Lesson 01
Name the ethical role
The phrase story-sharer changes the contract. It reminds the team and audience that testimony is not raw material to be extracted.
Case 01 / live journalism case
Living with Drones
A stitched! live journalism production where wartime diaries, testimony, sound, video, and audience responsibility share the room.
Location
Canada / United Kingdom / United States
Period
2025-2026
Organisation
stitched! Live Journalism Studio
Format
Multimedia live journalism show
// IN A NUTSHELL
What this case proves
A community-based live journalism production that turns reporting on drone warfare in Gaza into an embodied listening space. Diaries, testimony, sound, projected media, music, and facilitated audience reflection replace the usual distance of conflict coverage.
// BACKGROUND
Before the room filled
Context 01
stitched! is a live journalism studio at Toronto Metropolitan University's Creative School, founded by journalist and educator Sonya Fatah.
Context 02
The studio's vocabulary matters: participants are described as story-sharers rather than sources, and the format includes a community gatherer who helps the audience process role, responsibility, action, and direction.
Context 03
Living with Drones grew from this practice into an international touring piece, moving through London, Toronto, Washington, Ottawa, and university or community contexts.
// CASE THESIS
Why it belongs in the field
The case belongs because it treats the audience as witnesses, not spectators: the journalism is reported, performed, sounded, projected, and then handed back as a civic question.
stitched! is a live journalism studio connected to Toronto Metropolitan University and founded by journalist and educator Sonya Fatah.
Living with Drones uses wartime diaries, first-person testimony, TikTok clips, video footage, sound, and live performance to report on the civilian experience of drones in Gaza.
The production names story-sharers rather than sources, making the ethics of participation part of the format rather than a backstage note.
The show has moved through London, Toronto, Washington, Ottawa, and European festival contexts, which makes touring and local audience responsibility central to the case.
Local media excerpt
// CASE MEDIA
The room in frames.
Stills from the production show how the reporting moved between stage presence, projection, sound, and audience attention.
// HOW IT WORKS
The format has mechanics
Mechanic 01
The show ties first-person accounts from Gaza to wartime diaries, documentary audio, projected stills and video, live music, and the physical pressure of amplified drone sound.
Mechanic 02
Drone sound is not treated as atmosphere. It becomes reporting material, making the mechanical hum part of what the audience has to understand.
Mechanic 03
The structure moves between narration, testimony, evidence, and facilitated calls to action, so the performance does not end as mood alone.
// FORMAT STRUCTURE
Format first. Productions inside.
Type tags
Community/participatory
High-production/performance
Dialogue/forum
Spoken/Slam
Nested events / productions
// PRODUCTION FILE
How it moved through time
01
The London debut took place in January 2025 at Camden People's Theatre and P21 Gallery.
02
Toronto performances followed at The Theatre Centre in February and March 2025, with later Washington and Ottawa presentations.
03
TMU coverage notes a planned return in March 2026 at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
// LESSONS
What the case teaches
Lesson 02
Let sound carry evidence
A sonic fact can make distance collapse, but only when the reporting explains what the sound means and where it comes from.
Lesson 03
Design the afterlife
The calls to action, post-show discussion, and donations show that the desired audience response was not only empathy.
// BORROW
What travels
Story-sharer language
Community gatherer role
Live sound as evidence
Touring with local accountability
// DO NOT COPY
What can break
Trauma as spectacle
Audience emotion without action
Hidden verification
Generic war imagery
// SOURCE TRAIL
Where the dossier points
// ALL 12 CASES
Same form, different room
