UC Santa Cruz

As factors such as a global pandemic, school shootings, and climate change continue to affect the rapid rise in childhood anxiety, there is an ever-pressing need for the therapeutic power of dramatic storytelling in our classrooms. Though art has been recognized as therapeutic both in the psychological and cultural realms for generations, it is now essential to infuse dramatic storytelling practices into the pedagogies and curricula of our grade school classrooms.

The isolation created by pandemic shutdowns & social distancing, sociocultural & political warfare in the U.S., and social media addictions, leaves us with less and less time to connect on a basic human emotional level. Dramatic storytelling provides an opportunity to build community, self-reflect, and find growth and healing.

During an eight-week period, I executed a dramatic storytelling workshop through the ArtsBridge America fellowship program at UC Santa Cruz, which connected me with a local, underfunded public school. Through documentation of the lesson plans, reflections on the classes, and analysis of the students' experiences, I argue for implementing dramatic storytelling as a necessary and invaluable power.