River Crossing Playback Theatre will present its first public performance series, River Side Stories with Playback Theatre: Real Saints and Sinners, from 6 to 9 p.m., March 16, at Café Garth, in the Garth Gallery, in Columbia.

Playback theatre is an improvisational form developed 35 years ago in which audience members tell stories and watch them played back on the spot. As the stories come alive on stage, the audience becomes entwined in a community dialogue that is both uniquely personal and powerfully universal. Playback theatre performances and workshops can be a catalyst for new personal insights and group connections.

River Crossing Playback Theatre is an ensemble in the lower Susquehanna Valley founded in 2007 to build community through the dramatic portrayal of real-life stories. Through the art of playback theatre, audiences learn from their own stories and participate in creating a new common story that recognizes and celebrates both their differences and common ground. The ensemble draws from members in Lancaster and York counties and beyond.

Cost: $7 suggested donation at the door. Location: 22 S. 2nd St., 2nd floor, Columbia. For more information, call 888-440-0693 or visit JubileeArts.net.