A dozen young Israeli Jews and Arabs have trave led all the way to Pittsburgh to work on interfaith coexistence through theater.

The visitors, who range in age from 22 to 35, are students or professionals in the fields of acting, photography, law, visual art, music and stand-up comedy. Among them are seven Jews, three Muslims and two Christians.

Most didn't know each other beforehand, and none had worked together until they were chosen for the project, which culminates in a performance free to the public at 8 p.m. Monday in the University of Pittsburgh's Frick Fine Arts Building.

They auditioned in Israel for the program, which is sponsored by the Jerusalem International YMCA's Moderate Voices for Peace, a people-to-people effort to bridge the divide between Arabs and Jews in the region, along with the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Playback Theatre.

They arrived on Oct. 16 and spent several days at the YMCA's Camp Kon-O-Kwee in Fombell before taking up residence with host families in Pittsburgh.

During the performance here, the visitors will work on stage with 10 actors from Pittsburgh Playback Theatre. The cast will hear stories from the audience and tell some experiences of their own, then devise on-the-spot theatrical reflections of what they've just said and heard.

Thus, there is no rehearsal in the traditional sense, no script or stage directions. Instead, they work on the forms of improvised playback that allow them to process information and feelings into art. When they take the stage, the actors know the technique but not the content or which participants will be doing what.

"It's all very abstract," said Demetria Marsh, one of the playback actors. "It just happens. It's pretty amazing to watch."

"We have a theatrical form that honors people's stories," said Roni Ostfield , Playback founder and director. "It allows them to be heard and to stand for a moment in each others' shoes, and that builds a sense of community. The idea is that they will take playback home and use it as a peace-making tool."

The visitors were so enthused by their first session, they convinced Ms. Ostfield to extend the meeting an extra 90 minutes.

"As they learned more about playback, they opened up," Ms. Ostfield said. "It was like watching a flower blossom. They came alive."

One participant expressed frustration that everyone talks and talks about the problems, and there's no solution. Another, an Arab, said he has to show his identification card everywhere he goes in his own country but still gets turned away from some public places. A third said her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, was afraid for her granddaughter to participate in a project that included Arabs.

"There's a lot of fear, misunderstanding and hurt," said Ms. Ostfield. "It's real pain. Our hope is that if one person's heart is open to communication with the other side, maybe that person can touch 10 other people, and it can grow from there."

"In Israel we have a lot of conflict and tension between Arabs and Jews, but it's going really well here," said Ori Alon, 26, an installation artist and tour guide in Jerusalem. "We laugh, we argue, we have fun together."

Souzan Zoabi, 24, an actress from Nazareth who is studying educational counseling, said the group met seven times at the Jerusalem YMCA before coming to Pittsburgh, but everyone was very careful not to say anything upsetting.

"When you talk politics at home, you ruin everything," she said. "Here the spirit is different. We have great communication."

Tarik Jaber, 23, lives in the Arab town of Abu Ghosh, about 10 miles outside of Jerusalem, and is embarking on a practice of civil and labor law. He was attracted to this program because of his upbringing -- he went to a special elementary school with Jews and Arabs studying together and participated in a coexistence program at his high school.

Playback, he said, is a "fantastic thing for communication to help you show your idea. I think it will help me in my profession as a lawyer, too."

Ayelet Erel, 25, who studies community theater and art history in Haifa, said the experience is showing her that people can disagree politically and still be friends.

"We all live in different places, but this trip is not the end," she said. "We will keep seeing each other through the MVP program, and I hope we will have more projects together."

When they're not working on playback, the visitors are sightseeing or learning about conflict resolution with volunteers from the American Friends Service Committee.

"Many of the techniques of playback are also used in conflict resolution," said Scilla Wharhaftig , Pennsylvania program director for the AFSC. "Our role is to help them put words to the techniques so they can use them in practical ways when they go home."

One experience Ms. Zoabi said she would take back with her was the tour of Duquesne University, where they saw a Catholic church that had set aside a small room for Muslims to pray.

"I thought, 'Wow, why can't we learn from this?' "