Abstract

This collection explores the link between theater and human flourishing. It interrogates both the social good of theater and the personally restorative work of a range of live embodied performances. It brings together the disciplines of theater (and performance studies) and psychology, especially positive psychology, to explore the social benefits of theater. These benefits include the formation and participation in community, opportunities to engage in political speech and thought, and the experience of being entertained (or offended) by both the creative work of artists and the individual responses of fellow audience members.