Over six sessions in Vienna, the UNMASC! workshops unfolded as raw, honest, and transformative spaces. Guided by Danilo Jovanović’s Open Soul method and joined by artist Zana Hoxha during the final workshop, participants—primarily young FLINTA* individuals—used their personal stories as material for collective exploration.
This method is taking personal stories, experiences, and memories of performers as a starting point for creative research. There are no less or more important stories or perspectives; eve rything that exists in the rehearsal room has creative potential. The development of a theater piece relies on principles of devised theater. This means that all content, text and specific stories are built during the rehearsals through joint work of the director, performers and entire creative team involved in a specific production.
Through role-play, storytelling, and embodied reflection, the group questioned toxic masculinity, power dynamics, and the weight of gendered expectations. In a space rooted in authenticity, vulnerability became strength, and storytelling became resistance.
From laughter to tears, from rage to care, the Vienna workshops reminded us that healing begins where stories are shared, believed, and transformed into art. 
