In recent years, county officials and residents of Ohio’s Allen County have been divided by issues of race, leadership, and water resources. Lima, the county’s largest city, suffered from the loss of industrial jobs and a declining tax base, shrinking population, and downtown and neighborhood decay. In the suburbs and rural farmlands, county residents have mistrusted city officials who have exercised control over needed water resources and have made moves toward annexing the county in order to revitalize the city. Issues of race have persisted over many years between the largely white rural and suburban population and the significantly African American city population.

The Allen County Common Threads Theater Project sought to address these issues. Building upon a successful event from 2000 called Common Threads (based on a European community arts model), the Arts Council of Greater Lima, Bluffton College, and a steering committee of interested citizens together set out to develop a second Common Threads endeavor. The goal was to engage a large cross section of both city and county residents, as well as leaders in dialogue, about issues of “trust among leaders” and “respecting differences.” Over 14 months, company members from Sojourn Theater met and interviewed 400 residents. Their words and perspectives fueled Artistic Director Michael Rohd’s script for the “poetic documentary” play, Passing Glances: Mirrors and Windows in Allen County. This case study provides an in-depth view of Sojourn Theater’s intensive community-based theater process. The company’s dialogic research and creative development approach afforded an opportunity for diverse voices to be heard, building a foundation of trust and honesty for the project. The case describes the project’s broad-based community leadership—a core team of organizers and “sector leaders” who effectively linked to various constituents—as well as innovative media partnerships. The case also analyzes tensions that were constructively addressed throughout the project, including naming and framing the issue, negotiating insider/outsider concerns, as well as the collaboration between artist and dialogue consultant. Finally, the case study looks at the challenges faced by the arts council and other community leaders to sustain the important forward steps made by the Common Threads project.