Timeline

Another important consideration for TSDC facilitators is the project’s timeline. Unlike theatre practitioners who define their role as interpreters or mediators (and work with communities to gather stories and write a play that will then be performed by professional actors), TSDC practitioners need to facilitate the creation of a play while simultaneously training community participants as non-professional performers. That’s a lot to pack into 12 to 15 weeks! Oh, and did we mention that this should be done in a way that creates a relaxed environment and communicates a sense of confidence in the group’s ability to achieve their goal of creating and publicly performing a play?

This is where the art and craft of facilitation sometimes masquerades as magic. To enable the creation and performance of a play in a 12 to 15 week timeframe TSDC facilitators rely on both structural and performance-based tools that include:

• Workshop plans
• Prompts
• Tone and performative modeling
• Script development skills
• Integrating relationship-building social activities — like sharing food, visiting, checking-in, and so on — into every workshop session!