Yarning Up Relations: Enacting a Relational Ethics in Cross-Cultural Research-Based Theater.

This article reflects on *The Score*, a Research-Based Theater (RbT) project produced by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, a leading First Nations theater company in Melbourne, Australia, which aims to develop a participatory theater model addressing sexual health for First Nations young people in diverse community settings. Central to the project is the ethical framework of relationality, drawn from Indigenous ontologies and applied theater practices, emphasizing respectful, accountable, and decolonial cross-cultural collaboration through ongoing dialogue known as yarning. The reflection highlights the complex dynamics between First Nations and non-Indigenous artists, institutions, and stakeholders, underscoring challenges such as cultural labor, power imbalances, and the tension between process and product in community-engaged arts. It argues that sustaining relational ethics and recognizing Indigenous cultural authority are essential for ethical praxis and meaningful community impact in RbT projects involving First Nations peoples.