“I’m Gonna Use It To Tell You”: Self-Reflection and Construction of Self

Abstract

For seven weeks, I worked with thirteen high school girls to explore issues of identity through a devised theatre performance. Throughout the process, I found evidence that the process of working through theatre mitigated the ways young people filter their responses and provides a platform in which they can interrogate their perceptions and opinions. This article discusses how, while working through theatre provided a space in which the girls I worked with expressed uncensored thoughts and opinions, there was a return to constructed personas when creating a public performance.