Coping with racism: Applied drama workshop

Welcome to “Coping with racism & building resilience – Applied drama workshop” with Mona Abdel-Fadil on Saturday 25 November, 11:30-14:30 at Nordic Black Theater.

How do we cope with the various types of racist encounters that shape our lives?

We live in precarious times. Racist ideas may get entangled in war propaganda, media framing, public debates, and our everyday lives. We may feel that some lives are considered more valuable than others, and more worthy of either celebration, embracing, or even mourning. In this workshop we explore methods of improvised theatre (impro) and applied drama as tools to cope with racist experiences, microaggressions and emotional triggers.

Since the devastating and ongoing bombing of Palestinian civilians is a reality that affects many of us deeply – this event can provide a safe space to work through our emotions and emotional triggers, through humor, impro, and theatrical techniques.

Event details

• Instruction language: English or Norwegian (depending on the group). Comments and contributions in Arabic are also welcome.
• Free event. No registration necessary, Drop in.
• We will start by serving a light brunch with soft drinks with Manaeesh (Syrian savory pies)
• The workshop will be interactive so be prepared to immerse yourself in drama techniques.

What you can expect

• A safe space where you can both share experiences and give one another emotional support.
• To be introduced to ways of coping with experiences with racism, through applied drama, and counselling methods such as roleplay and playback.
• Practice our ability to both listen to, understand one another’s perspectives, and verbalize and show support for one another.
• Introduction to humor and impro- exercises as a coping method and a means of diffusion of tension (comic relief).

The techniques and focus will be adjusted to the size of the group and what appear to be the most pressing issues at hand.

Mona Abdel-Fadil is an Egyptian-Norwegian diversity trainer, counsellor, researcher, improviser, and comedy performer. She is currently developing applied drama workshops and tools that help participants cope with: racism, trauma, and exclusion through humour and improvised theatre. At present, Mona Abdel-Fadil is a researcher at The Norwegian Centre for Holocaust and Minority Studies. She is also one of the curators of the contemporary and research-based exhibition In/Visible: Everyday Racism in Norway.