Contact Dr. Mouzet with questions: aureliam@email.arizona.edu
Talk-it-OUT! is an inquiry-based theater workshop program that teaches students how to use interactive performance techniques to spark meaningful conversation and raise awareness about challenges facing today’s youth.
Program participants are undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Arizona, primarily from the College of Humanities. Through guided discussion, students develop original skits (in English) based on topics relevant to contemporary life experiences. These skits may be performed at schools, universities, libraries, and community centers, allowing students to engage with the public through three interactive theater methods:
- Forum Theatre: Participants perform scenes involving everyday conflicts. Audience members are then invited to step in, offer solutions, or direct actors to try out different outcomes.
- Image Theatre: Participants use still images to represent personal experiences or challenges. These images are then interpreted and reshaped by the audience, using the performers’ bodies to explore different perspectives—especially useful for younger audiences or non-verbal engagement.
- Playback Theatre: Audience members share real-life stories, which are then dramatized on the spot by the actors in creative, improvisational form.
Through these methods, Talk-it-OUT! helps students and audiences practice active listening, creative problem solving, and collaborative thinking. The program encourages participants to reflect on real-world issues—such as peer pressure, digital habits, disabilities, mental well-being, etc.—while developing strong communication and critical thinking skills.
The broader goal is to help students become more engaged and thoughtful members of a global society by building tools for connection, empathy, and constructive dialogue.
Talk-it-OUT ! Program Director:
Dr. Aurélia Mouzet
Assistant Professor Francophone Studies, University of Arizona
aureliam@email.arizona.edu