Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic forced the higher education community to quickly shift and adapt courses to the online environment. While traditional theatre programs struggled, the flexible nature of applied theatre created the space for students and instructors to explore and adapt existing forms, such as Forum Theatre and Sociodrama, and create engaging online workshops for the public. Over the course of 2020-21, students in the University of Florida’s Applied Theatre for Health program developed, delivered, and evaluated online health and wellness workshops for the public. This report focuses on two such projects: 1) a workshop on female reproductive health, and 2) a workshop on addiction and recovery. Student facilitators carried out program evaluations through online surveys and focus groups. Workshop participants positively viewed the online participatory experience and the projects succeeded in improving participant knowledge of the subject matter. Several additional benefits of online facilitation were noted by both facilitators and participants. 

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Primary Investigator: Jeffrey Pufahl, Research Assistant Professor, Center for Arts in Medicine

Co-Authors: 

• Emmanuelle Crider, University of Florida Follow
• Kelviyana Walker, University of Florida

Article Citation: Pufahl, Jeffrey; Crider, Emmanuelle; and Walker, Kelviyana (2021) "Exploring Online Participatory Theatre During COVID-19: Reflections on Adapting, Delivering, and Evaluating Student-Led Theatre for Health Workshops," Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Journal: Vol. 6 , Article 8. Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ptoj/vol6/iss1/8