The Civilians were founded in 2001. Our work often combines aspects of journalism with a creative process. We like to engage directly with the real world through interviews, community residencies and other experiences in order to create new theater from creative inquiries into the most vital questions of the present.

The method we use was derived from an interview method we learned from the director Les Waters, which he helped develop with the Joint Stock Theater Company in London. While The Civilians’ artistic process as changed over the years, many of the original principles remain, and continue to guide our interview process.

• Try and ask open ended questions. Something that will lead to a story, rather than a yes or no answer.  For example, “Do you remember the last trip you took together?” or “How did you tell us you were getting divorced?” The trick is to try and get them to speak freely.

• Let the answers lead the questions.  If, when you ask them "Was there an object you fought over in the divorce?" they say "Oh yes, definitely: the bottle opener", try to avoid contradicting them, even if you know for a fact that the wedding china was the main obsession in your house all through your teen years.  Instead, ask them about the bottle opener, and why it meant so much to both of you, and see where it all goes.

• Resist the temptation to verbally react to what they're saying.  This is a hard rule to stick to, especially when interviewing your parents (we had some trouble with this one. Check out this exchange between actress Jennifer Morris and her mom AUDIO LINK).  Let the interviewee go on and on if they want to. We've found the longer people talk, the more likely they are to reveal something new and unexpected.

• Don’t feel like you have to get the Whole Story.   If there's stuff you feel like you've missed, you can always ask them again later; you may get a completely new story.  

• And finally, don’t forget to test your recorder.

Good Luck!