We began our inaugural project with an impulse to investigate the process of making verbatim theatre. The Willmar Project has been heavily guided by the question: “What might we discover if we begin in a place with a community, rather than focusing on a specific topic or event?” How might our interview process be constructed to allow for the stories of a place to emerge through the words of the people who live there? 

In July of 2017, our team traveled to Willmar, Minnesota. We spent almost two weeks conducting interviews with participants. We began each conversation with the question: 

What is it like for YOU living in Willmar? 

From there, we asked a variety of questions such as: 

• How long have you lived in Willmar?

• What is your daily routine?

• What brings you joy?

• What do you think of when you hear the word “community?”

• What changes have you seen in the time you’ve lived in Willmar?

The answers to these questions became the paths we followed, letting the participants’ stories lead the way.

During our short time in Willmar we interviewed over 100 people, collecting more than 150 hours of interview recordings. No two conversations were alike. There were, however, certain topics and events that were brought up by almost everyone we spoke with: the diversity of the community, race, religion, immigration, community-based initiatives - the newly built destination playground  - and the changing landscape of downtown Willmar.

Our main goal since our initial trip to Willmar has been to build a verbatim script from these interviews to share back with the Willmar residents, as well as audiences outside of the Willmar community. Our process for script creation is collaborative and emergent. Since 2018 we have held a number of public readings and workshops of the script in development. Each developmental event has been structured to invite outside audience and artists’ perspectives on the piece, in turn, deeply contributing to the shape of the work moving forward.

Currently, we are working on finalizing Willmar to share with participants in Willmar, Minnesota in 2022. A key part of this sharing will include dialogue with the participants, an opportunity to hear their thoughts and feedback on the script as it stands now, ultimately incorporating these reflections into the piece. The completion of The Willmar Project, including final development and production of Willmar, is set to follow.