Penn State’s School of Theatre is collaborating with #HereToo co-creator and Tectonic Theater project member Barbara Pitts McAdams to put on a first-cut production of an interview-based play about gun violence.

The shortened version of the envisioned final production will be presented by Penn State theatre students Friday, January 18, and will serve as the foundation of a potential full-length show.

The #HereToo Project is an open-source online platform where activists and survivors of gun violence can share their stories.

Associate theatre professor Jeanmarie Higgins helped organize this week’s event after speaking with Pitts McAdams following the release of her co-authored book “Moment Work,” which details the method behind the development of Tectonic Theater’s “The Laramie Project.”

Higgins and Pitts McAdams wanted to include the audience in the development of the production. Attendees will be able to provide feedback on Friday’s portion of the show following the performance.

“Sharing your work with an audience and finding out how it’s being received often becomes hermetic and it starts to take on meaning for the people in the room,” Pitts McAdams said. “After making a creative connection with Jeanmarie it was clear that Penn State and ADRI is a place where #HereToo can develop on several different levels and something beautiful can be created.”

Performances of the abridged production begin at 3 p.m. at the Pavilion Theatre.