Immersive theatre for job seekers
When asked why I love being a stage artist and a creator of immersive experiences, I don't need to think to answer. The main reason, what brings me the most joy, is that I can change perceptions, attitudes, and ideas of people; I can give them an experience that will improve their lives, at least a little.
This positive impact is greatly multiplied during a performance like the one the Eat The Cake Studio team developed for the Pôle Emploi of Crépy-En-Valois and that I facilitated. The first session of The Art of Accessing Employment through Immersive Theatre was a great success!
18 job seekers had signed up for this first session. The majority of them had never done theatre and didn't know what immersive theatre was, let alone how to create an immersive experience. For 6 sessions, I had them do theatre exercises to develop their self-confidence, their ability to work in a team, their recognition and emotion management, their creativity, their spontaneity, their bodily and postural awareness, and their public speaking skills with strangers.
Part of each session was then dedicated to developing the immersive experience we created together, “The Absurd Employment Forum,” a job forum during which their imaginary companies would recruit new employees among the participants.
Working in groups of three, they imagined their fictitious companies, the positions they would recruit for, and the activities they would have their potential recruits do. There was Mars Potatoes, farmers who grow fruits and vegetables on Mars; The Galloping Unicorn, a company that organizes unicorn races; The Lagomorph Messengers who deliver messages using messenger rabbits; Instant X organizes sexy and “young” outings for elderly people; Fiesta rents costumes, evening dresses and suits; and The Self-Esteem Factory, a company dedicated to bringing self-esteem to everyone.
The candidates also created their graphic supports, developed their costumes, and set up their stands, all more original and elaborate than one another, with a multitude of well-thought-out little details.
There were quite a few participant-spectators and several potential employers came to participate in the experience and therefore found themselves on the other side of the equation since they had to play the job seekers: they all played along with great good humor!
I was extremely happy and proud to see the transformation that happened among these job seekers, many of whom no longer had confidence in themselves, were desperate to find a job, or were depressed from staying home doing nothing and seeing hardly anyone.
Of course, to varying degrees, they gained much more self-confidence; they proved to themselves that they had talents and interesting and rewarding skills; they overcame their shyness and their fear of speaking with strangers; they forged bonds and new friendships with other candidates, expanding their support network; and they had a lot of fun!
The feedback from the candidates was truly rewarding:
“This performance gave me better confidence in my stage and social skills, and of course very enjoyable moments with people who are just as lovely.” - A.
“This performance did me good because I went out after several months of wanting nothing, loneliness, and loss of myself. I discovered a friendly universe with fantastic people and a lady who makes you want to move forward, Elena. I still have a long way to go to become my former self, but I’m taking it slowly, and this session showed me that I can do it.” - R.
“For my part, a great discovery of this activity, a real letting go, a breath of fresh air, and in addition to the immersive aspect I appreciated the collaborative side with a very pleasant and talented group.” - P.
“The performance allowed me to discover immersive theatre and see that you can create a company. On the relational side, I met wonderful people, and I think all groups did a great job.” - N.
In the end, leading this performance was as enriching and rewarding an experience for me as for the candidates. I truly feel I brought important and very positive changes to these people who needed them.
I look forward to leading the next session which will take place very soon!