This was a fascinating and high energy conversation – we seemed to be excited about the possibilities of this kind of work. There was a huge amount discussed at the below notes really can't do justice to the range and depth of thought taking place, it was just what I was able to capture.

CONTENT
- Does the heroes journey cause us catharsis so that we don’t feel the need to take action? What if we tell stories about heroes who nearly make it but fall at the last hurdle? What if the heroes are flawed and overcome failure? Trevor Griffith’s The Party is a debate amongst a group of activists which is inconclusive; does that spur the audience on to action? How to give the audience their own call to adventure and make them the hero?
- Does it sell us on the illusion that a change in an individual negates the need for communal or societal changes? Can we tell stories about groups changing?
- What emotions generate change? Anger has great energy to it, sadness possibly less so.
- What stories put us, the audience under pressure?
- EMPATHY – stories can cause us to sympathise with people who are different from us, which on its own can be a transformative thing. Is a transformation in awareness or attitude the same as taking action (yes, probably.)
- Should our stories offer solutions, or even opinions, or is it more powerful to leave audiences to draw their own conclusions, should we enable discovery not dictate? Or do we run the risk of leaving people hopeless.
- HOPE – incredibly powerful and necessary for change. Or is it? Cathy Come Home was bleak but galvanised action.
- APATHY is the enemy.
- Is creating a sense of community in an audience (See Victor Turner’s theory of Communitas) in itself a positive act?

FORM
- Immersive? Interactive? Game based? Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed where the audience comes up and inhabits the drama and attempts to change it.
- HUMOUR. A laugh can signal a change in consciousness. Especially a laugh followed by a sudden silence.
- The context around a work – does it feature a call to arms at the end? A facilitated post-show discussion? One project was cited which asked audience members to commit to take action to support asylum seekers and one audience member later reported that she volunteered at Calais as a result – TOTAL WIN!!! Mailing list, hashtag, follow up email, buddying up, stopping a show mid-way through to invite conversation with those nearby.

AUDIENCE
- Preaching to the choir. SOMETIMES THE CHOIR NEEDS PREACHING AT! Sometimes a burnt out group of people who already care about a topic need galvanising and re-inspiring. This is as important as bringing new people on side. BUT you would probably tell different stories in different ways to those two groups. Who are our audience and what do they need.

MISC
- Who are we to say what action people should take? OR Who are we to waste people’s time by throwing problems at them without offering solutions?
- One story will not change it but a movement of artists telling stories can change a culture.