Abstract

Findings are presented from an evaluation of a community theater group called Nalamdana which created plays to disseminate HIV/AIDS information and performed in Tamil Nadu state, India. Community theater was common in India in the preliterate and pre-electronic eras. Nalamdana currently has 3 shows on HIV/AIDS. Predrama and postdrama interviews were conducted with 93 randomly selected audience members aged 15-45 years from 10 separate performances held during January-February 1996. An interview was also conducted with a postdrama-only comparison group of 99 individuals. Approximately 60% of study participants were unmarried, 65% were male, and most were without secondary education. Exposure to the dramas significantly increased viewers' HIV/AIDS-related knowledge. Before the drama, audiences had relatively high levels of accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, but lower knowledge levels of common HIV/AIDS misconceptions. The dramas reduced those misconceptions and increased the level of reported intentions to treat HIV-positive individuals more kindly. Drama can be an effective medium for communicating HIV/AIDS information and can reduce knowledge gaps associated with low levels of formal education. Drama can also be used in a broad range of settings to convey socioemotive and sensitive material.

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• An evaluation of the use of drama to communicate HIV / AIDS information.