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Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bruwer, Frances Charlize
Other Authors: Brand, Amelda
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author Bruwer, Frances Charlize
author2 Brand, Amelda
author_browse Brand, Amelda
Bruwer, Frances Charlize
author_facet Brand, Amelda
Bruwer, Frances Charlize
author_sort Bruwer, Frances Charlize
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135649
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:43:28.625Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
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source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135649 Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play Bruwer, Frances Charlize Brand, Amelda Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Drama. Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Bruwer, F. C. 2026. Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/5f56b247-c599-493b-bac0-e18f6934ae99 This study explores Applied Drama in the Workplace (ADW) as a process-based methodology for organisational learning, communication, and transformation within South African contexts. Responding to limited academic engagement with drama-based interventions beyond the educational and entertainment sectors, it investigates how Applied Drama principles can address complex workplace challenges rooted in South Africa’s socio-historical, cultural, and linguistic dynamics. The central research question asks: What is the potential for Applied Drama methodologies and practices to address complex workplace challenges in South African organisational contexts? Positioned as a pracademic inquiry, the research employs a qualitative, interdisciplinary desktop analysis that synthesises international and local literature, practitioner documentation, and case studies to map the conceptual, contextual, and practical terrain of ADW. It situates ADW at the intersection of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Applied Performance Studies, arguing for its legitimacy as both a pedagogical and organisational development framework. Findings reveal that ADW functions as both a methodology and a mindset, offering a participatory framework through which organisations can rehearse change before it happens. By integrating reflection, play, and dialogue, ADW fosters inclusive learning environments that challenge hierarchies, build empathy, and cultivate adaptive, creative cultures. The study further argues that terminological consistency and ethical, culturally responsive facilitation are essential to establishing ADW’s credibility within corporate learning and development structures. Facilitation emerges as a central determinant of impact, requiring reflexive neutrality that actively redistributes power and co-creates meaning within diverse teams. While limited by its desktop scope and absence of primary fieldwork, the study contributes a comprehensive theoretical foundation for future empirical inquiry. It positions ADW as a credible, context-sensitive approach to organisational transformation in South Africa; bridging artistic practice and corporate development through participatory, embodied processes. The study concludes that Applied Drama’s transformative potential lies not in performance but in presence: creating spaces where individuals and teams learn through doing, reflect through embodiment, and transform through shared experience. Masters 2026-04-07T08:08:48Z 2026-04-07T08:08:48Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135649 en Stellenbosch University 140 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Bruwer, Frances Charlize
Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play
title Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play
title_full Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play
title_fullStr Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play
title_full_unstemmed Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play
title_short Mapping The Potential of Interactive Drama Techniques in the South African Workplace: Playing is not always about making a Play
title_sort mapping the potential of interactive drama techniques in the south african workplace playing is not always about making a play
url https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135649
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