Interactive theatre to engage faculty in difficult dialogues: First implementation

Science and Engineering have struggled to diversify the faculty and students in terms of race/ethnicity and gender. Typical approaches to addressing this problem have not been successful, suggesting more innovative approaches are needed. The University of San Diego (USD) received a National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE grant entitled AFFIRM (Advancement of Female Faculty: Institutional climate, Recruitment and Mentoring) which aims to improve the experiences and career development of all women faculty through climate initiatives, mentoring and professional development. As part of AFFIRM, our multidisciplinary team is exploring an innovative methodology known as "Interactive Theatre" to engage faculty in difficult dialogues and sensitive subjects. In this work in progress, we discuss the first Interactive Theatre presentation at USD including the interactive theatre method, results from the climate study we conducted to provide data for developing the skits, details of the interactive theatre experience, responses from the attendees, and key lessons learned.