Theatre@work

Citation

(2001), "Theatre@work", Work Study, Vol. 50 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2001.07950aaf.001

Theatre@work

Theatre@workKeywords: Team building, Dramatization, Training

Team building is big business and takes many and varied forms. We are all used to the group exercise, even the outward-bound event – but a theatre company?

The Partners @ Work Theatre Company has been working with The Nottingham Trent University on a revolutionary approach to corporate team building.

In 1997, with the support of the European Commission, The Nottingham Trent University invited Dacapo Teatret, a theatre company from Denmark, to the UK to learn about its innovative approach to workplace training. The company, which was founded through joint sponsorship from the Danish Employer's Federation and the Danish Trade Union Confederation, claims to make a real impact by performing everyday scenes of business life to a wide range of company types. (Now, it is possible to see the potential – we are used to films and videos with simulations and case examples.)

The approach does not involve audience role-play since this is considered intimidating to many of the potential audience. As in a training video, the audience watches a play which demonstrates everyday workplace problems. The audience is then encouraged to suggest approaches to solving the problem. The major difference is that here, the audience can question the characters about their behaviours and their motivations. They can even ask the cast to re-run a particular part of the action. It has been known for the audience to participate in such a re-run to help illustrate a potential solution.

Last autumn, the Partners @ Work Theatre Company worked with a number of companies to develop a partnership approach to organisational development. Employees from all levels of the companies were asked about the improvements that they wanted to see in their organisation. The actors subsequently use the results of this questioning to develop short "trigger plays" that were presented within the company to help set an agenda for change.

A previous venture by the company involved the production of a short play entitled Guilty or Not Guilty? The piece, which took the form of a mock trial, put the managing director of the fictitious Simpkin & Co. in the dock. Following the collapse of the business, the manager was charged with failing both his customers and employees. The audience, consisting of people from over 40 enterprises, acted as the jury and listened to the testimonies of the characters who included, Barry Simpkin, the owner manager; Edna Jackson, the "dyed in the wool" supervisor; Ken Blackler, the keen but frustrated product development manager and Debbie Simpkim, the owner's daughter and ambitious – yet inexperienced – designer. Having heard a sorry tale of missed opportunities and stifled potential, the audience were asked if they found the manager guilty of wilful neglect of his business.

This theatrical approach seems to be very well received. For many people, some case studies and accounts of so-called "best practice" can seem a long way from their own experience. Similarly, for small organisations the methodology of case-based learning is difficult to understand and/or resource. Learning network meetings are therefore another important way in which companies can be supported, and last Autumn Guilty or Not Guilty? was "resurrected" for performances to businesses from the footwear industry, funded by the European Social Fund Adapt programme.

A further outcome of the Guilty or Not Guilty? programme has been the production of a training video The Trials of Barry Simpkin. Developed by Nottinghamshire County Council and the Nottingham Trent University, the video shows two episodes of a business "docu-soap". The Trials of Barry Simpkin was filmed on location in an East Midlands company and actors from the Partners @ Work Theatre Company, portrayed the difficulties of developing new markets, coping with short-run production and managing change effectively.

Commonly used models of team building such as outward bound courses and "escape from the jungle" exercises can be useful methods of breaking the ice, but can leave some people bemused as to how these lessons can be usefully applied to their working lives. This theatrical approach offers the opportunity to present real issues in the workplace and encourage employees to find their own solutions.