Conflict and Performing Arts ‒ Class Act Project ‒ Ukrainian Theater as an Anthropological Defense

Abstract

Class Act is a project implemented in Ukraine and addressed to young people. The idea behind it is to organize playwriting workshops for teenagers affected by the war in the eastern part of the country. This project makes use of the therapeutic potential of the theater, facing such problems as political prejudices, social stereotypes and children’s traumatic war experiences. Participants in workshop classes are enabled to understand the nature of the negative stimuli shaping their emotions. Moreover, they learn, e.g., the causes of social phenomena and their harmful effects, thus introducing a humanistic factor to their observations.

Keywords

• anthropological defense
• hybrid war
• art therapy