Drama as Conduit to Health and Wellbeing for Young and Old

The Arts and Humanities for Health and Wellbeing (AHHW) research group is hosting a public event at the university March 27 exploring the powerful effect drama can have on health and wellness. The event’s two speakers, David Barnet and Andrea Halwas, will share findings from their personal experience and from their research with diverse groups of people and a variety of performance arts. Barnet, a professor of drama from the University of Alberta, specializes in community-based theatre and acting. His research considers the realization of creative aging through theatre and he works in partnership with GeriActors and Friends, an intergenerational theatre company in which actors develop original plays based on stories and issues from their lives. David is currently concluding a CIHR research project: Theatre as a Pathway to Healthy Aging. Halwas is a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at the University of Calgary. Her research focus is tragedy and the therapeutic effects that drama can have on individuals facing difficult life experiences. Halwas’ work aims to assist individuals to find meaning in their lives through the medium of theatre; she is a published playwright and the creator and facilitator of a children’s drama therapy puppet show entitled The Nicki and Little Bear Show which helps children and their families deal with loss and grief. The AHHW research group studies the intersections between arts and health, it advances interdisciplinary research and promotes health and wellbeing.

Location:

Room 540A Biological Sciences Building (Teaching and Learning Centre)

Speaker:

David Barnet and Andrea Halwas

More information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/events/calendar/drama-conduit-health-and-wellbeing-young-and-old