ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shares the author's own accounts conducting applied theater with and for refugees, and meanwhile, and tries to trouble the aforementioned dichotomy that has been established in the field of theater studies in particular. It mediates the tensions present in theater studies, since it is the author's basic domain of work. The book offers a unique avenue for emotional healing, social integration, and personal advancement. Applied theater entails planning, executing, and evaluating theater workshops for specific communities, with the ultimate goal being to open a dialogue about the particular issues the community is grappling with. The book offers a counter narrative and attempts to create forums conceived by applied theater techniques that may incite conversation about the personal narratives of refugees and foster the kind of productive dialogue that should exist between refugees and the host communities.
