- PHOTOS BY WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
LEFT: Owen 'Blakka' Ellis says acting is helpful not only to the actor but also to the audience. RIGHT: The duo Twin of Twins say the way in which they depict reality makes their work therapeutic for listeners.

Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter

I WASN'T sure what to expect as I walked through the halls of Bellevue Hospital on Windward Road, Kingston. It wasn't my interview spot of choice because of my fear of being mistakenly trapped in a mental institution, but I had to see what this whole music and drama as therapy thing was about: mentally-ill people running around and dancing to Sizzla's Hot Like Fire?

Johnwasn't what I expected: he was tall, well-groomed and looked 'normal', if there is such a thing. He pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Being in a play means expressing yourself and I've been in a couple of plays," he said, with an accent. "...Now I'm doing another piece with the music in there. Being in the plays has given me a chance to participate in something and entertain others and teach lessons too," he said about the benefits of drama in his treatment.

Sunday Gleaner: Are you from here?

John: I was born in Jamaica and then went to live in the United States.

SG: Oh, OK. So do you think you've grown in any way since you've been doing drama?

John: Yes, because now I've been given the opportunity to express myself and I never had that before.

Mrs. Sonia Brown, occupational therapist at the Bellevue Hospital, says while treatment using music and drama does not heal the patients, and most certainly will not see them discharged from the hospital, it has helped them reach those who were otherwise unresponsive. John is an example.

"Before, we couldn't get him to open up or talk to people. He has come a really far way," she said.

Brown says the most important role of music and drama for the patients is the building of self-esteem. "For example, when they finally get to wear the costumes and get into their parts, it's a morale boosterfor them. They themselves get a certain level of achievement. In spite of illnesses and vices that afflict some of them, they can still have some measure of success," she said.

Brown also says drama helps patients to develop their creativity and aids in socialisation, and it also teaches them how to cope with a crisis.

"Sometimes people can act out a situation they are having problems with and say they are not the individual and we can look at it without them feeling threatened in any way," she said.

Comedian, poet and actor, Owen 'Blakka' Ellis, says when he performs he is always aware that his work is therapy for himself and his audience.

TOOL FOR HELPING, HEALING

"Theatre is definitely a tool for helping and healing ... when I act, it's also my own therapy. A lot of actors, if they admit it, will say that it is a release, a catharsis and an escape from their own realities. When I act, it's a way to escape my own difficulties," he says.

An example of a play being cathartic for the audience was at the dress rehearsal of new play One Night of Sunshine, produced by Ellis International. After a scene where Al, played by Tessa Edwards, had hit his wife Pet, played by Rosie Murray, one woman in the audience shouted: "Yuh waah mi fling me phone up deh?"

That wasn't the end of it: during the intermission, others had heated discussions about the injuries they would inflict on Al if they were in Pet's position.

Ellis says he was introduced to the concept of drama being used as therapy while attending the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.

"It was when I was studying at the School of Drama in the '70s and doing education training and we needed to do some exploration as drama being intervention tool for social problems and psychological issues. During this, some of the students went to Bellevue, School for the Blind and others," said Ellis.

"At the drama school, the lecturer did a project for Workers' Week and with things dealing with women's issues and a group that was formed out of it was the 'Sistren Theatre Collective'," he said.

'Sistren' has carried on their work and its members, too, are aware of the therapy which comes through drama. 'Sistren's' drama deals with issues affecting women and how they are able to cope and, according to one member, they have helped a number of women come to terms with their reality, especially a gruesome one.

Asoloshade, who has been a member of the group for 29 years, says "We use drama to raise awareness and for society to look at critical issues and to put forward their own solutions ... our drama looks deeper into how women are being exploited and the violence of men against women. Society always wants women to be boxed in, so a lot of violence always comes toward women."

She says the group's success can be measured by the sale of their book Lionheart Gal and the fact that a number of women's groups have been formed because of their work. But do they think it is therapeutic in any way?

"Yes, because sometimes it makes people laugh and have fun. For a moment you forget about the cares of the world and get to analyse the issues. It also helps individuals to heal. For instance, some abused women who have seen our drama, it has helped them talk about it, especially issues dealing with rape and incest. It helps them talk about the situation and when they see it they can analyse it for themselves," she said.

Still, not all therapy has to be 'preachy'; it can come in the form of a joke. According to Ellis, comedy is a healing tool and it is universal. "Comedy is a wonderful healing tool. It is a way of releasing serious problems and concerns. Comedy is a shared experience. You might weep alone, but you hate laughing alone. If youget a joke, you will always have the urge to share it with someone. Laughter is uplifting - it removes you from your own prison of personality," he says.

He says comedy is now being used in workplaces as a conflict resolution method and, so far, it has worked.

"I have been asked to go into workplaces and talk on issues of personality clashes. Sometimes there is a change in the company and the workers can't accept it. So during the sessions we laugh and joke and smile and find new ways to deal with the problems ... they are morale boosting sessions for the staff. It's not the whole stand up and make them laugh, it's more interactive and we share issues and find ways to deal with them in a non-confrontational way," he says.

Ellis says it is work like this that helps to dispel the myth that comedians are idiots or mere dunces who make people laugh.

"Usually they see comedians as half idiots, but what we do on stage is hard work and takes talent and intelligence. What we do is find people deal with serious issues in a comedic way. Look at Bill Cosby. He has a Ph.D. in psychology and it has helped his career tremendously," Ellis said.

'GANGSTER COMEDIANS'

Entertainers Twin of Twins aren't your typical comedians. They call themselves 'gangster comedians' and deejays and say their work depicts reality and it is this reality that makes it therapeutic for their fans.

"It's from reality. We talk about serious issues with a twist and that is what we bring to the game, because a comedian is different than a 'comediat'... but music on a whole can be used as therapy. Anything that has the ability to give you entertainment in its entirety and release from some kind of stress," say the twins.

"Some people talk about the bad words in there but they still like how it's put together. They consider it therapy because it's real - it's reality. We speak nothing that's fictitious on it (their tapes). The thing is, people can connect to reality, especially the common man and we always speak things that afflict them."

Ellis says though he is not a musician, he knows that music has the ability to soothe and, like comedy, offers an escape and unites people. "I know that music is wonderful therapy. If a madman is on the road and him hear some music, the madman start dance. So it is an escape irrespective of whatever mental or physical disorder," he said.

MADUSSA

Anyone who knows of the notorious Madussa from the street dance Passa Passa will see Ellis' point. Madussa, who is from Tivoli, Kingston, attends the weekly street dance and is a crowd favourite because of her love for music and outrageous dances.

Music as therapy is a medical practice first emerged in the early 20th century. According to www.musictherapy.org, "After World War I and World War II when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to veterans hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars. The patients' notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals."

Mrs. Sunitha Pati, also an occupational therapist at Bellevue, practised in India before coming to Jamaica, and says she used to work with children with mental disabilities.

She says music and drama can help children with autism, Down Syndrome and other illnesses.

"Children with autism and Down Syndrome love music and drama. For those who are hyperactive, dance is usually better because their concentration level is usually very low," she said.

Pati says they use all kinds of music, including dancehall and R&B, in their therapy, though there a few precautions that they have to take. "If they are hyperactive, then if the music is loud they could get agitated. For some, love songs might bring back memories and make them sad, so it depends," she said.

In general, however, music helps patients to relax because it is a good stress reliever and it helps to improve their socialisation. However, these benefits aren't only for those with mental illnesses.

Brown says music is an excellent relaxation technique for the common man. So if ever you're feeling stressed, by all means, get up and dance, or simply have a laugh.