Beyond the cell margin: laboratory-theatre and observational practices for the resignification of the self

Abstract

This paper examines the rehabilitative path within Juvenile Penal Institutions (IPM) in light of Article 27 of the Italian Constitution, highlighting the rehabilitative purpose of punishment as the core of social reintegration. In the juvenile context, this principle assumes a distinct pedagogical meaning: deviance is reinterpreted as a drive for self-assertion in response to relational and emotional voids, which are typical of personalities still developing. Here, the educator acts as a mediator between the institution’s directive role and the individual’s self-actualization. Methodologically, the theatre laboratory functions as a key tool for a systematic "expansion of the experience field." The theoretical framework is supplemented by a proposed pedagogical observation model, which, integrated into the "Scientific Observation of Personality," outlines three phases to monitor individual and group dynamics. This approach encourages "capability" processes, transforming detention into a period of learning to redefine the self beyond the confines of the cell.