AUGUST 2011 64868 ABOUT THE AUTHOR BEN SAYPOL Interactive Theater, an Engaging Knowledge worked as a Short-Term Consultant in the Investment Management Tool for IFC Training! Climate Department of the World Bank Group and has been working in interactive When seeking to engage a community and disseminate critical knowledge and and community-based theater skills, experience points to one of the most innovative, engaging, and effective for seven years. He is currently the Artistic Director of Theater learning tools available. Interactive Theater has been successfully applied to Delta, a company that uses theater for social change raise awareness, challenge attitudes, and influence behaviors around a wide around the globe. variety of issues in diverse settings. Examples include public health and conflict APPROVING MANAGERS resolution issues in international communities, faculty development issues on Benjamin Herzberg, Public- university campuses, social justice issues in colleges and high schools, and Private Dialogue Global Product Specialist, Investment Climate physician-patient communication in hospitals and medical schools. The Department, World Bank Group. Cecilia Sager, Manager, (CICIN), question at hand this past spring was: could Interactive Theater be adapted Investment Climate Department, and applied to engage and train stakeholders who work to foster public- World Bank Group. private dialogue and private sector development in developing nations? The answer was a resounding “Yes.� This SmartLesson describes how Interactive Theater was successfully used as a learning tool by the Investment Climate Department during two sessions of the 6th Annual International Workshop on Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) in Vienna, Austria in June 2011. Background IFC practitioners have struggled over the years be helpful, if it is not realistic and applicable when addressing one critical aspect of capacity to the situation at hand, it can seem contrived. building—behavior change, which is often a In both cases, the forms fall short of addressing significant challenge, given how deep-rooted stakeholder behavior change. behavior can be. Historically, IFC practitioners have conducted numerous trainings primarily Seeing an opportunity to address this in two ways: delivering information-dense deficiency, the Investment Climate content, and providing situational role- Department hired an Interactive Theater playing. The former often comes in the form expert to carry out a workshop for PPD of case studies and theoretical frameworks for practitioners and stakeholders during the best practices, and presenters often employ conference in Vienna. The tools of PowerPoint or similar didactic methods. The Interactive Theater were adapted and latter endeavors to place people in simulations used as knowledge management of real-life situations so they can apply content techniques designed to influence behavior in practice, and the most common medium change for 100 participating practitioners used is that of role-playing. and stakeholders from over 20 countries. Both forms have had impact and success in Project Description educating and training, but it is important to acknowledge the challenges and limitations The Objective of each. The didactic methods are often abstract, and audience members sometimes The objective of the workshop was to improve struggle to connect the technical information knowledge and skills necessary to effectively to actual practice. And, while role-playing can engage in public-private dialogue in order to SMARTLESSONS — AUGUST 2011 1 improve the investment climate, build capacity, strengthen They were charged to facilitate their own discussion and advocacy, and foster governance in communities. Desired seek answers to these questions: learning outcomes included developing strategies to: build mutual trust among the parties through communication of » Why did your character make the choices he/she did? shared vision; include all parties in the dialogue and prevent What motivates them? one person from capturing the agenda; increase empathy and perspective; and increase the transparency of the process. » What are the three guiding principles of PPD that your characters should have used to achieve a positive At the workshops in the five previous years, interactive case result to promote private sector development? studies were used, but they were limited in their ability to address the challenging PPD issues of communication, » Based on those principles, can you identify three inclusion, transparency, and identity—issues that are concrete strategies your character should use if he/she directly linked to behavior change. Interactive Theater were to continue the dialogue? proved to be an ideal pedagogical method to address these issues, because the techniques operate via a progressive, • An opportunity for participants, at their own tables, to multilevel structure. The result is engagement and portray one of the four characters and continue the investment of the participants, who maximize their own scene/dialogue from where it left off. abilities to increase understanding of PPD and to encourage the implementation of best practices. • Another public performance of the continuation of the scene, but this time with four willing and energetic The Structure participants serving as the actors. This Interactive Theater exercise was constructed according • Another post-performance conversation: After a round to a reliable and comprehensive protocol consisting of in- of applause for the participant-actors, a PPD expert, depth research, key informant interviews, observation of along with a discussant from one of the country PPD videos, brainstorming, outlining, role-playing, writing, delegations, facilitated a conversation with all revision, and rehearsal. This thorough process ensured the participants exploring the lessons learned from the realism of the scenes and motivation for the participants to exercise. interact with the scenes. After extensive prep work, and the securing of volunteer local actors in Vienna, rehearsals were The Scenes conducted for a couple of days before the actual workshop. The Interactive Theater exercise for participants then took Two scenes were composed: Times Are Changing Part I and place over two days. On Day 1, the focus was on designing Times are Changing Part II (Snippets from the Bob Dylan and managing PPDs, including those in post-crisis song for which they are named opened and closed each environments; on Day 2, it turned to improving inclusion scene). In the first scene, the civil war in Literavia (a fictional and governance in PPD platforms. place not related to any real delegation) has recently ended and pending elections have been postponed yet again. Each exercise followed this basic structure: Maximillian, the port operator, initiates a meeting in his offices to jump-start a dialogue process on private sector • A brief introduction to the Interactive Theater exercise development. He invites Karen, a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Albert, the head of the Chamber • A 10-12 minute scripted scene presented by the actors of Commerce, and Amelia, the donor from the International Aid Society. The three main issues are: How should the PPD • An opportunity for participants to react to and process be organized? Where should it be situated? Who should the scene in four randomly predetermined groups, each lead? focusing on one of the four characters in the scene. The second scene takes place a year later. A secretariat has been formed and a Literavian diaspora returnee named Solomon has been appointed as the PPD coordinator. The first business forum is around the corner. It will be the first time that such an event is televised. The office is bustling with activity. Miss Mona, the young competent administrative assistant, is dealing with a barrage of phone calls and logistical tasks. Solomon has called a meeting with Maximillian and Karen (carryovers from the last scene who are leading the working groups on Infrastructure and Finance, respectively) to deal with an issue that has come up. Each group has submitted A scene from Times Are Changing, an Interactive Theater eight to ten reform proposals instead of the required five, exercise conducted with practitioners and stakeholders and none is willing to cut down. The main issues are: attending the 6th Annual International Workshop on Whose voices are being heard? And how transparent are Public-Private Dialogue. (Photo by Shihab Ansari Azhar) the decisions when dealing with the reform agenda through a PPD? 2 SMARTLESSONS — AUGUST 2011 Lessons Learned 1) Extensive preparation and consistent communication between Interactive Theater practitioners and project managers are critical. Both need to ensure that the theater exercises used are best suited to the stated objectives and learning outcomes, and that the scenes are realistic. Project managers know their field the best and must serve as topical experts at key stages of the research and creative process. For this workshop, project managers provided the Interactive Theater practitioner with the PPD Handbook Practitioners and stakeholders participating in the 6th and ten short videos describing PPDs or exemplifying actual Annual International Workshop on Public-Private Dialogue PPD activity. During the research phase, project managers delve into the character of Maximillian the Port Operator, and the interactive theater practitioner developed learning breaking down the character in a self-facilitated dialogue. outcomes and themes/issues to be covered in each of the (Photo by Shihab Ansari Azhar) scenes. During the brainstorming sessions, project managers described in depth their experiences in the field, and the Interactive Theater practitioner explained what he learned witness a scenario researched and written in order to portray from the handbook and videos. From that conversation, the stakeholders’ reality with accuracy. They experience it the scenes were outlined. Once the drafts were written, project way it happens to them. Secondly, participants are allowed to managers provided valuable feedback to ensure accuracy react and respond to the drama not only from their individual and realism. Finally, after the Interactive Theater practitioner point of view but also from that of one of the characters. This cast and directed the scenes, project managers watched a step encourages “perspective-taking� and empathy. Thirdly, rehearsal and offered additional feedback. participants are gently thrust into the conflict that occurred on stage and given the opportunity to enact solutions that The two parties also put their heads together to design a they have devised, as well as to witness others doing the quality set of interactive theater exercises, based on the same. Finally, participants are again afforded an opportunity scene, which would best address the communication, to react and take part in a post-performance conversation, inclusion, transparency, and identity issues. The Interactive and then they hear from experts who tie it all together and Theater practitioner explained a variety of techniques from add applicable information in context. In short, Interactive his theatrical toolbox, and the team worked together to Theater succeeds because it is not just a simple one- choose what they thought would work best. dimensional role-play; rather, it is a complex progressive process. Great lengths are taken to ensure that the 2) When creating characters, strike a balance between participants invest—organically and fully—in the simulation. caricature antagonists and bland, viceless people. 4) When devising an Interactive Theater module, allow One dramaturgical challenge was how to depict realistic adequate time to complete all of the necessary tasks characters with stereotypical attributes to aid the narrative, included in the research and creative process. but without portraying pejorative stereotypes. On the on hand, one should not create caricature antagonists, because Fifteen days over three months was not quite adequate the scene will seem cartoon-like. The audience will shut off to complete the myriad tasks involved –– especially due to and not recognize the possibility to influence the characters the fact that two scenes/exercises were created instead of and affect change. On the other hand, one must not draw one. An additional 3-5 days of time would be better, squeaky-clean characters or there will be no conflict in the depending on the scope and objectives of the project. scene. The creative team imbued each character with This project required the Interactive Theater practitioner stereotypical characteristics typical to PPDs around the world to locate and recruit local volunteer actors in Vienna, but made them extremely well intentioned. Each character which was very time-consuming. Two days and two earnestly wanted to help the private sector of Literavia, but mornings provided only the bare minimum for a made certain choices rooted in self-interest that inhibited competent performance. An additional day of rehearsal that process. As a result, these characters remained accessible would have increased the quality of the acting. to the audience members, who then sought to change the characters’ behaviors as the exercise proceeded. 5) When utilizing Interactive Theater, work in conjunction with a knowledge management coordinator for support. 3) The Interactive Theater exercises, facilitated in conjunction with the theatrical scenario, must include While Interactive Theater is an innovative and effective audience dialogue and action, as well as be progressive— tool, it is more effective when it is adapted in consultation each step of the process building upon the previous one. with the Knowledge Management professional working with the particular unit. This will ensure that the objectives The Interactive Theater medium functions best because it and learning outcomes are properly met. The success of provides participants with a progressive, multilevel structure. this Interactive Theater workshop was greatly aided by the Each step builds upon the one preceding it. Firstly, participants contribution of the Knowledge Management professional, SMARTLESSONS — AUGUST 2011 3 Anecdotal evidence reports that participants would use the theater exercise as a point of reference during subsequent sessions at the conference. For example, one person said, “We have a clear Karen situation in our country – a lot of talk and governmental inertia.� Another said, “Albert acts exactly like the head of our Chamber of Commerce.� These two examples show the Interactive Theater exercise not only rings true but also stays with the participants. Two participants in the 6th Annual International Workshop on Public-Private Conclusion Dialogue volunteer to continue the theatrical scene for the entire group, after There is tremendous potential for adapting everyone had a chance to try it at their and applying Interactive Theater to address respective tables. One plays the role of pressing issues in teams and communities Albert, the head of the Chamber of around the globe, including those in public Commerce, and another plays Karen, the health, social justice, and conflict resolution. permanent secretary in the Ministry of Replicating this process for Interactive Theater Commerce. (Photo by Shihab Ansari Azhar) projects to influence learning and change in other communities is absolutely feasible. It is important to note that the above set of who provided input from the project interactive theater exercises offers just one proposal phase through to the identification example of many possible combinations. of the relevant deliverables. The entire There is a wide variety of theatrical tools. project was steered in the right direction Custom design is both possible and desirable. from its inception. In point of fact, Interactive Theater tends to 6) Evaluate Interactive Theater–based have a poor reputation among professionals. interventions. Initial resistance is common among physicians, university faculty, and even students at the A short evaluation form was distributed and high school and college level. Sometimes that collected after the second Interactive Theater reputation is merited, since Interactive exercise on Day 2. The data reveal an Theater, if not done well, comes off as cheesy, extremely positive response from audience contrived, and a waste of precious time. It is members to the realism of the scenario and likely that the stakeholders of PPD were characters, as well as to the interactive skeptical at first. format. In addition, the data indicate significant learning, and an intention to apply However, when implemented correctly, the knowledge and skills to their PPD practice. Interactive Theater is a powerful and effective tool to achieve knowledge management • 94 percent agreed that “The two scenes goals, especially those that are strongly tied to and the characters were realistic,� with 53 human behavior. When audience members percent strongly agreeing (Average: 3.5/4) engage issues through theater – characters and conflict in a public performance space – DISCLAIMER • 97 percent agreed that “The opportunity they are likely to explore and change their SmartLessons is an awards to analyze and perform the roles of the own attitudes and behaviors. Ultimately, this program to share lessons learned in development-oriented advisory characters was an engaging way to engaging medium allows participants to services and investment address the issues raised during the practice solutions for change – on their feet operations. The findings, sessions,� with 50 percent strongly and in real time. interpretations, and conclusions agreeing (Average: 3.5/4) expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFC • 94 percent agreed that “After experiencing or its partner organizations, the this Interactive Theater exercise, I have a Executive Directors of The World better understanding of guiding principles Bank or the governments they for effective PPDs,� with 32 percent represent. IFC does not assume any responsibility for the strongly agreeing (Average: 3.3/4) completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this • 97 percent agreed that “I intend to apply document. Please see the terms what I have learned to my PPD work,� with and conditions at www.ifc.org/ 38 percent strongly agreeing (Average: smartlessons or contact the program at smartlessons@ifc.org. 3.4/4) 4 SMARTLESSONS — AUGUST 2011