Participatory Theater

We use participatory theater as an innovative tool to spread information and solve problems collaboratively in even the most remote areas of Liberia.

At our theater events, the actors perform a play that highlights a real community problem. In this way, the play addresses ongoing conflicts without “calling out” particular groups or individuals. Throughout the event, the audience participates by adapting, changing, or correcting a situation that develops during the performance. This form of theater allows participants to explore attitudes and engage in dialogue, in turn stimulating positive social change. Our success has hinged on our ability to stay culturally relevant, entertaining, and accessible to all Liberians so they can engage together on issues that affect their daily lives.

Today, as with radio dramas, we use participatory theater to support children’s school enrollment. This particular initiative, carried out in partnership with the Education Development Center and the Ministry of Education, is geared toward enrolling 48,000 out-of-school children and teenagers through the provision of the Accelerated Learning Program.

In November 2018, as part of an independent evaluation of the project’s impact, the majority of respondents (including parents, teachers, and administrators) indicated that children were returning to school in droves in the target communities. “We saw our life in the play. What we are doing in this town was shown to us in the play. Instead of sending our children to school, we make them work on our farms. And that is not right,” said one of the interviewees.