Il teatro in carcere trasforma le persone | Elisa Carnelli | TEDxVarese

Elisa Carnelli has been in and out of prison for about ten years, despite never having committed a crime. Since 2008, Elisa has directed the inmate actors' company at the Busto Arsizio prison in the province of Varese and started a drama therapy group with the inmates. This experience has given her a certainty: never before has her work brought about transformation like in prison. And if it's true that our society wants to conceive of prison as a place of transformation, theater and drama therapy can be important tools that contribute to the rehabilitation of one's self-image and help prisoners imagine and perceive themselves differently. For about ten years, Elisa Carnelli has been in and out of prisons, despite never having committed a crime. Since 2008, she has directed a company of actors housed in the Busto Arsizio prison, near Varese, where she set up a drama therapy group with the prisoners. In no other setting has she felt so certain that her work can bring about transformation. And as society wants prison to be a place of transformation, theatre and drama therapy can be important tools in rehabilitating self-image, helping prisoners see themselves differently. Since 2004, she has worked as an actress, focusing primarily on children's theatre and collaborating with some of the most renowned national groups on tour in Italy, the USA, France, Great Britain, Spain, and Brazil. A drama therapist and member of the S.P.I.D. (Italian Professional Society of Drama Therapy), she conducts community workshops with children and young people, with disabled and psychiatric patients, and with former cancer patients. Since 2008, she has directed the inmate actors' company at the Busto Arsizio prison (VA), and has started a drama therapy group with the inmates there. Since 2008, she has directed the inmate actors' company at the Busto Arsizio prison (VA), and has started a drama therapy group with the inmates there. He organizes the children's theater program at the Teatro Santuccio in Varese as Artistic Director, and is dedicated to theater and music projects, collaborating with musicians and groups in Italy and the Canton of Ticino. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx