Coupling performance methodology with technological innovation to create therapeutic workshops has opened the door for new possibilities and strategies moving forward with stroke survivors, and other neurodiverse people.

Insights:

• Performance techniques, particularly green screening technology and fantasy, communicated to audiences post-stroke alterations in mental processing, which was exemplified by Peggy Shaw.
• When applied to workshops, techniques encouraged participants to move beyond previously internally defined limits and envision alternatives.
• Working in front of others, i.e. being watched, led participants to forget newfound ailments and limitations for the sake of the performance.
• Concentration on fantasy and stories allowed participants to explore new ranges of motion without realizing they were doing so.
• The abstracted, rather than mirrored, body image provided by the interactive technology encouraged participants to move in ways other than how they perceived themselves.
• Performance techniques and interactive technology have the potential to create new strategies for rehabilitation.