Graduate counseling students lead discussions at Cornstock Theatre

11/06/2014 11:12 AM

By Danielle Fitch ‘15

Bradley graduate students got a glimpse of professional counseling at Cornstock Theatre’s production of “Bare” performed on the weekends of September 26-27 and October 2-4, 2014. Students led post-performance discussions the play’s portrayal of sexual identity within Catholic culture, drug use, teen pregnancy and suicide.

After the play, students asked the audience open-ended questions to engage them in a group discussion centering on the issues of trauma, loss, spirituality, sexuality and addiction as they relate to the production. Students honed their interviewing and listening skills in a risk-free group scenario by providing audience members an open platform to process reactions to the confrontational themes “Bare” puts in the spotlight.

Post-production discussion is common among theatre aficionados and is often used to explore a more in-depth understanding of a performance. These art-based discussions allow Bradley’s graduate students to step into leadership roles and sharpen their knowledge of common psychological processes involved in human reactions to trauma, risk-taking and crisis. Participating in the local community enhances students’ perceptions of the wide range of human emotions that become available in the human psyche through artistic productions like “Bare.”

Bradley students are providing a service to the community while gaining crucial professional experience.

“These discussions allow people to publically process very difficult humanity issues,” said Dr. Lori Russell-Chapin, co-director of the Center for Collaborative Brain Research. “By sharing and openly talking about our concerns and prejudices, we can learn from one another and begin to heal many of the injustices that most people incur.”

This process is not new to Bradley. Dr. Christopher Rybak, chair of the Department of Leadership in Education, Human Services, and Counseling, confirms that Bradley has used student-led guided discussions to “support different events such as plays and the Tunnel of Oppression for over a number of years.”

By allowing students to operate in professional capacities in real-world scenarios, students gain important people skills and become well acquainted with issues they will encounter while working in the professional world. Post-production discussions will continue to be a valued learning experience in the academic setting.