The razzle-dazzle and the drama of live theater has long moved audience members to escape into the stories of imaginary situations and characters ““ but what about the therapeutic effects of theatrical escapism on the actors themselves? The Imagination Workshop, an unconventional theater company comprised of professional theater artists and patients with mood disorders and other mental illnesses, seeks to explore this question.
The workshop will be commemorating its 40th anniversary with the performance of an original play titled “Nature Teaches” at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior April 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. Free performances will be preceded by a brief video presentation and followed by a question-and-answer session and reception.
Founded by actress Margaret Ladd and her husband playwright Lyle Kessler, Imagination Workshop has become one of the longest running Arts and Social Institutions in the country, serving more than 45,000 patients at medical centers including Cornell, Columbia and UCLA, and attracting numerous Hollywood icons such as Susan Sarandon, Blythe Danner and the late Robert Altman.
The organization’s staying power can be attributed to both the consistently positive effects on patients recovering from socially inhibiting psychological conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, and the passionate approach of those involved.
“Art has profound effects on the human psyche. It allows us to dream, to imagine, to grow as human beings. The story of the patients in the workshop has been taken out from under them. They have been devastated by psychological problems, but the ability to make a story has not been lost from their psyche,” Ladd said. “So at Imagination Workshop, we say, “˜Let’s not talk about your personal story right now. Let’s create a different story.'”
Patients are encouraged to create an alternate identity through a series of acting workshops where they develop a fictional character and perform exercises to cultivate a story around each character. Through the immersion in a fictional metaphor, patients are encouraged to overcome their own social anxieties and fears.
“Research shows that the workshop has a positive effect on emotional interactions. … Often, people with serious psychological disorders have been sick for a long time and have lost the skills that we take for granted. They see themselves as damaged, and they have lost confidence in themselves,” said Dr. Les Zackler, president of the workshop’ board. “There is a transformational aspect of steeping out of the role of the mental patient and playing a role that is perhaps fanciful but nonetheless much more healthy.”
An original piece that grew out of the development of such fanciful role-playing, “Nature Teaches” features six performers, acting out the story of individuals in a forest community who lose their fortunes but make important self-realizations through their encounters with a wandering Shakespearean actor.
The creation of the play itself allowed the participants in Imagination Workshop to assume the role of playwright, as the plot of “Nature Teaches” arose from a workshop exercise involving writing character monologues based on Shakespearean quotes.
“The exercise really brought out something deeper. I helped piece together what they wrote into a play, but most of the decisions were made by them,” said Jim McGrath, the director of training and writer-director of “Nature Teaches.”
“It really is a wonderful experience to realize there is genius in everyone,” he added.
Although Imagination Workshop is interested in the rehabilitation of patients with psychological disorders through acting exercises, the pathology of the patients is not addressed. It is the philosophy of the workshop that removing the patient from their medical history leads to healing. For this reason, the patients performing in the show are not differentiated from the professional actors.
“We are not interested in the pathology of the patients. Just like putting together a play where some actors are highly neurotic ““ the hospital setting is the same thing as far as we are concerned,” said Lyle Kessler, cofounder and director of play development.
“By not focusing on the diagnosis, they behave in ways outside of their diagnosis, because these people have potential that is not being utilized,” Kessler said.
Throughout the years, the organization has expanded its workshops to work with veterans and at-risk children in Los Angeles and has also taken root in Japan. The workshop’s success in these areas points to the universality of art and the power of imagination.
The performance of “Nature Teaches” promises to demonstrate the transformative power of live theater, in celebration of an artistic legacy 40 years in the making.
“The arts make us feel less lonely about our troubles, less omnipotent about our joys,” Ladd said.
“Right now, it is time for these patients to find the optimistic possibility in their lives, before the negative part becomes a probability.”