The #StayHome Project: Exploring Community Needs and Resiliency through Virtual, Participatory Theatre during COVID-19

Abstract

Health Educator and Community-engaged Theatre Artist Saharra Dixon led a virtual 3-month community-based participatory research theatre process with co-investigators Niloofar Alishahi LCAT, Trevor Catalano, Anna Gundersen, Mary Holiman, Adam Stevens RDT, Emari Vieira-Gunn, and Susan Yakoub exploring the concept of home and community during state-mandated Stay-At-Home orders for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Emphasis was placed on under-standing the health crisis’ impact on quality of life, human connectedness, and available resources. The process aimed to identify systematic failures in the United States’ pandemic response, while simultaneously advocating for change to improve individual, community, and governmental response in the future. The process culminated in The #StayHome Project, an ethnodrama devised from community interviews and fieldnotes. Using our play as reference, this paper will explore theatre’s ability to help communities process collective trauma, build resiliency, and facilitate dialogue around politics and what it means to return to a “new normal”. We will discuss our drama process and how we were able to adapt virtually. Lastly, we challenge theatre practitioners and health professionals to explore theatre through a wellness-based lens and use arts-based inquiry to further connect with different populations.