In his essay “Translations: The Distinction Between Social and Civic Practice and Why I Find It Useful,” Michael Rohd defines civic practice as “activity where an artist employs the assets of his/her craft in response to the needs of non-arts partners as determined through ongoing relationship-based dialogue. The impulse of what to make comes out of the relationship, not an artist-driven proposal.” You’ll find lots of content putting these ideas into action in this section.
NoPassport collaborates with The Vicious Circle for Gun Control Theatre/New Media Action Week to keep the dialoge through art alive on the subject of gun reform globally
Alex Ates writes of a production of Love's Labour's Lost during the Boston Marathon Bombing, and the healing and cathartic qualities of community theater.
Michael Rohd writes about the importance of listening when collaborating with civic partners, and how sharing assets may just be the key to uniting theaters with the communities they serve.
The Public Theater presented panels on the arts during economic crisis and the work of socially conscious performance at the Under the Radar Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Thursday 10 January to Sunday 13 January 2013.
The needs of non-arts organizations, and theatre artists' assets can intersect through Civic Practice. This guide from Michael Rohd offers examples of application and what this work can accomplish.
The creation of Our City, a performance night based in civic duties, reminds us to keep the connection of art and civic life as they both feed each other.
What happens when we release the idea that dramatic texts must conform to predetermined durations and allow them, like life itself, to take the time they need?
Applied theatre has always been about people: whom it's for, whom it's with. How do these questions transform when the work moves from the field to the page?
What happens when an applied theatre practitioner is forced to step away from the field? Can there be a form of playwriting rooted in the principles of applied theatre, yet crafted for the page?
A Six-Episode Laboratory for Experimenters with Form
An exploration of applied-theatre-inspired closet dramas with an experimental approach to playwriting that is born not from an established practice, but from the stubborn need to keep making despite distance.
Contributors share final reflections on the attraction of prison theatre workshops. They explore the importance of being seen in all one’s complexities and discuss how imagining the world on stage manifests a vision for the real world. Finn and Jan affirm their workshop experience together.
Presentation by Iman Aoun, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah, Palestine
Monday 16 March 2026
New York City and Ramallah, Palestine
The Theatre of the Oppressed NYC and Friends of Ashtar Theatre hosted an online presentation by Iman Aoun, co-founder and executive director of Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah, Palestine. Iman shared about Ashtar Theatre’s Forum Theatre projects, as well as the current context of the organization’s work, including a pilot for a theatre academy.
This episode covers what happens to Jan after she is banned from the workshop and Finn when he is released. Ausettua and Kathy create the Graduates for women to continue theatre when they get out, and the Free Mama Glo campaign launches. Jess supports of returning citizens. Rand discusses the challenges of reentry.
In this episode, personal relationships between Finn and Jan and Alex and Kevin fall apart. Collective efforts like the Trenton workshop and the street theatre house, which took great care to build, collapse. How long it takes to build something; how quickly it can tumble.
In this episode, wonderful and terrible things are done while in the thrall of love. Jan and Finn go beyond their comfort level in trying to provide what the other needs. Alex and Kevin’s loving friendship is undercut by racial tension. Jess is unfairly accused of romantic ties in her prison workshops.
In this episode, looking at the world from each other’s perspectives stretches participants personally and artistically. This can be sobering, like dealing with white privilege; inspiring, like seeing the value of self-agency for all; or both, like Jan and Finn’s different ideas about love and community.
In this episode, shows develop in the various workshops. The impact of making, performing, and being seen in multiple dimensions deepens interpersonal relationships and a sense of purpose. Jan and Finn’s relationship thrives through the meaningfulness of collectively creating with each other and the group.
