Theater
workshops:
Empathy,
managing one's emotions, and communicative art
Interview
with Rosa Genovese, Psychologist, Actress, Author, Theater Director
by
Maria Teresa De Donato
Another very welcome
guest came back to visit us today: Rosa Genovese, Actress, Author, Theater
Director, Doctor in Clinical Psychology.
With her, we have already
talked in the past about The World of Dreams,
their origins, their symbolic meaning with which our inner experiences, our
feelings, and our thoughts are expressed as if they were sensory experiences
and the concepts of 'individuation' and ‘collective unconscious’. All of them
were approached, therefore, from a psychological rather than an esoteric
perspective.
Today, we will be still talking
with Rosa, about psychology, approaching it, however, through theatrical
activity and, therefore, 'fiction' and 'scenic representation'.
MTDD: Hi Rosa, and
welcome again to my Virtual Cultural Salon. It is always a pleasure to have you
as my guest.
RG:
Thanks Maria Teresa, it's a pleasure also for me to meet you. Speaking of
"fiction" I can tell you that theater is a very powerful tool that
allows you to search, investigate and question the truth in human affairs and
all this through fiction; in this regard, I quote the words of a great actor who
recently passed away, Gigi Proietti, who expressed himself thus: “Welcome to
the theater where everything is fake but nothing is false”.
MTDD: Rosa, for those who
do not know you and have not yet had the opportunity to read our previous
interview, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little about
yourself, your studies, your work, and anything else you still wish to share
with our readers?
RG:
Talking about oneself is not always easy, also because life does not flow on
certain tracks and there are often interruptions, detours, sudden braking,
accelerations, and much more. About myself, I can tell you that I have Sicilian
origins; that I was born in Africa in Tripoli in Libya precisely, and that my
life from a very young age took place and still takes place in the metropolitan
city of Rome, the capital of Italy. As far as my studies are concerned, I have
always had a passion for mathematics, philosophy, and literature; biographies
in particular have always captivated me. After high school, I chose the faculty
of psychology but I interrupted my studies to devote myself to what at that
moment I felt preeminent in me, that is my love for acting. I studied for two
years in the school of Alessandro Fersen and two years at the Experimental
Center of Cinematography. This way, I was able to try my hand at Fersen's
theatrical acting and psychotechnics and meet important directors and
personalities from the film world in the most important film school in Italy.
In that period I had the opportunity to make friends with young people who are
now established producers, screenwriters, and operators at all levels in the film
industry. It is, however, the theatrical expression that has predominated in me
and I participated in multiple shows as an actress. Over the years, a
predisposition for theatrical writing has developed in me (several of my texts
were performed at the theater), and also an inclination to teach. I created a
theatrical teaching method for children combined with the teaching of the
Rights of the Child which resulted in the text "Pinocchio of Rights".
MTDD:
You have joined your career as an actress and theater director and as a playwright.
One of these is that of a Clinical Psychologist.
How did you come to this
choice?
RG: As
I mentioned after high school I chose the faculty of psychology leaving halfway
through my studies to study acting; but the regret remained in me of not having
completed university studies so in adulthood so as not to have regrets, I
filled this void by graduating first in psychological sciences and techniques
during my life with a thesis on "Philosophical Consultancy" and then
specializing in Clinical psychology with a thesis on "Personality
characteristics and phenomenology in Eating Disorders". After having
completed an annual internship and passed the state exam, I was able to enroll
in the Psychologists Association of Lazio, and currently, I am a freelance clinical
psychologist.
MTDD: Did you find any
commonalities between these two fields and if so, which ones exactly?
RG:
Theater and psychology for me are two sides of the same coin. If you think
about it, the theater has always narrated human events and the psychology,
which has become scientific, of the analysis of human behavior. Let's not
forget that psychology derives from psyché which means soul, vital breath. In
this regard, I'll tell you an anecdote that happened to me a few days ago while
I was on vacation in Sicily, in Syracuse, the city where I go every year and
like every year I use public transport to meet various people. One of these
with obvious psychiatric problems asked me the difference between the
psychiatrist and the psychologist, when I told him that psyché means soul,
vital breath; he replied: So you are the Doctor of the Soul? I smiled and
replied: Yes! I liked this definition: Doctor of the Soul!
MTDD:
Your passion for theater and psychology and your skills gained in both of these
sectors have led you to the creation of “Theater Workshops”, as you have
defined them.
How did this idea come
about?
RG:
My life path is closely linked to my feeling of passion for acting and interest
in psychology. It was a painful but currently happy union.
MTDD:
As a naturopath, I have a holistic view of life in general, of the human being,
and health in particular. I consider the latter the result of the balance
between physical body, mind, and spirit, although other factors contribute to
complete the picture. Art can certainly be of support for the conservation and
restoration of Health and Wellbeing.
What exactly do these
“Theater Workshops” consist of and what practical help can they give to the
participants?
RG:
These are individual and group diction and acting lessons. The help that comes
to the participants is to focus attention on their body, breathing, vocal
emission, and intonation. When one pays attention to the body, one inevitably
also confronts oneself with one's communication skills, with one's emotions and
feelings, especially those that cannot be expressed. In reality, starting from
a lesson in theatrical acting technique, one comes to confront oneself and to
deepen the knowledge of one's acting and “feeling”. One could speak of
"emotional literacy". Not all people know how to name their emotions
and feelings. There is a very important line of thought that speaks of
"Emotional Intelligence" highlighted so well by Daniel Goleman in his
writings.
MTDD: Would you like to
tell us briefly?
RG:
Daniel Goleman is an American psychologist who came to international prominence
with the book "Emotional Intelligence". In 1995 this author highlighted
how intelligence evaluated with the classic IQ emphasized people's logical and
rational abilities but neglected a whole other no less important, but a little
valued part, that of emotions. He called this area Emotional Intelligence
which consists of the ability to understand one's own and others' emotions and
feelings; in the capacity for empathy and self-control with respect, for
example, to emotions such as anger or fear; but also in the ability to
self-determine and persevere in one's goals despite frustrations. In short,
Goleman stated and highlighted that feelings matter as much as rational
thought, if not more, recalling that emotions tend to be impulses to act and,
therefore, have a very important role in people's lives and decisions. The root
of the word emotion derives, in fact, from the Latin verb "moveo"
which means "to move" with the addition of the prefix "e"
(movement from) and indicates that every emotion is precisely a
tendency to act. In summary, for the psychological well-being of people, it
is necessary to find a balance between abstract thought and emotion-action.
Basically, in my theater workshops, I try to work on this aspect: that of
emotional intelligence.
MTDD:
Very interesting. An aspect certainly worthy of being explored. In these
courses of yours, by your admission, you are inspired by the "Principle of
emergent properties".
Would you like to explain
to our readers what it is and how you apply it?
RG:
“The whole is more than the sum of its parts”. I can give you an example, let's
consider a married couple that we will call Maria and Giovanni, Maria has one
personality and John another with different stories at a certain point they
become a "couple"; here is that couple that is formed is no longer
Mary or John but is something more and different: it is a "third" who
is not a simple sum of Mary and John but is something more and unique. If Maria
were married to Stefano, that extra part would be different from that born in a
couple of Maria with Giovanni. In theatrical workshops that unique and extra
part is given by artistic expression and by how much the subject manages to
express his or her authenticity through acting in interaction with others.
MTDD: What results – in
terms of growth, maturation, and personal development – did you notice in the
participants of your Theater Workshops?
RG: The
workshops that I carry out in my "Theater, Art and Psychology
Studio" have given me great satisfaction. I have seen insecure, shy
people, open up and listen to themselves and others. All this has brought
psycho-physical benefits in their daily life. Furthermore, let us not forget
that in these workshops the playful aspect is fundamental. I use among others
the technique of dr. Madan Kataria of Laughter Yoga and the role exchange
technique. In reality, this "physical space" in which the workshop
takes place is a space of creative expression and this brings a lot of freedom
and joy to the participants.
MTDD:
"Role exchange", therefore 'empathy' and the ability to 'manage one's
emotions' are fundamental concepts for living a healthy and balanced life not
only with oneself but also with others. However, it seems that there are
relatively few people who can put them into practice.
In your opinion, what is
the main reason for this lack or inability to 'identify with the other'?
RG:
Role-swapping helps to do just that, to start seeing and "feeling" the
same situation from another perspective, that is, putting yourself in the
"shoes" of others. This does not mean sharing the same ideas but it
means understanding the other perspective and, therefore, if you understand it
you respect it. The lack of empathy comes from our Ego. We live in a
society with a cult of individualism and narcissism. We are all more or less
self-centered. Everything revolves around the ego. It is as if we were the
Center of the Universe but we have known for a long time now that the Universe
is immense and that we are only a tiny dot, perhaps we should remember it more
often.
MTDD: We
most certainly should. Thank you, Rosa, for having accepted my invitation again
and been here with us today.
How can those who wish to
have more information about your Theater Workshops or your Online Consultations
as a Psychologist?
RG:
Thanks to you Maria Teresa for the questions that lead to in-depth and
non-trivial reflections. It is easy to reach me through my website or by
sending a message on WhatsApp or on my FB page to make an appointment.
Recently, due to the pandemic, I have encouraged online psychological
counseling, both to reach physically distant people and to avoid contagion
of the virus. Maybe we haven't talked about it enough but in addition to my
theatrical workshops, I work as a freelance clinical psychologist. I
mainly deal with existential problems, couple problems, separation, and
divorces above all to protect minors from psychologically disabling situations.
We know that prevention is better than cure. My field as a clinical
psychologist is also that of counseling in which a person can contact me both
for a simple consultation and for a clarification process about doubts, choices
to which sooner or later we are all called. The help of an expert psychologist
can help a lot in unraveling the "tangle of thoughts" and listening
to one's emotions and being in contact with one's inner self to achieve a
better psycho-physical balance and well-being in everyday life.
My website is www.rosagenovese.com
Cell. +39 3488997582
(WhatsApp)
https://www.facebook.com/Rosa-Genovese
