Entertainment Education and participatory Theatre in Northern Thailand

The objective of this paper and presentation was to share the authors' experiences with participatory theatre in reenergising a remote community in Mae-Hong-Son in northern Thailand. Based on the belief in the power of entertainment-education, public participation, and the potential of cultural approach, they applied participatory action research to encourage ethnic high-school students to participate in a theatre workshop. They worked with a well-known community theatre group, Ma-Kam-Pom, and trained the students in dramatic concepts and skills. Further, a culturally-based story was developed and collectively performed in the community. Since the interevention, the authors have researched the social change processes among the students and the community and they include lessons learned.

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