Theatresports is a kind of theater which involves competitions between opponent teams of improvisers in improvising scenes for “dramatic effect” (Pérez, 2014). It was developed by Keith Johnstone (International Theatresports Institute [ITI], 2017), with the aim of developing individuals’ spontaneity, which is suppressed by normal education (Mclaughlin, 2014). It encourages participants to take risks when present on stage, and interact with others using the self, character, and positive human nature (Engelberts, 2004; ITI, 2017; Johnstone, 1981). To date, Theatresports has been implemented in different countries such as North America, Europe, and Asia regions, including Hong Kong (ITI, 2022). This form of theater was applied to a youth service setting in Hong Kong in 2010, aiming at giving youth a stage on which to showcase their talents and develop their interests, whilst nurturing their all-round ability to deal with various life issues (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2022a). To understand how this program benefits youth, this study investigates participants’ learning, growth, and changes after joining the program. We expect to generate service implications for the future development of youth services in Hong Kong.

Literature Review

Theatresports: Definition and Concepts

Theatresports is a form of improvisation with an element of competition, normally involving “short improvisational games, audience suggestions, points awarded by judges, and constant audience participation and interaction” (Cole, 2016, pp. 14–15; see also Johnstone, 1981). It was pioneered by Keith Johnstone (ITI, 2017; Prigge-Pienaar, 2018), a strong opponent of normal education which discourages spontaneity and imagination. In response, he invented Theatresports as an improvisation system in the hope of reviving creativity (Johnstone, 1999). In its simplest sense, Theatresports is characterized by teams of improvisers competing against each other in improvisational games (e.g., Word-at-a-time, Master-servant) to gain points (Engelberts, 2004; ITI, 2017). However, this form of improvisation is more than merely competition. In Theatresports, “sports” does not refer to winning the competition based on self-interest (ITI, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2016), but to the performers’ “mutual desire to create dynamic, interesting theater through spontaneity skills, storytelling and supportive play” to engage the audience by creating an atmosphere similar to that of a sports events (ITI, 2017, p. 14). The Theatresports show creates laughter and tears (ITI, 2017), but veers away from being a “show-business” (Johnstone, 1999, p. 60) in which the audience is entertained by jokes and effects that turn out to be “anything-for-a-laugh” but ultimately less worthwhile (Salinsky & Frances-White, 2008, p. 268). This is because improvisation is often unpredictable, with the audience being rewarded and surprised when they see the interactions between improvisers and witness how miracles can occur during improvisation (ITI, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2016).

The Linkage of Theatresports with Personal Growth

As a form of improvisational theater featured by spontaneity and teamwork (ITI, 2017), it helps participants cultivate a range of capabilities, such as storytelling techniques, multi-perspective thinking, empathetic understanding, creativity, communication skills, and collaborative skills (Yamamoto, 2017). Moreover, as Theatresports emphasizes sportsmanship and benevolence (i.e., improvisers showing supportive behavior to one another on stage), via competitions held in a sports events-like atmosphere, the emphasis of Theatresports is to connect with teammates and opponents to produce a good show together (Engelberts, 2004; ITI, 2017), rather than aggressively winning over the opponents (ITI, 2017). In this sense, nurturing “good nature” (ITI, 2017, p. 14) is important in Theatresports. Instead of pursuing own achievement and excellence in performance skills (Engelberts, 2004; ITI, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2016), good improvisers have to: (1) think inside the box (i.e., “being average”) (Johnstone, 1999, p. 64; TEDx Talks, 2016); (2) understand other people (Magic If Media, 2013); (3) be free to take risks, and embrace failures as positive, a part of learning process (ITI, 2017; Johnstone, 1999; TEDx Talks, 2016), in which the meaning of “failure” has overturned its mainstream definition in society―as “a concept laden with judgment and stress” (ITI, 2017, p. 17), indicating being wrong and incapable. All of the above shows that Theatresports has a potential to cultivate participants’ self-confidence, positive attitudes, and inner self growth (ITI, 2017).

When Theater is applied into particular groups, institutions, and communities, it could be regarded as a form of applied theater (Thompson, 2003), which can bring about educational outcomes and make meanings through theatrical means (Baldwin, 2009; Bowell & Heap, 2005). Since Theatresports is featured by improvisers acting on their real life experiences and real self instead of acting based on scripts (e.g., ITI, 2017; Prigge-Pienaar, 2018), and positive human nature (i.e., being open to failure, showing care and support for others, connecting with other people’s needs and perspectives) and reflection of own experience over competition against others for self-achievement are emphasized, it is highly related to the elements of social work which stress the importance of empathy, acceptance, respect for people’s uniqueness, and self-actualization with the use of own resources (Compton & Galaway, 1999). Also, as Theatresports is characterized by the spontaneous “free play” by the improvisers in which “not only for the actors but also for the spectators who […] would dare to participate in the event” (Pérez, 2014, p. 3), it is highly related to the groupwork in social work, in which the group dynamics under group leadership “helps persons enhance their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to cope more effectively with their personal, group, or community problems” (Konopka, 1983, p. 26), such as relationship building and conflict resolution (Konopka, 1983; Northen, 1976). In this sense, when Theatresports is applied in social work settings, participants are able to cultivate their development and capabilities in terms of intrapersonal, individual self, intrapersonal, social self, as well as relationships with the wider community simultaneously (e.g., Ellemers et al., 2002) (see Fig. 1). This compensates the limitations of ordinary social services, which cultivates interpersonal and intrapersonal development separately through different levels of intervention (e.g., individual counseling, groupwork) (Ebue et al., 2017). Supported by Chan’s (2021) study on applied theater using improvisation, participants displayed significant positive changes in self variables, including self-esteem, self-efficacy, and empowerment.

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The cultivation of different levels of self in the theatresports program

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Theatresports: Adapted in a Social Service Setting in Hong Kong

Owing to the benefits of Theatresports, it has been launched in a local agency since 2010 as a social work intervention approach for youth aged 15–24 (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2022a). The Theatresports program currently being operated in the agency is a locally adapted version, implemented by social workers who have received training in Theatresports by theater practitioners of a theatrical group in Macau. Through understanding of the game rules and performance techniques, the aim is for participants to: (1) enhance creativity and cognitive thinking; (2) nurture interpersonal skills (e.g., communication and listening skills); (3) nurture positive thinking to face life challenges; (4) nurture personal growth by overcoming limitations; (5) enhance their sense of teamwork; (6) enhance self-confidence and sense of identity; and (7) broaden horizons through exchange with youth overseas in art and culture (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2022a). To achieve these objectives, the program is implemented in terms of the following components: (1) 18-h elementary training workshops, where participants learn the Theatresports games and basic performance techniques from the social workers and/or other theater professionals; (2) participants forming teams and engaging in regular practices on the games after completing the elementary training; (3) Theatresports competitions, which are usually held every two to three months in public venues, for the participants to reinforce the learning of Theatresports; and (4) advanced training workshops, which are taught by theater professionals, for participants who are interested in advancing their development in Theatresports. Participants can remain in the program, continue receiving team training in Theatresports games, and continue joining the competitions out of self-interest and needs. Moreover, some of the senior participants can serve as Assistant Coaches, offering guidance and support for the junior participants and even participating in backstage production tasks. Examples of these tasks include the production of music videos and choreographing the opening dance, in which the music videos are shown with the participants performing the opening dance before the Theatresports competitions. This helps sustain the program development by harnessing their strengths and abilities (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2017). This also gives them the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and build confidence.

Insights from the Above Literature

The Theatresports program is implemented with the collaboration of social workers from different centers of the agency. This shows that the program is implemented with abundant resource support from the agency. From the observation of the Theatresports participants in group sessions and competitions, it was noticed that the participants were confident and positive; they exhibited creativity, and clear physical and verbal expressions during improvisation. This shows that the benefits of Theatresports such as enhancing communication skills, imagination, collaborative skills, and openness to accept failures (Just Education Services Organization, 2014) have been manifested in the program participants. The program has been achieving success throughout these years. Since 2010, there have been over 6000 youth from over 20 secondary schools participating in the program (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2018). This shows the popularity of the program. Also, since 2010, some of the outstanding participants have been invited to take part in International competitions, such as the Theatresports Asian Open 2015. In 2012, the program was even awarded as “The Outstanding Youth Activity in North District in 2012–13” (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2015). Throughout these years, the program has been receiving funding support from different bodies, such as Beat Drug Fund (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service—Hong Kong, 2022b), showing that the program has been recognized for its potential in fostering youth’s all-round development. Despite this, empirical research which investigates the outcomes of Theatresports in youth is scarce. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to attempt the following research questions:

  1. 1)

    What are the outcomes of the Theatresports program?;

  2. 2)

    Can Theatresports help promote personal growth of participants when applied in social work settings?

This helps provide support for how Theatresports contributes to youth development and generate corresponding practice implications.

Current Study

This study aims at investigating the outcomes of the Theatresports program. Qualitative research was adopted to understand how the participants perceived the program. In services, the experiences of service users can be regarded as a “journey with a service provider over time during the service utilization cycle across multiple touchpoints” (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016; Seow et al., 2021, p. 2). Focusing on the participants’ perspectives in this study is helpful for understanding their needs and experiences holistically (Seow et al., 2021, p. 2; Voorhees et al., 2017). It is expected that this study helps generate service implications.

Method

Participants

There were 92 participants who took part in this study. They were all the participants of a Theatresports program organized by a social service agency in Hong Kong. The participants were recruited by the social workers of the agency. Written informed consent was attained from all participants prior to the study, with the support of the agency. The research team collaborated with the agency to investigate the outcomes of the program. In this sense, the sampling method adopted in this study was purposive sampling, in which the participants were recruited based on the purposes of study (Etikan et al., 2016).

All the participants were Chinese. Among the participants, 61 (66.3%) were male and 31 (33.7%) were female. Their ages ranged from 12 to 27 years; more than half of them (N = 52, 56.5%) aged between 14 and 17. With respect to the participants’ education level, the youngest participants were studying Secondary 1 (or Year 7) while the eldest were receiving or had received college or university education; the majority (N = 68, 73.9%) were secondary school students (i.e., Secondary 1 to Secondary 6, or Year 7 to Year 12). Regarding their duration of participation in the program, it ranged from 2 months (N = 10, 10.9%) to 4.5 years (N = 7, 7.6%), with the majority having participated for 6 months to 1 year (N = 53, 57.6%).

Participants of different age groups participated in the program differently. Those who were studying Secondary 1–3 joined the training workshops at their schools. For those who had completed Secondary 3 and were eager to continue their participation in the program, they took part in the program as the service users of the agency. For those who were not attending school, they were included as participants by the social workers through outreaching in public places. Regardless of their age differences, they participated in the Theatresports competitions together. Participants could join the program as long as they were not older than the age of 30, based on the definition of youth in Hong Kong that they are aged no older than 29 (e.g., Social Welfare Department, 2022); senior participants could even become assistant coaches, providing guidance and support for the junior participants.

Data Collection Procedure

In order to understand how the participants thought of the program, the participants were invited to share their feelings regarding the program during a 2-day Theatresports competition organized by the agency. The 92 participants either took part in Day 1 or Day 2 of the competition, so it took 2 days to hold the sharing sessions. The sharing by the participants took place at the end of each day of the competition, immediately after the debriefing sessions held by the social workers to help the participants revisit and learn from the Theatresports experiences.

Owing to the considerable number of participants, researcher invited student helpers to facilitate the sharing of the participants. The student helpers were Final Year students of a master counseling program of a university in Hong Kong, who possessed the knowledge and skills of interacting with youth, and were capable of performing unstructured interviews with youth. Before the sharing session, the student helpers had attended a briefing session so that they understood the data collection procedure during the Theatresports competitions. During the sharing process, the student helpers were paired with the participants, and asked them the following question: “Please share about the most important things learnt from the program since you became the program participant, and provide examples”. An open-ended question was asked to capture the participants’ perceptions, feelings, and insights in an unstructured manner, because the benefits of Theatresports on youth development is scarcely informed by empirical research, and this study seeks to understand the participants’ experiences from their perspectives. The sharing sessions were held in Cantonese, and the participants’ responses were audio-recorded. Each of the participants were encouraged to openly share their feelings and ideas in at least 2 min, with no maximum or minimum duration of each sharing. The average sharing time of the participants was 18 min.

Analysis

Thematic analysis was conducted to investigate the participants’ verbatim accounts, adhering to the following steps: (1) “familiarizing with the data”; (2) “generating initial codes”; (3) “searching for themes”; (4) “reviewing themes”; (5) “defining and naming themes”; and (6) “producing the report” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, pp. 87–93). First, qualitative data received from the sharing was transcribed in Cantonese and organized in excel files. Then, the transcripts of the recorded sharing by the participants were studied. After that, researcher coded the data, and linked meaningful data to produce themes and sub-themes for analysis. Themes and sub-themes were developed in terms of participants’ learning in various skills and capabilities, inner self growth, self-esteem/positive identity, and positive connections/relationships (e.g., peer support), as supported by the literature. Also, other opinions and feelings expressed by the youth participants were also analyzed, in order to fully grasp the innersense of the youth. Once the themes and sub-themes were identified, a specialist was appointed to translate the themes, sub-themes, and the corresponding verbatim accounts into English.

The transcripts were organized and coded using an Excel spreadsheet. The transcripts were coded by a researcher and cross-checked by two other researchers of the research team and six social workers of the agency. Discrepancies in the coding were handled through discussions between the research team members in order to achieve consensus and consistency. Also, the analyzed data was also circulated to the youth service directors involving in the Theatresports program for cross-checking.

Table 1 shows the synthesis of the qualitative data in the form of themes and sub-themes.

Table 1 Themes of the qualitative results
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Results

The Program Helped Participants Nurture Various Qualities and Capabilities

Intrapersonal Skills

Participants mentioned that they had enhanced various capabilities and qualities. To begin with, participant 032 said that Theatresports helped enhance observational ability. As Theatresports is spontaneous by nature, participants also enhanced their adaptability to change (N = 15). As 079 expressed that “at least in this performance, I’ve learned to act well without a script. At the same time, I’ve learned how to think faster”. To cope with the unpredictable environment in Theatresports, participants expressed that they had trained their creativity/imagination (N = 3) (participant 061: “…as the time for preparation is limited, the contingency skills and creativity are very important.”), problem-solving skills (N = 5) (participant 069: “I’ve trained my contingency skills and ability to changes after joining Theatresports, learnt to be calm when dealing with issues, and learnt to find ways to solve problems.”), and multi-perspective thinking (N = 4) (participant 03: “…After I joined the [Theatresports] program, I’ve found that I can look at the same issue from different dimensions…”), in order to improvise stories on stage.

Since there is no right or wrong in improvisation/Theatresports, participants developed positive thinking (N = 12). Participant 03 shared that “Now I’ve become more positive and started to see things positively. Apart from studying, there are other alternatives in life”. This shows that Theatresports helps participants understand that there are ways to cope with adversities. Being less vulnerable to challenges and troubled experiences, their self-confidence was enhanced (N = 25). Participant 015 shared that “I’ve had a lot of take-aways from Theatresports in the past 2 years; the most important thing is that it helps elevate my self-confidence…it helps me dare to involve in Theatresports and showcase myself”, whereas participant 026 said “Before joining Theatresports, I was a person who had low self-confidence, and shy and passive. After joining Theatresports…now I’ve become much more confident and open, being brave enough to express my feelings”.

Apart from the above, Theatresports enhanced participants’ self-reflection (N = 2): participant 66 shared that “During the process, I’ve received the chances to engage in self-reflection.” This suggests that participants review their performances in Theatresports, and pursue improvement. They also stated that Theatresports cultivated their self-understanding (N = 5): participant 014 said “…during practice, we need to collaborate with and accommodate one another, point out the areas for improvement so that everyone can do better. This is a good opportunity for me to know my weaknesses in the eyes of others…so as to achieve personal growth”. In addition, some participants mentioned that the program had encouraged them to break through their comfort zone (N = 16). They understood that there were various challenges that would occur on stage, and thus sought to make breakthroughs: As participant 073 said, “…Involving in the [Theatresports] games helps break through limitations and learn to boldly try out things which I viewed as impossible before”. This suggests that Theatresports encourages participants to overcome their fear of failure and experiment boldly, so as to achieve ongoing self-advancement. In sum, Theatresports is not only a skillwise activity which equips participants with various abilities but also an activity that nurtures their self-awareness, inner self growth, and character building.

Interpersonal Skills

Participants also acquired various interpersonal skills. A few participants noted that Theatresports had cultivated their communication skills/eloquence (N = 5). Participant 054 shared that “I used to be an introvert and not able to express myself…now I ‘ve enhanced my communication skills, because I need to let other people understand me in the [Theatresports] games”. Theatresports is a form of theater featured by immediate, spontaneous interactions among improvisers on stage, and this encourages participants to brush up on their communication skills/eloquence for improved game play. Since they had to interact with other improvisers on stage, participants also improved their social skills (N = 21). Participant 026 expressed that “I used to have a weird temper, wishing that everybody would please me. So I was really selfish! Maybe I’ve changed…that means I’ve tried to improve myself so that other teammates will feel more comfortable and we can work better with one another!”. Likewise, participant 092 expressed that “ I think my biggest change…is that I began to accept other people more and interact with other people more…we can learn how to communicate with one another and be more considerate/tolerant. Although these elements are not obviously visible, they do exist in an inward way”. This reflects that participants have enhanced their social skills including effective communication, empathic understanding, and emotional regulation, so as to collaborate better with teammates while improvising on stage and maintaining good relationships with others.

Many participants expressed that Theatresports could nurture their team spirit (N = 41) and they understood that teamwork was essential in Theatresports. As participant 025 shared that “…the team can work without me, but I cannot work [in improvisation/play Theatresports] without them”. It was more important and valuable for each member to make the best use of their strengths and perform their roles as a team than to strive for their own personal honour. On the other hand, although participants had to compete with their opponent teams to win the competitions, they were not aggressive or hostile towards their opponents; rather, they realized the importance of sportsmanship (N = 18). They believed that the process, enjoyment, and pursuit of self-advancement during the competition were more important than winning over other people (e.g., participants 014, 033). Not only did they develop good relationships with their teammates, but also with other teams (i.e., opponent teams) (e.g., participant 033). They understood that Theatresports was not meant to engage in aggressive competition for personal achievement, but instead, the opponent teams shared the common goal of co-producing a good show on stage (e.g., 024, 033). As participant 024 said, “The teamwork is not only about teammates, but also the collaboration with the opponents. As we’ve the same goal: To have a good show”. This demonstrates that the participants understand the meaning of sportsmanship in improvisation (ITI, 2017; Johnstone, 1999; TEDx Talks, 2016).

In addition, it is noted that some participants (e.g., 010, 013, 028, 047) mentioned the importance of the audience: participant 010 mentioned that “Theatresports…has no right or wrong; as long as you’ve paid effort and tried hard to convey the messages to the audience…it’s okay”; participant 047 mentioned that “Theatresports…enables youth to choose their self-preferred scenes and roles, and integrate with the audience”, whilst participant 028 said, “When we are in the competition, we want to win, but actually the feedback of the audience is also important. The audience applauds for a reason. They applaud because they believe that it’s a good performance”. This shows that the participants learn the importance of engaging the audience and interacting with the audience during Theatresports.

To summarize, the program can nurture various capabilities among participants, ranging from individual/intrapersonal to interpersonal abilities. The program also enhances participants’ sense of well-being, and nurtures their personality development and mentality.

Participants Found Themselves to be Important in the Program

Some participants believed that the program provided a platform for them to actualize their interests and potentials, such as their interest in acting/performing and the nurturance of these skills (N = 8) (participant 05: “Being able to acquire stage-related knowledge and skills, and accumulate experience is very helpful for me”). Not only did the stage experience surprise them and broaden their horizons (e.g., lighting and sound systems), but they also discovered possibilities (N = 8) within the program. As participant 08 stated: “The world is beyond imagination…Maybe you can act what you think…Maybe…in this team, we work closely with one another…and do what we haven’t come across in daily life”. For participant 046, “…as [Theatresports] is a production by a group of people, there are many unpredictable things that can happen, and we can have many chances to exert our qualities”. As a result, they found the meaning of life (N = 9), and enhanced a sense of efficacy and self-actualization (N = 3). As participant 03: “…Now I have a goal and the determination to pursue my dreams, so I’ve applied a program to learn performing arts, hoping that I can become a stage actor in the future”.

Some participants also mentioned that the program offered a stage for them to show off their qualities (N = 12). Participant 036 expressed that “I like performing on stage, so I enjoy the feeling of being on stage”. Thus, the program helps them establish a sense of identity.

The Importance of Peer Support in the Program

Some participants believed that the program enabled them to establish friendships with other participants (N = 18). As participant 073 said, “From Theatresports, I feel so happy that I can get to know many people, including teammates and good friends who are very positive and supportive…” This shows that friends are important for the participants. It was observed that many participants recognized the importance of peer support (N = 39):

People are beside me and we encourage one another. This gives us…powerful support…Even though there are unhappy moments, they always say “It’s not a big deal” and teammates will not blame one another but encourage one another. I feel happy and receive great support. (Participant 01)

The most impressive moment for me is not the moment when we perform on stage, but the moment when I see people cry backstage, due to happiness, being thrilled, and sadness…since the Assistant Coaches are also young people, they will accompany the participants…and they share their experience with the participants. I think all those scenes are touching. (Participant 027)

At the end, from the competition, we’ve learnt how to perform teamwork and trust our teammates. This is a valuable experience. (Participant 050)

Peers not only helped the participants realize the significance of teamwork and collaborative effort in doing things together, but also served as a source of emotional support during hard times. A sense of family-like connectedness was developed in the program.

In addition, some participants expressed that they had gained a greater understanding of themselves from their peers (N = 2). Participant 013 mentioned that “The most valuable learning for me is that I realize my strengths and weaknesses from the feedback from my teammates, which I hadn’t realized before. I have deep feelings about this”. This shows that peers help participants enhance their self-understanding, which is related to their personal growth.

Other Thoughts and Feelings Expressed by the Participants

Despite the vast number of significant positive outcomes generated by the program, some participants showed negative feelings and emotions towards the program. Participant 089 expressed his anger because his team did not make the final: “(I feel) angry and disappointed…as we’ve put in a lot of effort. It must be an unhappy experience if no results have been achieved”. This suggests that social work intervention might be required to handle participants’ despair after the competitions. Furthermore, participant 085 shared that “I think that everything has become interesting and challenging since I joined Theatresports. Sometimes, I don’t want to get back into the reality. Although I failed this time, I will continue to take part in the competitions in the future”. This suggests that social work intervention may be required to help this participant relate and apply what he has learned from the program to his daily life.

Discussion

The results demonstrated that the participants generally understood the meaning of Theatresports and they endorsed its rules and values. Participants’ personal growth was manifested in different aspects, ranging from interpersonal (e.g. social skills, sense of teamwork, reciprocity) to intrapersonal (e.g. multi-perspective thinking, positive thinking, self-reflective ability) (Larson & Brown, 2007). Also, the program offered a platform for participants to showcase their talents and to be “someone” on stage, which enhanced their self-confidence and meaningfulness in life. Besides, the program created a sense of “big family” where the participants could make friends and receive peer support. All of these aspects reflect that Theatresports, when applied in social work settings as applied theater, can also nurture youth’s all-round personal growth in terms of inner personal growth (e.g., self-confidence, character building), cognitive competences (e.g., problem-solving skills), and social competences (e.g., social skills, teamwork, building of peer relationships), and it empowers them.

It is observed that the participants’ personal growth is more prominent in aspects of self-confidence and social aspects (enhanced social skills, team spirit, and acquisition of peer support). Such personal growth displayed by the participants suggests that the professional involvement by the social workers in facilitating the group processes helps foster the interactions between the participants, which nurtures their quality relationships (Konopka, 1983). From the group, participants are able to acquire skills for conflict resolution and making decisions, which in turn cultivates personal development (Konopka, 1983). Simply put, participants are able to foster personal growth in both individual and group aspects. On the other hand, for the participants who expressed negative emotions and feelings of the program, they appeared to over-emphasize training for games to achieve success, thus became easily overwhelmed by failures and losses (ITI, 2017). In this case, these participants are in need of further follow-up by the social workers, so that they can internalize the essence of improvisation/Theatresports (e.g., positive thinking, embracing failures) (ITI, 2017; Johnstone, 1999). Apart from fostering harmonious communication and group cohesion for group goal achievement, social work also plays a role in helping participants deal with personal issues and gain insights into their problems (Pathare, 2010; Ramos & Bellerin, 2019).

Conclusion

Overally speaking, the program can achieve all-round positive development of youth as expected. Hence, it has great potential for application in social work contexts to facilitate all-round youth development. In Hong Kong, youth work aims at helping young people pursue healthy development, and nurtures them to become responsible individuals who contribute to society by providing various social services (e.g., school social work, services for youth-at-risk, services for drug abusers) (Social Welfare Department, 2020). However, youth work in Hong Kong has also been criticized for overemphazing discipline and correction of youth’s problems (e.g., Chiu, 2005; Tam, 2012). Based on the outcomes of this study, Theatresports can be applied in social work settings as a form of intervention to nurture youth development, enlarging the diversity of youth service provision.

Limitations

One limitation is that this research was cross-sectional, in which the data was collected at a single point in time. In future studies, a longitudinal research can be conducted to understand how the outcomes of the program are brought about by the processes and various elements of the program. Also, a quantitative study can be performed to further inquire into the outcomes and effectiveness of Theatresports programs for youth, such as using outcome variables of social skills and self-esteem.