Turn community voice into actionable insight
High Desert Playback partners with nonprofits, government agencies, educators, healthcare organizations, and community leaders to design story-centered community engagement experiences that deepen trust, center underrepresented voices, and generate meaningful insight.
82%
of participants feel seen, heard, and represented
90%
of participants feel more connected to their neighbors by witnessing their stories
81%
of participants who believe that their voice could influence policy
Traditional community engagement often struggles to build trust.
Public meetings, surveys, and listening sessions can miss the folks organizations most need to reach. Our process uses live storytelling and facilitation to create experiences where people feel safe, heard, and bought in to the conversation.
Playback Theatre allows audience stories to be “played back” on the spot using improvisation, creating a powerful cycle of listening, reflecting back, and dialogue.
High Desert Playback Community Engagement Framework
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1: Align
Define the change. Ground the work. Set the compass. We work together to strategize a creative process that aligns with your goals and compliance measures.
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2: Reach
Center the people most impacted. Go where they are. Combining digital marketing tools and community organizing tactics, we reach the folks you need to hear from.
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3: Activate
Listen deeply. Build trust. We activate spaces with Playback Theatre at the center to help folks feel safe, connected, and heard.
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4. Translate
Turn experience into insight. Turn insight into action. We gather, analyze, and translate the data to help determine your next course of action.
Who We Work With
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Local Government
Community input, planning, trust-building
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Non-profits + Foundations
Stakeholder engagement, healing-centered gatherings, program insight
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Healthcare + Public Health
Belonging, community voice, culturally responsive engagement
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Schools + Youth Organizations
Creative empowerment, leadership, social-emotional learning
“High Desert Playback is a remarkable group. They are skillful, committed, and passionate about building, celebrating, and healing community through their thoughtful, generous work. HDP continues to inspire me with the ways they create safe space to share stories, explore connections and intersection, and invite us to compassionately lean toward transformation.”
Playback Theatre sets the stage for a heart-centered approach to data collection and civic engagement, activating belonging and greater social cohesion.
- Elsa Menendez, Deputy Director, City of Albuquerque Department of Arts and Culture
