The Anxieties of Devised theatre - An instrument of connection

Abstract

People often struggle to openly express their emotions. When asked, “How are you doing?” the typical response is a simple “Fine!” even when things may not be going well. How can we teach teenagers to articulate their feelings and navigate through new concepts such as FOMO, JOMO, cyberbullying, and the Gyges Effect, especially during the ample space and time “between school and home”? Microsoft has introduced a Chinese chatbot with the voice of a seventeen-year-old girl, serving as a confidant for millions of Chinese individuals daily. This program records users’ emotional histories and is set to be launched in Europe. The question arises: Why do young people prefer to communicate in this manner? Generația Zet. Story al unui Suferman cu Glugă a performance rooted in devised theatre principles, represents the culmination of a research process focused on depression among Generation Z pre-teens in the municipality of Iasi. Its objective is to employ theatre as an intervention in the community, fostering connections among people. This article details the construction of the mentioned performance, using practice-as-research and devised theatre methodology.