Q. If you had to describe it in 25 words or less, what IS TransFormance Theatre?

A. It's an accelerated learning methodology that engages people emotionally, physically, and spiritually, as well as intellectually. Since we're using improvisational theatre to tell the real stories of what's going on in a company, everyone's attention is heightened, and the challenges, successes and short-comings of the organization are highlighted for rapid learning. Well, that's almost 25 words...

Q. How can TransFormance Theatre best be used in meeting design? How can a company or an organization really utilize your services?

A. By integrating TransFormance Theatre into the flow of other presentations that are part of the meeting. We often alternate between the real stories in the organization, large group discussions, and improv enactments. There's a strong flow that gets established easily between meeting facilitators, i.e. in-house leaders, and us. We do our homework in advance, interviewing your people and researching the organization's issues, so we're prepared to perform a range of stories that are unfolding in the company. For instance, at a Boeing HR meeting, in front of a thousand people, TransFormance Theatre got the CEO, Phil Condit, to tell his own story - how he came to be a risk-taking leader, what obstacles he had to face in his career, and in his own company. It was riveting, because everyone was dying to hear what he experienced, AND to see the troupe play it back.The stakes are always higher when you hear your leader tell his/her own tale, candidly, complete with all the successes and failures. When the deeper issues of life - triumph and loss, fear and courage - are rediscovered in the midst of the nuts-and-bolts business challenges that are on the table, it reaffirms the deeper meaning in the workplace, and in the nature of work itself. It's this acknowledgement of the soul in the workplace that sustains peoples' inspiration through the relentless, day-to-day onslaught of change.

Q. Isn't it risky for corporations or top-level management people to use TransFormance Theatre? A. People often think it's a real risk to include TransFormance Theatre in a meeting; that what we present is so far out of the box that the meeting will be a flop - but the truth is, it's never been risky in that sense. Everyone loves stories - and particularly their own story. It's always proved to be a powerful and successful adventure for us to work with a new organization, because the methods we employ -- improv theatre, group drumming, singing, theatre exercises, and so on - are engaging and appealing and fun. And deep. And inspiring.

Q. When you call it 'an integrated art & science approach,' what do you mean? How much is art, how much is science? & how does this relate to business? A. In terms of science: In our consulting engagements, we employ a rigorous focus on using measurement to support and celebrate the organization's progress into its new culture or operating environment. We pay close attention to what research has shown about how people learn the most effectively, and we make use of those techniques to achieve breakthrough meeting results. The art side: By using stories, theatre, music, and visual art to increase the level of engagement of meeting attendees, we achieve much higher impact - and much longer-lasting impact - than the traditional meeting formats which predominantly appeal to the cognitive mode of learning; i.e., slide presentations, talking heads, and small group discussions. How it relates to business: Messages get across more effectively. Stanford Graduate School of Business research indicates that stories are the most effective means of getting a message across, AND having it remembered, in the workplace. Theater is the most impactful means of telling a story.

Q. How diverse are the organizations you can reach and inspire? A. From Fortune 50 companies to the US Government Forest Service, from university educational leadership seminars to professional association conferences, from Head Start regional conferences to inter-organizational partnerships, from annual corporate meetings to small conflict resolutions... We're as successful within Silicon Valley company meetings as we are in international corporate partnership training videos. Practically speaking, any meeting or organization can benefit from the accelerated learning methodologies of TransFormance Theatre.

Q. Rapid change in an organization - can this really be accomplished? A. Yes. Especially through a carefully orchestrated combination of focusing on the performance numbers, and the stories behind the numbers. The behavioral changes that total up to culture change need to be broadcasted, celebrated, and connected to the numbers in a way that alters the self-talk in the organization from 'we don't know where we're going, or how we're going to get there,' to 'we can do this, and here's the proof!' The breakdowns that will absolutely occur along the way need to be acknowledged and celebrated as a vital part of the learning process. By moving toward the difficulties in adopting new communication and collaboration behaviors -- rapid, measurable, sustainable improvement is clearly possible. (see our Case Study from Tropicana/CSX Transport as reference.)

Q. Do all organizations fear change? A. Most do, because successful organizations have become successful by being good at doing what they've done before. But in most cases, those skills don't include being good at what they HAVEN'T done. That kind of flexibility, adventurousness and risk-taking requires an environment that supports making mistakes, and being unafraid to surface them. There has to be enough trust established so that people can learn from mistakes and move on without wasting energy to cover up, defend, avoid, or deny the mistakes -- which can be the very stuff of new learning.

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