This CRS module will require research and civic engagement as a means to ultimately create a play. The first semester will focus on research and interview methodology, and best practices for establishing and cultivating relationships within a community. We will explore the work of companies and artists that have successfully used similar practices to create engaging theater, including The Civilians, American Records, Tectonic Theatre Project, Anna Deavere Smith, Lynn Nottage and the team behind Come From Away. The class will give students an opportunity to use dramatic tools to shape a given community’s story, and ultimately to see and feel how powerful a tool theatre can be when it grows out of active engagement with a specific place and population. Students will be graded on their efforts both in and outside of the classroom, and guided through all steps of the research and creative process.