Editor’s Note: True Story Theater is holding a caregivers event on Sunday, Aug. 16. For more details, see our events listing. True Story Theater offering will be on Sept. 24 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Robbins Library.This story was published before the July 11 event.
At a recent True Story Theater event in an Arlington Center for the Arts gallery, a handful of audience members volunteer to briefly share honest, unrehearsed stories around a specific theme. Five performers then act out organic, improvised responses to moments and emotions within the story that moved them.
These True Story Theater events, held nearly every month at locations around Arlington and nearby communities, are an engaging hybrid of theater, storytelling and conversation. Next up is “Stories of Invisible Disabilities” (July 11, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Arlington Center for the Arts) followed by “Stories of Hunger Awareness & Action,” (Sept. 24, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Robbins Library), while recent performances topics included “Stories of Significant Relationships Across Significant Differences” and “Stories from the First Generation.”
The vibe in the room is relaxed more than performative, with an emcee or “conductor” providing encouragement or guiding questions. After a few minutes of listening to the volunteer, each of the actors – Teresa Dias, Anne Ellinger, Darrick Jackson, Jason Jedrusiak, and Johnny Lapham – selects a different angle or detail from the stories, distilling often complex narratives and emotions into evocative movements, a little music, or a few key words, occasionally incorporating a few simple props to make their point.
The result is an evening of surprisingly moving and sometimes amusing insights on issues that are often swirling around us, but we don’t often take the time to articulate, let alone share.
The goal, says True Story Theater Founding director Christopher Ellinger, “is to create conversations in community, raising awareness about issues the community is facing.”
Theater has long been a tool to dramatize social issues and express emotions or create catharsis. Playback Theater, founded 50 years ago by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas in New Palz, New York, incorporates elements of psychodrama (a form of drama therapy) and traditional forms of oral storytelling. There are currently 50 True Story/Playback Theater organizations across the United States and in 70 countries around the world. Ellinger, who has been running his non-profit True Story Theater company for 25 years, says leveraging theater strengthens our empathy through witnessing and listening directly to individuals and their stories.
“It’s an opportunity for people to tell tender stories in a safe space where people are really listening,” he says.
Ellinger says True Story Theater is often hired by organizations looking for help navigating their staff through times of organizational stress, deepening engagement in trainings, or exploring difficult, “hot” topics. True Story’s extensive client list includes Harvard University, Boston Public Schools, Boston Medical Center: stories of people in cancer support groups, and many others.
“We also collaborate with community partners, such as the Arlington Commission on Disability or the Arlington Housing Authority, to honor the lives of people who are feeling invisible or stigmatized,” he says.
Over the course of a 90-minute True Story evening, four to six stories are shared with the actors’ improvised responses. Although an audience may be initially hesitant, Ellinger says he and the company members know how to put people at ease and encourage meaningful conversations, not only with audience members who share their stories with the group, but with everyone in the room.
“The collective fabric has been torn,” says Ellinger, “and this is an opportunity to foster hope, healing, and resilience.”
This story was published on July 6, 2026, and updated to highlight subsequent events. For more information on the Aug. 16 event, and the Sept. 24 event, see the YourArlington events calendar.
