DRAMA THERAPY INSTITUTE

Playback Theatre Ensemble

Autobiographical  Therapeutic Performance

Healing the Wounds of History

Counseling Collective

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Theatre as a Therapeutic Act

01/13/2025 @ 9:00 am - 04/07/2025 @ 12:00 pm

$250.00 – $1,500.00

Theatre as a Therapeutic Act

DB+

A 15-Session Group

& Individual Drama Therapy Process

• Live Online •

Facilitated by
Armand Volkas, LMFT, RDT/BCT
& Ornela Kapetani, MA, RDT

Uncover your life script--the unconscious patterns that shape your personal narrative in both positive and negative ways

 Explore and embody new life-affirming narratives
• Create a solo theatre piece as a therapeutic act in a 15-week “rite of passage” process
• Perform your story to an invited group of reparative and trustworthy witnesses
When:
Mondays, 9am – 12pm, Pacific Time
January 13, 2025 – April 7, 2025

Additional session:
Saturday, March 8, 2025
9am – 12pm, PT 

Performances TBA the week of
  March 31st, 2025
Where:
Live Online via Zoom
Registration Fee:
$1,500 
payment plans available
ADDITIONAL FEES:
10 Individual drama therapy sessions to be arranged with your drama therapist/director
$1500 ($150 per 90-min session)
(Payment plans and limited discount scholarships available)

No previous theatre experience required 

Shy clinicians are welcome!

WHAT IS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL THERAPEUTIC PERFORMANCE?

In the creation of your ATP you will:
• Take courageous emotional risks in a safe and supportive environment
• Embark on, what Joseph Campbell called, “The Hero’s Journey” moving through the phases of a transformative therapeutic process
• Begin to embody a new life-affirming narrative

ATP IS PERFORMANCE AS A THERAPEUTIC ACT

Is the ATP process for me?
ATP is for anyone interested in exploring their life through theatre, metaphor, embodiment and myth and for those wanting to transform their lives through the dramatic arts such as psychotherapists, creative arts therapists, social workers, wellness and life coaches, human service professionals, educators and teachers, community leaders, spiritual guidance counselors, group facilitators, actors, theatre workers and activists.
What does the Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance involve?
  • 4 three-hour drama therapy group sessions
  • A performance date between April 14 and 21.
  • One 3 hour integration session on April 21.
  • A small cohort of supportive group members accompanying you on your creative and therapeutic journey
  • 10 individual 90 minute drama therapy sessions are recommended with your drama therapist/director
  • You will be matched with your drama therapist/director after the initial group session
  • Individual sessions to be arranged based on your schedule
  • Technical and creative design support for your theatre piece
FOR REGISTERED DRAMA THERAPISTS WHO ARE ON THE ALTERNATIVE TRAINING TRACK
This course fulfills the core drama therapy 3 unit (45 hour) educational requirement for Advanced Elective in Drama Therapy in the Alternative Training Program with the North American Drama Therapy Association when combined with additional required coursework. An additional $75 administrative fee will be added to your course fees due. See below for an outline of course learning objectives. Contact Armand Volkas for more information.

FACILITATORS

Armand Volkas
Armand Volkas

ARMAND VOLKAS, MFA, MA, MFT, RDT/BCT

Is a psychotherapist and Registered Drama Therapist in private practice and Clinical Director of the Living Arts Counseling Center in Berkeley, California, where he directs a training program for students, interns and therapists who want to integrate drama therapy into their practice. Drama Therapy uses acting improvisation and Psychodrama as therapeutic tools. He is a Board Certified Trainer in this discipline with The North American Drama Therapy Association. In addition, Armand is Associate Professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at California Institute of Integral Studies. He has developed innovative programs using drama therapy and expressive arts therapy for social change, intercultural conflict transformation, reconciliation and intercultural communication.
Armand Volkas directs Healing the Wounds of History, a therapeutic approach in which theatre techniques are used to work with groups of participants from two cultures with a common legacy of violent conflict and historical trauma. Healing the Wounds of History has received international recognition for its work in bringing groups in conflict together: Germans and Jews; Palestinians and Israelis; Japanese, Chinese and Koreans; Armenians and Turks; African-Americans and European-Americans.
He is also Artistic Director of The Living Arts Playback Theatre Ensemble. Playback Theatre transforms personal stories told by audience members into theatre pieces on the spot using movement, ritual, music and spoken improvisation. Sometimes a story becomes myth, sometimes a realistic enactment: some stories are tragic; others are funny or illuminating. The ensemble is in its 30th year of existence. At the heart of Armand’s work is a profound respect for the power of personal story to build bridges between people and cultures.

Ornela Kapetani, MA, RDT

Is a drama therapist and a professional theatre and film actress. She is a registered drama therapist with the North American Drama Therapy Association. She is a clinically certified trauma practitioner. Ornela is also a Transpersonal Regression Therapist registered with EARTH Association.
In 2009, Ornela obtained her MA in Drama and Movement Therapy (Sesame Approach) in London, UK at the Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). Since then she has been working as a drama therapist for the National Health System (NHS,UK), within mental health facilities, mainstream education settings, NGOs and with individuals, from diverse cultural backgrounds, who experienced trauma. She has extensive training in Jungian psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, humanistic and person-centered approaches to psychotherapy. She has an established private practice and works with people from all walks of life.
In addition, Ornela is a full member of the ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) in Canada. She is a multi award winning actress and she’s been the leading actress in numerous European film productions. As a theatre practitioner she’s had extensive training in various theatrical disciplines such as the Stanislavsky method, the physical theatre of Jerzy Grotowski, Jaques Lecoq and the silent theatre of Marcel Marceau.  From 2008-2015 Ornela was a performer with the multidisciplinary theatrical group PartSuspended, an art collective that aimed to bring together artists from various disciplines to address social issues through performance.
Ornela combines her experience as a clinician and professional actress, in a way where both the psychological needs and the artistic potential of the person are intertwined to create a transforming liminal experience.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Armand Volkas, MFT, RDT/BCT
armandvolkas@gmail.com
510.595.5500, ext. 11
 Ornela Kapetani, MA, RDT
(438) 821-3239
ornelakapetani@gmail.com

EVENT DETAILS

When

Where

COST

$1,500 for a 15 Session Group

$250 deposit required (Payment plans available – TBA with Director)

ADDITIONAL FEES:
10 Individual Sessions  – $150 each
TBA with Director

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Tickets

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking "Get Tickets" will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Registration Fee
Full payment of 15 week course
$1,500.00
Unlimited
Payment Plan - Deposit
Reserve spot in course. Discuss payment plan options with director.
$250.00
Unlimited

Details

Start:
01/13/2025 @ 9:00 am
End:
04/07/2025 @ 12:00 pm
Cost:
$250.00 – $1,500.00

Organizer

Armand Volkas
Phone
510-595-5555
Email
info@livingartscenter.org
View Organizer Website

Venue

Live Online via Zoom

Tickets

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking "Get Tickets" will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Registration Fee
Full payment of 15 week course
$1,500.00
Unlimited
Payment Plan - Deposit
Reserve spot in course. Discuss payment plan options with director.
$250.00
Unlimited