Abstract

This paper utilizes a heuristic, arts-based research methodology to investigate the relationship between play and mental health from the researcher’s subjective experience. This paper is the research paper accompaniment to the theatrical performance piece, titled: The Opposite of Play. The paper contains a literature review that includes research on the benefits of play, with a particular focus on play in adulthood and the connection between play and mental health. The paper also includes a description of heuristic research methodology, explored through the context of the researcher’s personal experience of using heuristic methodology to explore her experiences and create a performance piece using the method of devised theatre. The final portion of this paper consists of the researcher’s reflections on the process, as well as the result of the heuristic process- the script for the theatrical performance piece.