NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont.—As the Pevensie siblings stepped through a wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia on the Shaw Festival’s main stage , a different kind of theatre was unfolding in a rehearsal hall downstairs.

Here, the players weren’t actors but doctors. And instead of playing to an audience, they were engaged in drama-based exercises designed to enhance the art of caregiving. A fast-paced improv game tackled listening skills; another focused on acknowledging one’s shortcomings.

This was Theatre of Medicine, a unique new professional development program where empathy is in the spotlight, and the goal isn’t applause, but a more meaningful connection with patients.

The three-day workshop, the brainchild of Shaw movement director Alexis Milligan and in partnership with the

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