Rhizome Theatre… a Theatre for Living:
the art of community-based dialogue

Rhizome Theatre puts theatre in the hands of living communities, making theatre with people rather than making theatre for people.

Rhizome Theatre emerges as an offshoot of the groundbreaking example of David Diamond: the Artistic and Managing Director of Headlines Theatre, in Vancouver, Canada; author of Theatre for Living: the art and science of community-based dialogue (winner of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education 2008 Distinguished Book Award); and, recipient of the 1996 City of Vancouver Cultural Harmony Award.

Theatre for Living, as David Diamond describes his approach, is “about people being the experts in their own lives and being able to use theatre as a means of creating change. The process gives a community the opportunity to develop “emotional intelligence” — using a symbolic language to investigate alternative approaches to hard-to-talk-about issues. This is a first step towards dealing with difficult topics — moving towards open communication and realities that living communities want in an active and entertaining way.”

Physicist and systems theorist Fritjof Capra echoes Diamond: “Theatre for Living is about empowerment, about using the language of theatre to help communities become more connected within themselves and thus more alive, creative and capable of bringing about meaningful change… This book [and method] can be inspiring to anyone concerned about the future of humanity, both inside and outside the theatre.”

Rhizome Theatre partners with social purpose organizations to put Theatre for Living workshops and performances in the hands of living communities.

Inquiries are welcome: outreach@rhizometheatre.com.