ABSTRACT
This chapter details a research collaboration “Theatre for Relationality” (TfR), which used a design research methodology to design and evaluate the lobby space and post-show programming that one can call “audience engagement events” surrounding a 2019 production of Guarded Girls at Green Light Arts (GLA) in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. TfR was initiated in response to the desire of GLA, a not-for-profit theatre company, to enhance and assess the series of audience engagement events, “FUEL”, that complements productions in its annual season. TfR began to consider what assessment paradigms might help readers understand what audiences were thinking, saying, and doing. TfR’s initial research goal at this phase could be defined as developing a concept model for “community-oriented audience engagement”. TfR’s initial research goal at this phase could be defined as developing a concept model for “community-oriented audience engagement”.
