From spectator to spect-actor: The proactive involvement of Chinese parents in their conflicts with adolescents through a forum theatre format

Abstract

Parent-adolescent conflict seems to be common when adolescents negotiate power with their parents. Forum theatre (FT), an interactive and participatory theatre form, is recommended as a community-based intervention to assist Chinese parents in managing the challenges of parent-adolescent interaction. FT proposes that solutions to daily struggles can be reached through concerted efforts of the participants. This article documents the impact of FT on parents who took on the role of ‘spect-actor’. The spect-actor is an active spectator who acts on stage to test solutions to a problem. The results indicate that parents gained more awareness of their children’s needs, which helped them to relax their control over their children. FT is recommended as a means of parent education in schools