“The value of theatre lies in the idea of ‘play’. It is the concept of ‘play’ which is common to all theatre, from a main-house production of the ‘play’ King Lear, through site-specific performance art, to the most basic of improvisations,” says The Social Impact Study of UK Theater by Dr. Bill McDonnell, Professor Dominic Shellard of the University of Sheffield. They go on to say, “It is this flexibility which allows us to use theatre to help address social problems, promote cross-cultural understanding or celebrate community life.” Twin Cities performing artists in particular have a history of using theater’s extreme flexibility to transport people to worlds apart as a tool for achieving community equity and social change.  

In this episode, TTT’s Andy Driscoll and Michelle Alimoradi discuss how Twin Cities artists are using performance art to build community.