Empowerment of the Socially Vulnerable Through Theater Workshops – Social Inclusion through Arts Management: A Case Study in an Urban Slum of Bangkok

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the social vulnerability of slum residents in times of disaster and to consider the possibilities of self-empowerment by the cultivation of “actual abilities” through theater workshops. The author has focused on the Nang Loeng Community, occupying an urban slum in Bangkok, and with the cooperation of a Japanese theater company, has carried out a four-day theater workshop for elementary school students in the name of an “evacuation drill.” Interviews and questionnaires were conducted to the residents and participants to examine the possibilities of adopting this method in the community. It was found that, in order to utilize theater workshops for self-empowerment, there is a need to investigate concrete means of improving the living environment and solving family discord, as well as a necessity to consider the possibilities of social participation through bottom-up discussions.