The Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble comes to Key City Public Theatre with a rare run of open-to-the-public interactive community performances. Two hot-off-the-presses, company-created scripts address challenging and timely social issues – "Dousing the Flame" on youth disempowerment and "Walking the Line" on poverty.

Poetic Justice will present the two plays in repertory, 4 nights only – Friday, May 8 through Monday, May 11 at the Key City Playhouse -- 419 Washington St. in Port Townsend. The play schedule is as follows: Fri, May 8 & Sun, May 10 – “Dousing the Flame” (youth theme); Sat, May 9 & Mon, May 11 “Walking the Line” (poverty theme). All performances start at 7:00 PM and a discussion with the cast follows each night. Admission is pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $10. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. No reservations. For more info, call( 360) 344-3435.

Based on real life experiences and observations of Ensemble members as well as interviews with people in the community, these two short plays invite the audience to explore situations which often go unseen and unaddressed by the community-at-large. Note: “Dousing the Flame” contains some violent imagery which could be upsetting to young children.

For those who have never seen a Poetic Justice performance, what may come as a surprise is the participatory nature of the event. In these performances, the play will be performed once as written. It will then be performed a second time at which point the audience will be invited onstage in order to actively try out solutions to the complex questions raised. This can literally be a rehearsal for the future in which audience spect-actors take action towards creating the kind of world they want. Not sure how to empower yourself through the struggle? Or how best to be an activated citizen in the face of these issues? Here's a chance to brainstorm with others through the playful and evocative language of theatre. Come participate or simply witness the drama unfold!

Now in its 7th season, the Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble is a multi-generational troupe (currently ages 15-81) of local actor/activists who use interactive theatre as a tool for awareness and social change. The approach is based on the Theatre of the Oppressed of Brazilian, Augusto Boal, and Playback Theatre developed by Americans, Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas. These techniques are used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and government legislation. A program of the Port Townsend based Mandala Center for Change, Poetic Justice was developed as a local community resource to stimulate deep dialogue and invite positive action towards the creation of a more just and joyous world for all people.

Why do this at Key City Public Theatre? PJTE founder (and director of last season's KCPT production of "Conference of the Birds"), Marc Weinblatt says, "As most of our performances happen for private audiences and specific populations, this run at KCPT is a chance for more people to participate in our creative form of community dialogue. It is also an opportunity for activists, theatre artists, and anyone to experience the surprising power of theatre for social change."