For the Youth Leadership for Peace Theater Troupe, planning a participatory theater performance means creating dialogue around Kyrgyzstan’s most challenging conflicts while also sharing a laugh with fellow youth leaders. During a recent rehearsal retreat, the Theater Troupe developed and practiced two forum theater performances centered on issues of labor migration, youth alcohol abuse, and predatory informal money lending. The Theater Troupe’s first national performance will take place on Kyrgyzstan’s Day of Youth in early November.
The Youth Leadership for Peace Theater Troupe is funded by the United States Institute of Peace [8]. Actors in the Theater Troupe were initially trained in Drama for Conflict Transformation (DCT) methodology through the Youth Theater for Peace [9] program funded by USAID [10].