmates in various places around the world, on many continents (North America, Europe, Australia), for nearly forty years, using transformative power of the theatre. The text traces his creative path, from artistic work in alternative theatres to dramatherapy and art activities in prisons. It reveals the story behind the birth of the original method of working with masks (Geese Theatre Company methods) and its great importance in theatre work with prisoners, both in the United States, on the British Isles (Geese Theatre Company UK), as well as in other countries. John Bergman explains that the method he and his teams used was born of a concrete experience: an interpersonal meeting in which the combination of previously unrecognized individual perspectives led to the discovery of surprising and effective solutions. The contribution of the inmates and their relatives to the birth of the mask, the Geese Theatre Company’s basic tool, is undisputed.
Keywords:
prison theatre, dramatherapy, dramatherapy techniques, social rehabilitation, theatrical maskReferences
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Authors
John BergmanHollins University United States
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