The City at Peace program is a combination of activities that examine the interrelationship of the problems and conflicts that youth care about, and often suffer from. It also develops their capacity for addressing these issues. Highly interactive and intensely creative, City at Peace rehearsals utilize the performing arts to unlock participants' creativity around important personal and social issues and learn the skills necessary for performance, both on stage and off. It utilizes this creativity to then produce original works of theater for the community as well as projects designed by youth to effect positive change in their communities.

Each City at Peace cast has two goals each year: 1) to write, produce and perform an original musical from their lives and ideas for change, and 2) to design, execute and evaluate community change projects that will improve their cities' communities.

August
Each City at Peace program begins with the selection of the Production Team. The Production Team is a group of 8 to 12 teenagers who were participants in the previous year plus the Artistic Director. They serve as the leadership team for the program while also participating in the program like other cast members. In rehearsals, they are participant/observers and lead some rehearsal activities. They are chosen for the team by the Production Team from the year before.

For six to eight weeks before the first rehearsal, the Production Team undergoes leadership training and begins to design the program year. They also establish the vision, mission, goals and objectives for the year, assist in recruitment, set policies, and hire the artists - Musical Director, Choreographer and Technical Directors - who will work with them to craft their performance.

September
Fifty teenagers (on average) are recruited through an outreach strategy that works with private and public schools, as well as youth-serving organizations, alternative schools, runaway shelters and foster care programs. Recruitment efforts intentionally focus on reaching a diverse pool of youth in terms of race, socio-economic background, gender, family situations, religion and geographic residence. Word-of-mouth from teen to teen is also a significant factor in youth learning about, and joining, City at Peace.

No program participant is chosen on the basis of talent or ability; all participants are chosen based on group diversity, an expressed need for the program, and a desire to make a difference.

October
Rehearsals are held for six to eight hours per week in the after-school hours or on Saturdays. The first rehearsals focus on the introduction of the project and participants, establishing First Agreements, undertaking initial creative activity and team-building, developing acting, voice and movement skills, identifying issues of concern and conflict and understanding stereotypes.

Participants also begin learning about the history of social change and begin narrowing their focus on the issues they want to work in their community change projects.

November
The next four rehearsals focus on a diversity and violence prevention curriculum developed by Paul Kivel and Alan Creighton (Founders of the Oakland Men's Project and Battered Women's Alternatives respectively). Participants examine the root causes of violence and the creation of racial, cultural, gender and age divisions.

While this social change curriculum is explored, participants create dramatic pieces inspired by their discussions - these pieces are scenes, improvisations, written essays, poetry and presentations. Each piece is rooted in the experiences of the author or a member or members of the scene group.

They also select the issues that they would like to work on in their community change projects and form teams to do so.

December
The next two/three rehearsals are completely given over to life-stories. In this activity, each cast member has the opportunity to tell the story of his or her life focused on what makes him or her who he or she is. There is a time limit and the rest of the cast only listens. Nothing told in these sessions is exploited in the play. Only scenes, writings and other creative presentations are used as raw material for the show.

The next three rehearsals are dedicated to conflict resolution training. A model for conflict resolution is presented, role-playing takes place along with discussions for strategies for resolving conflicts, and cast members' create resolutions to scenes presented in earlier rehearsals.

Throughout these three months of rehearsal, cast members continually create scenes, poetry, essays, improvisations, songs and movement from their experiences, inspired by the trainings, discussions and activities. This work becomes the raw materials for the outline of their original musical drama. Cast members also work with a Musical Director to begin vocal training and a Choreographer to begin dance training.

At this point, the Production Team departs on a three-day retreat to transform the raw material created by the cast into a coherent outline in musical drama form. The show outline contains scenes with identifiable roles, suggestions for music and dance and an overall theatrical theme.

Who will play what role is decided by the Artistic Director (this is the only decision, other than who will be accepted into the program, that is made solely by the Artistic Director). No one acts his or her own story. Once each role is cast, each participant is responsible for creating his or her own part.

January/February/March
Once the outline is presented and role's assigned, the cast begins creating their performances. Group numbers are directed by the Choreographer or Musical Director or Artistic Director. Scenes are directed by cast members or the Artistic Director. The creative process is a true collaboration with cast members and directors working together to create all of the show.

At the same time that work begins on the creation of the performance, participants also begin executing their community change projects. Each year, participants construct different projects based on their assessment of the needs of their communities and their interests in effecting change; some projects continue from one year to the next under the leadership of returning cast members.

April
As the premiere of the performance nears, rehearsals intensify in number, duration and quality. Cast members must not only finalize their creation but also prepare the show for performance.

The premiere performance take place in a prestigious theater in the city to bring esteem and attention to the messages of the show. Typically, the performance is 100 to 120 minutes in length and encompasses a range of issues and perspectives.

May/June/July
For two months, cast members undertake a combination of leadership training and advanced creative activity. The focus of rehearsals is now on community organizing and effectiveness and examining how to lead change.

During this time, the cast tours its performance to schools, community centers, conferences and other local venues to share its message and the lessons they have learned. Cast members also conduct workshops on youth issues, diversity, conflict resolution and the performing arts.

July
The creative process ends in July with the final rehearsal. All participants are invited to return for the next year if they are under age 19. At this rehearsal, the Production Team for the next year is announced.

Participants also undertake a thorough program evaluation. They work with the City at Peace-National Director of Evaluation and Research to assess the impact of the program on them individually, their relationships with one another and their lives and relationships outside of rehearsals. Participants also evaluate their community change projects as well as the Production Team, staff and artists. These evaluations are then utilized by each program to improve its operations for the following year.