Team Know Fear: Verbatim Theater and Community Conversation

Team Know Fear Wins 2025-2026 Capstone Award for Verbatium Theater and Conversation on Fear

This year’s top capstone honor goes to Know Fear, a team that explored fear through interviews, community conversation, and verbatim theater. Based on wide-ranging interviews on the topic of fear, the team members then created a verbatim theater presentation and community conversation. For their UMCUR abstract, the members wrote, "The show is a word-for-word compilation of responses from in-depth and "on the street" interviews conducted by the producers both in the local Missoula community and globally. Each interview focused on fear and how it affects individuals personally and collectively. Fear is one of the few universal biological experiences for all living things. It influences how we relate to each other and how we present socially. When our fear responses are consistently activated, communities experience decreased social trust and increased conflict. Know Fear is an outlet for individuals to share their vulnerabilities with others without stigmatization. Additionally, it uses storytelling to inspire empathy within the audience. We hope the show creates a ripple effect of shared understanding amongst each other.

Congratulations, Team Know Fear!