Partner

Transitions International

TImeline

October 2019 - August 2020

Team

Jeff M. Poulin, Principal

Kathleen Hill, Researcher

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The Theater and Policy Salon was designed to build a community of theatergoers who are passionate about policy and plays that speak to policy issues. 

The vibrant Washington, DC-area theater scene produces a panoply of topical plays each season, often with aligned and overlapping themes.  However, each production (and accompanying educational and engagement activities) are marketed and sold separately through the individual channels of each theater.  As a result, audiences miss out on opportunities to see multiple perspectives as well as to deepen understanding of critical issues.   For example, in Fall 2017, Studio Theatre, Forum Theatre, The Clarice, and Shakespeare Theatre Company at the National Academy of Sciences all independently performed plays delving into scientific dilemmas of the mind-body and nature versus nurture. Area theater audiences may have seen some of these productions but few experienced the full series of theatrical perspectives on this epochal scientific quandary.   More significantly, theater, science, and policy audiences missed the opportunity to address the societal implications raised by the plays in a focused, rigorous conversation.

During this pilot, each Salon served as a venue for audience members to process and harness reactions sparked by the theatrical work. The program aimed to transform a pattern of periodic encounters among audience members and policymakers into a community engaging in a sustained conversation over several months. The Theater and Policy Salons will energized audience engagement for plays with contemporary relevance while encouraging dialogue about real world policy connections.

Looking towards the future, the Salons can provide an outlet for audiences to address contemporary issues while expanding dialogue between policymakers, audiences, and theatre community in the Washington, D.C. region.  The Salon can both provide connective tissue and add new actionable responses to the existing performance-specific panels and symposia offered by individual theaters.

1.

To evaluate the impact of educational opportunities for the community of policy-interested theatre goers in Washington, D.C.

2.

To develop a resource bank relevant to the curated performances for each theme in several salons.

3.

To reimagine the Theatre & Policy Salon brand and increase participation in the DC theatre community.