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We are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) between ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Boulder's IMPACT Playback Theatre Ensemble and the Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA). This partnership formalizes a shared commitment to fostering inclusive storytelling, community engagement, and arts-based dialogue across the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Boulder campus and broader community. Through this collaboration, IMPACT and CHA aim to support the transformative power of performance and humanities scholarship in advancing equity, empathy, and creative expression.

Since 2019, IMPACT Playback, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Boulder’s Playback Theatre Ensemble, has delivered dynamic performances and workshops across a wide range of campus and community events—including the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Diversity and Inclusion Summit, Health and Wellness Summit, Just & Equitable Teaching Program, conflict management courses, and other student-centered initiatives.

_{PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Ensminger
DESCRIPTION: Faculty, staff, and student members of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½'s Playback Theatre Ensemble conclude We Are Our Stories, a public performance at the Boulder Jewish Community Center, April 30, 2023.
SHOWN (l–r): Dr. Jim Walker (ensemble director), Ruby Anderson, Franklin Chilaka, Elise Collins, Jadeyn Dugger, Tania Guzman Jurado (kneeling), Sebastian Kearney (kneeling).}

Since 2020, the Ensemble has also led the Outreach-funded Critical Conversations Project, using Playback Theatre techniques to foster empathy, deep listening, and connection across differences—particularly in rural Colorado communities facing rapid and destabilizing social, economic, or environmental change. This work culminated in a 2023 collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, supporting the traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America across the state.

The Ensemble comprises ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates from across disciplines. Members train weekly through rehearsals, and all performances are paid.