BEIRUT: Though their Karantina theater was badly damaged by the Aug. 4 port explosion, the Zoukak Theater Company is forging ahead with an ambitious program to support blast survivors.

Facilitated by Lama Abi Azar and Maya Zbib, “Imagination as Action,” the latest drama therapy workshop run by the experimental theater company, will take place at Ashkal Alwan’s Home Workspace. Staged in five three-hour sessions, the workshop, says Zoukak’s Mohamad Hamdan, focuses on those who suffered serious trauma from the port explosion.

While most of drama therapy workshops culminate in a performance by participants, Zoukak’s methodology “emphasizes processes rather than outcomes.”

Hamdan says the aim is to use “theater as a form of communication” and devise “a game” that allows participants to play with their imagination as they express themselves. During the sessions, participants are invited to release stress and tension and re-sensitize themselves in “safe” and “non-judgmental space” through “movement, breathing and relaxation.”

There has been a strong interest in the “Imagination as Action” course from the public and Hamdan says more than 70 people have applied to participate in the workshop, which is open to all ages and backgrounds.

Since 2006, when Zoukak organized “psycho-social theater interventions” for school children in Lebanon who’d been traumatized during the Israeli bombing campaign of 2006, the theater company has organized courses in partnership with other NGOs for refugees from Iraq, Palestine and Syria, domestic workers and prisoners.

There is growing support for the use of alternative forms of treatment for those suffering from trauma, rather than just relying on traditional “talk therapy.”

In “The Body Keeps the Score,” psychologist Bessel van der Kolk describes how trauma physically affects both the brain and the body.

“In the long term the largest problem of being traumatized is that it’s hard to feel that anything that’s going on around you really matters,” the Dutch psychologist says. “It is difficult to love and take care of people and get involved in pleasure and engagements because your brain has been re-organized to deal with danger.”

Traditional “talk therapy” is often not sufficient to treat trauma according to van de Kolk. If they’re simply asked to recount what happened to them over and over, talk can in some cases re-traumatize a person. Rather, a combination of traditional therapy techniques as well as alternative treatments, such as yoga and theater, are often required to allow a survivor to rewire their brains so that they can rebuild their lives.

There is growing evidence, says van der Kolk, that “actions that involve noticing and befriending the sensations in our bodies can produce profound changes in both mind and brain that can lead to healing from trauma.”

Hamdan describes the transformation he saw in women who suffered from domestic violence when they undertook a drama therapy workshop organized by Zoukak and the Lebanese feminist organization, KAFA.

“After the women performed their play at the end of the course, they became much more political about lobbying against domestic violence,” Hamdan says. “They were able to connect with themselves and position themselves so they could understand ‘This is what I want.’”

“We are now in a moment where there is a call for call for action in Lebanon and globally,” Hamdan adds. The “Imagination as Action” workshop is “an invitation” for participants to connect with themselves and position themselves for action.

“Imagination as Action” will take place April 22 to May 20, 2021 at Ashkal Alwan Home Workspace, in Jisr al-Wati. The workshop is free for participants and funded by the Foundation de France and the Drosos Foundation.