Facilitating a Workshop

Facilitator Role

The facilitator role begins with setting up the space, welcoming participants and leading introductions. Then you may describe the outline of the workshop and encourage participants to note any questions that occur while watching the video. If the session is hosted online, you may need to explain technical features of the platform and encourage participants to turn their video on. You should work to keep the discussion focused on session objectives, while allowing room for participants to organically develop ideas and reflections.

The following sections are designed to prepare you to facilitate a Rock the Boat session. Facilitating a session using theatre is unique, so we highly recommend that even experienced facilitators read the following sections carefully. They will guide you through every step from getting ready for a session to hosting the session itself, including guidance for facilitating different types of sessions and managing common hurdles in a session.

Guidance, discussion questions and additional resources for each specific scene can be found in the parts following this section. You may also find it useful to read the Workshop Design chapter from the previous section.