Training the peer facilitator: using participatory theatre to promote engagement in peer education

Abstract

‘Training the peer facilitator: using participatory theatre to promote engagement in peer education’ examines the role of participatory theatre in a peer education setting in relation to the goal of young people engaging and empowering their peers to create new knowledge together. Extending research about the use of applied theatre conventions (specifically Michael Rohd's activating scenes) in peer education, my discussion examines the integral role of the facilitator within the aesthetic framework of the applied theatre workshop. In the context of peer education, this facilitator is called a peer facilitator: a young person who bears the responsibility of leading the workshop. This paper examines the specific challenges that peer facilitators faced in the context of my thesis project (MA in Applied Theatre, CUNY). I also present a method for measuring participants' aesthetic engagement in participatory theatre and future recommendations for implementing theatre in a peer education setting.