Theatre-goers can get involved in the creative process at the Carol Shields Festival of New Works.

The three-day festival kicks off this evening with an arts fusion showcase, featuring work and performances by playwright Kenneth T. Williams, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and choreographer Brent Lott, poet Duncan Mercredi, Atlaas, Tom Keenan and White Rabbit Productions, as well as local filmmakers.

Friday and Saturday the festival shifts to an interactive format, in which plays are presented at some point during their development. The in-development plays are presented by local actors without sets and costumes, and the audience is afterwards asked for feedback.

Robert Metcalfe is the artistic director of Prairie Threatre Exchange. He says often in the past feedback from the audience has directly influenced the work as it progresses.

"Because a lot of the shows that we premiere at PTE have been done at the festival and people who did see it at the workshop reading are often amazed at how much it changed or how the core of it stayed the same but things moved around. It's pretty fascinating," says Metcalfe.

The kick off show on Thursday is $25 to attend but the rest of the festival is free, with donations appreciated.

Festival partners this year include: Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Sarasvati Productions, Shakespeare in the Ruins, Sick + Twisted and Manitoba Association of Playwrights/Theatre Projects Manitoba. The festival is supported in part by the Winnipeg Arts Council.