Theatre of Witness

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · Teya Sepinuck · 1986 · Philadelphia

What it is

Theatre of Witness is not a psychotherapy. It is a model of testimonial performance in which people whose voices have not been heard perform their own true stories, and audiences bear witness to suffering, transformation and peace. Sepinuck developed it from 1986 in Philadelphia and later worked in…

Format

• Individual interviews and preparation. The director meets prospective performers one to one, usually many times, before any group meeting. In Northern Ireland, Sepinuck also told participants about one another before the group met, so nobody arrived "cold".
• Group creative process and scripting. Group interviews and creative process techniques are used. The script is built from interview excerpts and refined with each performer until they are comfortable performing it.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: Teya Sepinuck's Theatre of Witness (ToW) as documented in published interviews and studies of her Philadelphia and Derry/Londonderry (Northern Ireland, 2009–2014) productions, plus her short-format workshops (Penn Memory Center 2016; Glencree 2024). The publisher pages for her book (Sepinuck, 2013, Jessica Kingsley; 240 pp.) confirm its contents, including a closing chapter called "Coda: Guiding…
• Professional frame: Theatre of Witness has no regulated profession and no credential of its own. None of the publisher pages, the Playhouse page or the interviews describes a formal training or certification programme in the method. Sepinuck does run short introductory sessions, such as an online interactive storytelling workshop for Glencree's intergenerational project in August 2024. These are not a training…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• art choices that override a performer's comfort for the sake of effect.
• threats, social-media exposure, or a performer's reluctance to admit fear.
• early alliances along conflict lines. Mix seating and pairings deliberately.
• rising nightmares, sleep loss or absences. Reduce the rehearsal load and review consent.
• an idealised wish to reconcile that hides unresolved rage. Delay them rather than exclude them.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.