Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Department

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

Abstract

A collaboration between a theatre company, a university and

eight community organizations culminated in an applied theatre

project entitled “Living Below the Line.” Residents living with

poverty were invited to become co-creators of a new play,

which was performed in five local venues. The project’s objectives

were 1) the provision of a respectful, supportive, empowering

and creative process for the co-creators, and 2) increased

understanding of the effects of poverty for audience members

and the larger community. This paper reports the findings of the

evaluation, which indicate that the objectives were met in several

ways: 1) the co-creators felt uplifted by the support of their

colleagues and the positive response from the community; 2)

they felt their stories of lived experience were respected, and

they appreciated the opportunity to learn new skills; 3) the

audiences reported increased awareness and understanding of

the issues leading to poverty while being simultaneously deeply

moved and entertained. Analysis of the findings indicate that

skillful management of the ethical issues and sensitive accommodation

of the co-creators’ physical, mental and emotional

challenges were key to the success of the project.

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