Social work and applied theatre: creative experiences with a group of homeless people in the city of Seville

ABSTRACT

This article presents a series of creative social intervention experiences developed with a group of homeless people in the Spanish city of Seville. These experiences are part of an applied research project that uses theatre as a tool to aid social work, and they are led by a group of homeless people who have become actors through this initiative. The group is known as ‘Theatre of Inclusion’ and has been running for a decade now. Using group social work and applied theatre techniques, this initiative creatively exposes the needs of this collective and also generates spaces in which they can reclaim their dignity. The systematisation of these experiences highlights the potential of combining disciplines such as social work and theatre to work with vulnerable collectives, in the same way Jane Addams did. The aim is also to move beyond the dominant welfare proposals in place in Spain currently, which are intended to meet the needs of homeless people.

RESUMEN

El objetivo de este artículo es presentar experiencias creativas de intervención social con un grupo de personas sin hogar en la ciudad de Sevilla. Estas forman parte de una investigación aplicada, donde se utiliza el teatro como herramienta del trabajo social y cuyos protagonistas son personas sin hogar que han logrado convertirse en actores y actrices. El grupo se denomina ‘Teatro de la Inclusión’ y trabaja, desde hace una década, con aportes del trabajo social grupal y el teatro aplicado para lograr, de forma creativa, exponer las necesidades de este colectivo, así como generar espacios de lucha por la dignidad. La sistematización de estas experiencias muestra el potencial de trabajar de forma conjunta con disciplinas como el trabajo social y el teatro con colectivos vulnerables, como ya lo hiciera en los orígenes Jane Addamns. Además trata de superar las propuestas asistenciales, destinadas a cubrir las necesidades de las personas sin hogar, dominantes en España, el potencial del trabajo social y el arte como disciplinas complementarias en el trabajo con colectivos vulnerables.

KEYWORDS:

• Applied theatre
• social work
• homeless people and empowerment

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• Teatro Aplicado
• Trabajo Social. Personas Sin Hogar y Empoderamiento

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Nuria Cordero Ramos holds a Ph.D. in Human Rights, a degree in Anthropology and a Diploma in Social Work. She is currently Professor of the Department of Social Work and Social Services at the Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain. Her research interests are in the field of human rights and ethics of social intervention with groups at risk of exclusion. She is Director of Quality and teacher of the specialisation course and Master of ‘Social Theatre and Social and Educational Intervention’ of the Pablo de Olavide University. She has participated in numerous national and international congresses and has several publications on the contributions of the theatre to the discipline of social work.

Manuel Muñoz Bellerin holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights and Social Sciences and Social Intervention and a Diploma in Social Work. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and Services at the Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain. He is Academic Director and teacher of the specialisation course and Master of ‘Social Theatre and Socioeducational Intervention’ for five editions. In addition, he is Director, for 10 years, of the ‘Theatre of Inclusion’ Project that combines social work and theatre as a strategy for empowerment and development of skills with homeless people in the city of Seville. He has participated in numerous national and international congresses and has several publications on the contributions of the theatre to the discipline of social work.

Notes

1. Charity organisation, Caídos del Cielo: www.caidosdelcielo.org.