Abstract: For the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons at Steppenwolf Theatre I edited a series of essays we called First Person. These essays appeared in our program and were personal reflections on the plays in production at the theatre. When I was asked to write for Theatre Survey about “ how theatre can change lives and impact underserved communities,” I thought of that essay series, now on hiatus. Anecdotal evidence informed me that people in our audiences emotionally responded to the series, just as they often emotionally responded to our plays. But does eliciting an emotional response rise to the level of “changing lives?” I suspect not, especially if that notion of change is meant to be on a par with “impacting underserved communities.”
Aaron Carter (2016) studied this question.