Art Dialogues for Professional Communities: Theater and Play for Imagining and Developing the Good LifeWithin Organizations

Abstract

Ever since ancient times, theater has served a political and educational function.We have brought theater into the workplace to explore the revitalization of political life, and to counterbalance instrumental approaches towards career innovation. Within the framework of Art Dialogue Methods (ADM) that we have developed over the years by using different kinds of art forms, we present an arts-based action research. Experiments with theater have alerted us to the potential of embodiment in art dialogues.We argue that theater in organizations takes transitional space not just as a means to readjust to a fixed social reality, but also to stimulate people to play around with organizational reality. Imagining and developing the good working life as a community can emerge from play and thereby provide community learning and an existential perspective for career counselling.