The TOP© model

The TOP© model (Theatraal Onderzoeken Participeren, or Theatrical Participation & Research) harnesses the power of interaction. Participants are challenged to think about  specific situations, to put forward possible solutions, and to see them tried out – or try them out for themselves. No judgements are made; nothing is held up as being right, wrong, desirable or undesirable. Participants collectively perceive for themselves the effectiveness of a given suggestion.

Theatre

In close collaboration with the client we write one or more short activational scenes. These depict recognisable situations drawn from reality, which two actors make larger than life.

Research

After having played a scene, we embark on a collective research project. What are the options? What effect does one's own behaviour have on another person's? What works in practice and what doesn't? A facilitator translates participants' comments and suggestions into director's notes for the players. The stage functions as a testbed on which every idea can be tried out, under the motto: one man's meat may be another man's poison. Making audience suggestions tangible in this way transforms abstract concepts into concrete actions. Better still, controversy and dispute are thereby avoided: show, don't tell.

The scene's first performance elicits an immediate reaction from the audience. They recognise the situation – but not because they approve of it! Then it is up to them to come up with solutions, on the basis of their own experience and insights. Acting out these suggestions quickly makes their results clear. The actors themselves might be from Troje, or they might be drawn from the audience, as they explore the various options within the framework of theatrical reality.

Application

We have employed the TOP© model in a wide variety of different situations. Some examples:

·       as part of skills development training courses focused on experiential and collective learning processes

·       in the awareness-raising stage of change processes (including 'company culture' changes), in which it served to illustrate the attitudes, norms and values underlying visible behaviour, and how they influence this behaviour

·       as part of working conferences

·       as brainstorming sessions