A+Vengers : empowering students through superheroic re-storying

Abstract

This portfolio is based on my understanding of the importance of promoting mental health and wellness in schools for students. This project focused on the integration of specific mental health promoting therapies (narrative and creative arts-based) through pre-existing Ontario curriculum, as facilitated in a local Grade 9/10 drama classroom. In this class, I functioned as co-teacher, dramaturge, and conversational consultant in the creation of eight mental health-based plays—six of which also purposefully integrated comic book superheroes as a form of play—that worked to externalize and personify the research participants’ mental health challenges into defeatable entities. These students—the A+Vengers—eventually performed their plays as part of a special one-night showcase, bringing their re-storied identities and narratives to life on stage. This portfolio is a collection of six chapters documenting this experience: (1) an introduction to the project/portfolio; (2) a literature review addressing contemporary mental health issues in schools; (3) a literature review explaining my approach toward alleviating these issues; (4) the methodology of my intervention; (5) the resources that the students created as a result of my intervention; and (6) a reflection and conclusion about the experience in its entirety.