Theater of Witness

Theater of Witness has been recognized as a Zone of Peace by the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia for fostering healing, empathy, and wholeness in participants and the audiences that see their stories brought to life on stage and film. They have taught medical students to understand what a patient experiences and helped law enforcement understand prison life. Theater of Witness offers testimonial performance and documentary films highlighting people sharing their personal stories of suffering, transformation and peace. Artistic Director Teya Sepinuck brings together people across divides of difference to bear witness to each other’s life experiences. Performers who have survived trauma, marginalization, oppression, and the complexity of human experience, address some of society’s most challenging issues from a multiplicity of perspectives

Performances weave the performers’ experiences together with music, spoken word, visual imagery and film into dynamic theater that humanizes the ‘other’ and cultivates compassion and empathy. The result is authentic, raw, and powerful theater that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.

Thirty-five productions addressing a wide variety of social issues have been created by Theater of Witness over the last thirty years. Some of the issues addressed have been religious / political warfare in Northern Ireland, police / community relations in Philadelphia, lifelong imprisonment, the murder of family members, and the loss of loved ones via Alzheimer’s Disease.

Film clips are available on the website: http://www.theaterofwitness.org/ as are links to complete performances on the web and directions for obtaining DVDs. Workshops, study guides, and discussion questions can be made available to promote thoughtful exploration of the issues that are addressed by Theater of Witness.