What is Business Theatre?

IN BY

What is Business Theatre?

Business theatre is similar to stage theatre in that in both cases there is an audience, the purpose is to co-exist in a space shared between maker and audience. There has to be intention that will lead to purpose. Its role is to excite, to educate and to entertain.
As Simon Callow wrote when referring to Christopher Fettes and YatMalmgren,

 

‘To them theatre is a ritual re-enactment of the lessons mankind had learnt about itself, a way of restoring the spectators to their full human experience after the routine alienations of daily life, and a celebration of desire..’

In Business Theatre, the audience is already known to the participants. Before, for example, ART visits, we carry out research on the company so we are broadly familiar with the company culture, products, management style, profits and performance. The message that we convey is far more defined – and we often involve the audience (i.e. company employees) in the delivery of that message.
In that way, paraphrasing Kafka, we aim to

 

‘melt the ice within, awaken dormant cells, make all of us more fully alive, more fully human, at once more individual and more connected to each other’

But what can Business Theatre be used for?

According to a paper by Laurent Lesavre (Laurent Lesavre, (2012) “Are theatre and business links relevant? A conceptual paper and a case study“, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 31 Iss: 3, pp.243 – 252) there are both practical and social implications:

Practical implications – The most important implication is that practitioners could make more relevant use of such techniques when designing training sessions or utilizing corporate theatre interventions.

Social implications – Social implications come from how the “human” face of theatre can help the personal development of managers, improving or changing their views on the world and other people.

So what does the Business Theatre as delivered by Almost Random Theatre actually consist of?

Our services include:

    • Role-play
    • Bespoke script writing
    • Chairing of post-performance discussions
    • Using lateral thinking skill
    • Applying de Bono to business
    • The enhancement of creativity, leadership, learning and teamwork
    • Improvisation on a series of scenarios eg. customer complaint, wage negotiations, and the motivation of employees

 

We tailor our performances to your wants be it improved collaboration, stimulation of initiative and imagination, improving productivity or encouraging creativity.