Part workshop, part video series, The Lens is a
social experiment project which purposefully brings
together rival groups from opposing sides of a conflict.


Through use of drama and moviemaking, the groups take on the challenge of reinventing their relationship by transforming destructive conflict and dysfunctional group beliefs into life-affirming stories.

Types of Conflicts

There is no shortage of the types of conflicts and rival groups which could be featured in The Lens' workshops and video series. Almost any type of inter- or intragroup cultural conflict would be suitable for the experiments.

Examples of groups experiencing specific conflicts and issues between:

  • Kurds and Turks (in-progress)

  • Pro-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian Supporters

  • Pro-EU and Pro-Russian Ukrainians

  • U.S. Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans

  • Pro- and Anti-Global Warming Advocates

  • African-Americans and Law Enforcement Officers

  • Free-Market Capitalists and Socialists

  • U.S. Gun Control and Second Amendment Supporters

Our focus is generally on conflicts which are most present in the public's consciousness, prominent in mainstream and alternative global and U.S. national news and/or ready for pulling together groups for conflict transformation.

Do you have a conflict that you'd like us to address and transform? For proposals, please contact us.

DramA Therapy Workshop

For each conflict, a drama workshop is conducted by Armand Volkas using his therapeutic original approach to conflict transformation and peacebuilding. It uses improvisation, re-enactment, role-playing, role reversal and other experiential action methods. The Lens' workshops will foster: 

  • Breaking the taboo against “enemies” speaking to each other

  • Humanizing each other through the sharing of personal stories

  • Taking steps towards healing personal wounds and collective offenses

  • Teaching polarized groups empathy, tolerance and how to "mend fences"

  • Transforming group discord and/or collective trauma into therapeutic acts of storytelling and the creation of new narratives

Though intense and serious work, the workshop also looks into the flip side of conflict - to the understanding, empathy and even humor which naturally occur when emotional barriers of anger, grief, guilt, shame, loss and other unresolved emotions are released, or at least addressed.

The experiences and outcomes from the workshop can be profound, illuminating, and even entertaining. New bonds are often created between the rival groups and even friendships forged between former adversaries.

Therapeutic Moviemaking COMPONENT

The groups' social dynamics will also be explored through video technology. For short periods of time during the drama workshop, the participants will be outfitted with wearable video cameras. For a deepening of empathy, selected video excerpts from the wearable camera footage will be played back to participants individually. The entire workshop will also be filmed in documentary style by a small video crew, directed by Tamara Gurbis.

Later in the workshop process, participants will also be called upon to collaboratively re-envision and "re-story" their group relationship narratives. By using scenarios and embodiment techniques learned from the drama portion of the workshop, the participants from the two groups will collaborate to create and dramatize a 3-5 minute short film expressing their new story. The video crew will assist with the technical aspects of the short film's creation.

Video series Audience

The Lens' video series audience are anyone interested in:

  • the drama of the human condition

  • learning how cultural group conflicts can be healed and resolved on a personal, national and/or international level

  • experiencing and witnessing personal and social change through the dramatic arts and moviemaking

  • peacebuilding and world betterment

For the one-sheet or full proposal with budget, please contact us.

This project is registered with WGAW (Writer's Guild of America, West),
Reg. #1729438.