“Special theatre” as a tool of social inclusion: Russian and international experience

The aim of this article is to get the reader acquainted with the history of the inclusive theatre movement in Russia and abroad, as well as to discuss its challenges and perspectives in the context of social inclusion. The authors make an attempt to elaborate an inclusive theatre model, focusing on the system of concepts of the cultural-historical scientific school. The model is based on L.S. Vygotsky’s idea that every physical impairment reveals itself as a social “abnormality” of behaviour, which means that its overcoming can occur in a situation of organised social interaction. The authors argue that this kind of interaction can be created in the situation of inclusive theatrical activity, where “conflicts and collisions” are intentionally modeled, and where “pereghivanie” and reflection are regarded as the key mechanisms of organising the process of joint action.

1. Vasilyuk F.E. Psikhologiya perezhivaniya. Analiz preodoleniya kriticheskikh situatsii [Psychology of perezhivaniya. Analisis of overcoming of cricis]. Moscow. Publ. Moskovskogo universiteta, 1984.
2. Vygotskii L.S. Dinamika i struktura lichnosti podrostka. Khrestomatiya po vozrastnoi i pedagogicheskoi psikhologii [Dinamiks and structure of person of adult]. Publ. Moskovskogo universiteta, 1980, pp. 138—142.
3. Vygotskii L.S. Sobranie sochinenii: v 6 t. T. 3. Problemy razvitiya psikhiki [Problem of development of psycho]. Publ. Pedagogika, 1983, 368 p.
4. Vygotskii L.S. Sobranie sochinenii: v 6 t. T. 5. Osnovy defektologii [The fundamentals of defectology]. Publ. Pedagogika, 1983, 369 p.
5. Zavershneva E.Yu. K publikatsii zametok L.S. Vygotskogo [On the publication of the Notes by L.S. Vygotsky]. Metodologiya i istoriya psikhologii [Methodology and history of psychology], 2007. Vol. 2. Vypusk 4. pp. 15—24.
6. Zaretskii V.K. Dinamika urovnevoi organizatsii myshleniya pri reshenii tvorcheskikh zadach. Diss. kand. psikhol. nauk. [Dynamics of hierarchical organization of thinking in solving creative tasks. Sci. (Psychology) diss.] ]. Moscow, 1984. 278 p.
7. Leont’ev A.N. Deyatel’nost’. Soznanie. Lichnost’ [Action. Consciousness. Personality]. Moscow, Publ. Politizdat, 1977. 304 p.
8. Rubtsova O.V., Daniels H. The Concept of Drama in Vygotsky’s Theory: Application in Research. Kul’turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya [Cultural-Historical Psychology], 2016. Vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 189—207.
9. Rubtsova O.V., Ulanova N.S. Psychological Prerequisites of Reflection Development in the Conditions of Digital Technologies Use. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie [Psychological Science and Education], 2014. Vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 101—112. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
10. Sobkin V.S. Kommentarii k teatral’nym retsenziyam L’va Vygotskogo [Comments to the theater reviews by L. Vygotsky]. Moscow: Institut sotsiologii obrazovaniya RAO, 2015. 568 p.
11. Shemanov A.Yu., Popova N.T. Inklyuziya v kul’turologicheskoi perspektive [Inklusion in cultural perspective]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie [Psychological science and education], 2011, no. 1, pp. 74—82.
12. Shcherbakova A.M., Shemanov A.Yu. Diskussionnye voprosy razvitiya lichnosti rebenka s intellektual’noi nedostatochnost’yu [Discussion the development of personality of a child with intellectual disabilities]. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie [Psychological science and education], 2010, no. 2, pp. 63—71.
13. Yaroshevskii M.G. L.S. Vygotskii: v poiskakh novoi psikhologii [L.S. Vygotskii: in search of a new psychology]. Sankt-Peterburg: Publ. Mezhdunarodnogo fonda istorii nauki, 1993. 300 p.
14. Creating an Inclusive Society: Practical Strategies to Promote Social Integration [Elektronnyi resurs]. DESA, 2009. URL: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/egms/docs/2009/Ghana/inclusive-society.pdf (Accessed 15.07.1916).
15. Durham-Wall M. What are you looking at? Staring down notions of the disabled body in dance. Choreographic Practices, 2015. Vol. 6 (1), pp. 25 — 40.
16. King F., Kimball T. (eds.). Peering Behind the Curtain: Disability, Illness, and the Extraordinary Body in Contemporary Theater. New York: Routledge, 2002.
17. Kuppers, P. Disability Culture and Community Performance. London, UK: Palgrave, 2011.
18. Lefevere P. Theatre Workshop aids the handicapped. In: Goldstein J. , No Stone Unturned: A Father’s Memoir of His Son’s Encounter With Traumatic Brain Injury. Potomac Books, 2012.
19. Mitchell D., Snyder S. Exploitations of Embodiment: Born Freak and the Academic Bally Plank. Disability Studies Quarterly, 2005. Vol. 25 (3).
20. Pascal J. Hilde Holger: As a dancer and teacher she kept the spirit of German expressionism alive in London. The Guardian, 2001-09-26). Retrieved 2012-12-27. URL: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/sep/26/guardianobituaries1 (Accessed 15.07.1916).
21. Tawell A. et al. Being other: the effectiveness of artsbased approaches in engaging with disaffected young people. University of Oxford, Department of Education, 2015. 39 p.
22. Veresov N.N. Zone of Proximal Development: The Hidden Dimension? In Ostern A., Heila-Ylikallio R. (eds.), Language as culture — tensions in time and space, 2004. Vol. 1, pp. 13—30. URL: http:// nveresov.narod.ru/ZPD.pdf (Р. 1—6) (Accessed: 15.07.1916).
23. URL: http://blueappletheatre.com/hamlet/
24. URL:http://inclusioninthearts.org
25. URL:http://www.tbtb.org
26. URL:http://www.theapothetae.org
27. URL:http://www.thikwa.de/repertoire/biofiction.html