ABSTRACT
The theatrical debate is an interactive theater format that brings citizens together for a joint exploration of their ideas and concerns. Staging the societal future of emerging technologies in vivid, open-ended situations that invite multiple interpretations, the theatrical debate offers a reflexive methodology to engage in experimental. "Emerging technologies" is a catchphrase used frequently throughout the literature to depict the rise of a set of technologies that is currently being developed — will develop in the near future — and is expected to alter our lives and environments in substantial ways. The dynamic exploration of indeterminate situations that we have witnessed during the theatrical debate performances are a compelling demonstration of how the notion of dramatic rehearsal can be put into practice in the context of public engagement and the ethical assessment of emerging technologies. Most approaches to the management and control of emerging technologies have tried to reduce uncertainty by anticipating possible negative consequences and modulating development trajectories towards positive ends.
