The plays and musicals they produce aim to "blend the real and the theatrical" by utilizing interviews, research, residencies, and community collaborations to dive into specific real-world topics.

[1] [2] According to Variety Magazine, The Civilians "travels far and wide researching a piece around a given subject, conducting interviews and comparing notes along the way, sometimes for years.

[5] Cosson has said “I wanted to create a theater that would engage with larger social, cultural, and political realities through the eyes of real, ordinary people, or 'civilians.

"[13] According to Time Out: New York, "The middle part of the show includes funny but affectionate impersonations of the eccentric and lonely folks who live in that remote hamlet.

[15] The piece is unique among The Civilians’ early repertoire in that it was not developed through first-person interviews with those directly affected by the topic of the play,[16] but rather through extensive historical research into the actual Paris Commune that had its genesis in the 1871 rebellion.

[21] (I am) Nobody’s Lunch was written and directed by Steve Cosson based on interviews conducted by the cast, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

According to The New York Times review of the production, "Underneath its wry surface lies a mournful acknowledgment of the transience of life’s pleasures, symbolized here by any number of cherished possessions that somehow fell into a black hole, leaving behind an aching void in the shape of a bit of jewelry, a PalmPilot or a stuffed animal.

Even the most mundane and functional items can be a source of strange comfort, a talisman of achievement, a thing to cling to when life gets you down,"[23] Gone Missing was written and directed by Steve Cosson based on interviews conducted by the company, with music and lyrics written by Michael Friedman, and additional text from "Interview with Dr. Palinurus" by Peter Morris.

He wrote the play by commission from The Civilians, with the support of The Public Theater and The Orchard Project, collaborating with the actors and taking inspiration from interviews done by the company.

[31] This Beautiful City was written by Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis from interviews conducted by Associate Artists Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brad Heberlee, Brandon Miller, Stephen Plunkett, and Alison Weller, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, and directed by Steve Cosson.

It was directed and co-written by Anne Kauffman, with additional writing credit for Janice Paran and David Barlow as well as the actor/writers Matthew Maher, Caitlin Miller, Jennifer R. Morris, and Robbie Collier Sublett.

[34] The performances were filmed by Park Pictures, and the footage has been released in short clips with interactive content through The Civilians' partnership with WNYC.

[38] By using the actual words of the players involved, In The Footprint aims to show all sides of this multifaceted issue and tries to examine how the conflicts erupted, where the process went wrong, what is at the heart of Brooklyn communities, and what can be learned from all parties in these debates.

Drawing on interviews with botanists, paleontologists, climatologists, indigenous community leaders, wilderness guides, and trappers, The Great Immensity gives voice to people whose stories make the reality of present crisis tangible and viscerally felt.

Associate artists in Las Vegas and the San Fernando Valley talked to directors, performers, and producers about the pornographic movie industry.

The "docu-musical"[45] investigates how people got into the industry, how stars rose to fame, and how technological advancements have affected the sustainability and commercial viability of the genre.

Some of the interview material was performed in cabarets at Joe's Pub in New York[46][47] and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles.

Written and directed by artistic director Steve Cosson, based on poems by Rimbaud, translated by John Ashbery.

[51] "The documentary troupe the Civilians presents this piece exploring mortality and the concept of the land of the dead...."[52] Written and directed by Steve Cosson.

[55] A tribute to gay camp icon Paul Swan, written by his great grand niece, playwright Claire Kiechel.

[57] The play, which was a 2020 New York Times Critics’ Pick, explores evidence of Russian state-sponsored interference in the 2016 presidential election through the eyes of five imagined employees of the real-life Internet Research Agency office building in St. Petersburg.

[64] Set in 1942, the musical centers a lighthouse owner, her nephew, her Japanese employee, and a pair of shipwrecked ghosts who haunt them as they deal with the increasing threats of WWII.

[67] The Unbelieving by Marin Gazzaniga is based on interviews conducted for the book Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola and received its world premiere production in November 2022.

[71] The production concept was originally presented as a cabaret performance titled "Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" at New York Public Radio's The Greene Space,[72] where The Civilians were artists in residence in 2023.