Bridging Political Divides Through Theatre and Art: Porte Parole and the Making of "The Assembly"

Part of the 2026 Visiting Artist Series, Soutar and Ivanovici direct a public reading of their work featuring actors from Ohio State and central Ohio, giving life to a script derived from real-life recorded conversations between strangers with wildly different ideological leanings. The Assembly is not a battle of abstract ideologies; it’s a very human encounter between unique people wrestling with complex topics in candid, diverse and surprising ways. And although their dialogue is not always rational, the four Assembly characters express emotions and personal experiences that we can relate to, even if we don’t always agree with them.

Based in Montreal, Canada, Porte Parole Productions is the brainchild of playwright and producer Annabel Soutar and director, actor and playwright Alex Ivanovici. Its mission is to use documentary theater to transform civic engagement in its audiences. The company regards theater as providing an innovative hub for democratic dialogue—a space that promotes curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and live contact between diverse and engaged citizen-participants.

Soutar and Ivanovic will give a public lecture on the behind-the-scenes making of and rationale behind of The Assembly as part of the School of Environment and Natural Resources Spring Seminar Series, occurring at 4pm on Tuesday February 17th. All are welcome to attend in person at 103 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210 or simulcast on Zoom (link coming soon).