Frequently Asked Questions

When participants leave one of our experiences, they will have seen and partcipated in a working model for difficult dialog and consensus-finding across difference. Our audiences are made up of people from all kinds of backgrounds, intersecting lines of identity regarding race, gender, abilities, ethnicity, sexual orientation, politics, class, language, and even experience with DEI-related terms and concepts. Audience members work together to come to a verdict in a case where issues like these are woven into the story, and then lean into a courageous discussion that points the spotlight back at their own experiences.

We’ve had feedback for more than a decade that these conversations continue long after our event ends, and that this engagement model enables participants to engage in difficult dialogue later on with or without a facilitator present.

This could mean your incoming class may be better equipped to see and learn from other perspectives. Your leadership team may be more able to consider the human impact of their actions and decisions. Your core team may gain valuable emotional intelligence for working with each other and those they serve. It all depends on how you pick up the momentum of this experience and continue to build on the power and insight that has been unlocked.

These experiences are scalable from a focused group of 10-20 to auditoriums with hundreds of audience members. Most often, our audiences range between 30-150 people. Our staff tailors interaction styles to mirror the energy and size of your group.

As for who is in the audience, that varies widely as well. We’ve presented to a diverse set of groups, including students as young as 6th grade, and through graduate school, to lawyers, and hospital system executives.

Here are just a few examples of what this could look like for your organization:

• Incoming Student Orientation
• New Hire Experiences
• Continuing Legal Education Credits
• Affinity Group/ERG Partners
• Human Resources Team
• Specially-Timed Programming (E.G., Black History Month)
• Leadership Retreat
• Faculty & Staff Professional Development
• Religious Congregations
• Conference & Keynote Experiences

Both Defamation and Just Cause put your audience at the heart of the drama, serving as jurors to decide the outcome of the case.

With 12 years running, nationally-acclaimed Defamation by Todd Logan is an “in-your-face mashup of race, class, and law that gives you a view of two very different worlds… and then enlists you to take a stand.”

Ms. Regina Wade is suing Mr. Arthur Golden for Defamation after he’s accused her of stealing a family heirloom. She claims she didn’t steal it—and that she lost business because of his accusations. Learn More »

Bring your audience a brand new legal drama from the creators of nationally-accliamed Defamation. Set in the Covid-19 pandemic, Just Cause is a workplace story that explores the death of George Floyd, #MeToo feminism, cancel culture, social justice, and much more.

Ms. Madison Loew is suing her former employer, Midwest Repertory Theatre, for Breach of Contract after she’s been fired for “racial insensitivity.” She claims MRT lacked just cause sufficient to end her employment contract. Learn More »

See scenes from both films on our virtual walkthrough »

The Defamation Experience was created and written by award winning playwright Todd Logan and premiered in November 2010. Since then it has been seen by more than 250,000 people and performed more than 700 times at venues including colleges, universities, law schools, bar associations and legal organizations, diversity conferences, civic & religious organizations, high schools, middle schools, and chambers of commerce.

Now Just Cause: The Experience, written by Lisa Dillman and Todd Logan, brings a brand-new programming opportunity set in the tension of our current times with the death of George Floyd, Covid-19, and the #MeToo movement. It’s an expression of the issues we’re living with and living through with the same model developed over the last 12 years.

Read more from Todd Logan »

We periodically host Screening Events allowing you to preview the full film and participate as a member of the jury led by one of our judges.

Register for one of our upcoming events on our Screening Events page, or signup to be notified when the next event is scheduled.

The conversations in the Deliberation phase get your audience talking about the issues woven into the story in a way that’s easy for them to dive in. Even though they’re talking about difficult social and identity issues, they’re able to talk about the case and the characters from their own perspectives, in a way that primes them for the next phase where the discussion is actually about them.

See examples from this phase of the experience on our Virtual Walkthrough »

We want to know your objectives for the experience as a whole and for the discussion so that we can tailor our approach for your audience. What topics matter for you, how much has the audience been exposed to programming opportunities with this kind of subject matter, and who do you expect to be in the audience? We’ll work with you to customize our prompts and our engagement style to best meet your needs.

Also importantly, we always read the room to understand what’s on the hearts and minds of audience members. The issues as written into our stories are not a final blueprint that must be followed for the discussion. Topics that matter for your organization and for participants will be just as naturally discussed as those directly written into the play. We easily pivot from our conversation roadmap based on audience input and your direction.

See examples from this phase of the experience on our Virtual Walkthrough »

When presented all at once (our standard “One-Time Event”), the experience has a runtime of 2 hours and 15 minutes. The film is approximately 70 minutes, with a 20 minute deliberation, and the remainder of time (around 45 minutes) is for the discussion.

Options are available to customize the program by extending the runtime, or breaking the phases into separate experiences to accommodate your scheduling needs.

Contact us to find out how we can make the expereince work best for you.

Below are the standard options for partnering with us for our interactive experiences:

Program:

Both Defamation and Just Cause fit within the same 3-phase interactive format and have the same production options available.

Format:

• In-Person Facilitation: Your audience will be led through the experience by our facilitator who travels in-person to your location. They will present the film, assist the judge (who attends virtually) with the deliberation, and lead the discussion live in front of your audience.
• Telepresence: Hybrid event where your audience is gathered in one or more locations, and our production is brought to them 100% virtually. This is  designed to work in a single location like an auditorium, across different locations, or even in a single location spread across many rooms for small groups.
• Online: 100% virtual experience where all participants login from their own location using their own device.

Scheduling:

• One-Time-Event: All 3 phases are presented together at once.
• Flex Event: You are able to stream the film for your audience when it works for your schedule, and within 48 hours, we lead the deliberation and discussion phases for 1 hour.

Follow-Up:

Optionally, our facilitator can return to your audience (via either our Online or Telepresence format options) to lead an additional hour of discussion with your audience. This allows us to go deeper in exploring the discussion that was happening, go into new areas, and more specifically help the audience tie the experience to their life and their role within your organization.

Contact us to find out how we can make the expereince work best for you.

We’ll always do our best to fit within your organizations norms and dynamics where we can. For example, we’ll consult with you on setting up the venue for the event in auditorium style, round tables, or something else.

If you’re looking for something a bit more custom, like breakout rooms, altered runtime, breaks, or something else, contact us to find out how we can make the expereince work best for you.

In short, you provide the venue and equipment, we’ll provide the content, talent, and experience. With the current state of remote/hybrid learning and work, you likely already meet all the requirements to make this event a success.

Audience members need to be able to watch the film, interact with the judge, our facilitator, and each other. That means a combination of a display screen & speakers, camera(s), and microphone(s). If you book a Telepresence or In-Person facilitated event, we’ll meet with you ahead of time to coordinate all of the tech requirements and rehearase the run of show from a technical perspective.

There are a few variables that factor into the cost, mostly the production format, size of your audience, and any customizations or optional components. Contact us to setup a quick information Zoom meeting and we’ll be able to walk through what we need to know to provide you a quote.