Playback Theatre Talks

In the current  episode I am talking with Sheila Donio about playing Characters in playback theatre.

Sheila is a playbacker from Brazil and the founder of "Cria Playback". She is also the former Chair of the Center for Playback Theatre.

Sheila and me will discuss:

-What should we keep in mind when we play characters in playback?

-How can we avoid stereotypes?

-How can we play social forces as characters?

-How can we balance the three circles of playback (art, ritual, social)?

Sheila and me will also talk about making playback accessible to everyone and about Sheila's journey to playback.

Please join us!

In the current episode  I am talking with Igor Lyubitov  about  Archetypes  in Playback Theatre.

Igor is a psychologist, a psychodramatist, a playback practitioner and trainer from Moscow. He is a cofounder of the Russian Central Playback Theatre School and a board member in the Center for Playback Theater.

Igor and I are talking about Archetypes and how they can contribute to our work as playbackers.

We are also talking about the development of the playback scene in Russia and about the surprising power of clichés.

Please join us for another playback theater talk!

Unlike musicians in other types of musical performances, the playback musician must have the capacity to attune to the teller and to fellow company members while structuring and shaping the playback ritual.

In the current episode of Playback Theatre Talks I had the pleasure of talking with the talented Ernie Gruner.

Ernie has been a playback theatre musician in Melbourne Playback Theatre Company since 1999.  In the last 30 years Ernie worked with a wide variety of musicians, bands and communities, and is regarded as Australia’s leading klezmer violinist.

How can a musician support a scene?

What skills and training should a PT musician have?

What can a playback group do if they don't have a musician but they still like to have music?

What are the best instruments for a playback performance?

How can we combine music when doing PT online?

Debe Edden is the vice chair of the center for playback theatre, she founded her PT company, The Heartsparkle Players, in 1991 and she is working extensively with children and people with developmental disabilities.

In the current episode Debe and me will focus on conducting skills and especially on how to conduct the interview with the teller.

We will talk about-

-What is a good way to invite a teller to share a story?

-How to shape and frame the story during the interview?

-How should we open or close the interview?

-What can we do if we don't understand the story or if we are facing other challenges during the interview?

-What can we do as conductors if the teller doesn't seems pleased with the enactment?

-How can the conductor influence the atmosphere in the performance?

Please join Debe and me for another playback theatre talk!

Larry Ng, is an actor, director, movement coach and a drama therapist that is practicing playback theatre in Hong Kong in the last decade. 

In the current episode, Larry and I will talk about physical theater and playback theatre. 

We will answer the following questions-

What is Physical Theater?

How can we incorporate more physicality in our playback acting?

Which exercises can help us in implementing physicality in our playback acting? 

How can we balance between structure and flow? 

How can it be possible to do playback when freedom of speech is restricted?

Please join us!

In the current episode I will talk about Playback Acting with the one and only, Hannah Fox!

Hannah is a professor of dance and theatre, she is the director of the New York School of Playback Theatre and the founder of Big Apple Playback Theatre. She is also the daughter of the founders of Playback Theatre, Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas.

Hannah will talk about-

-What was it like for her to grow up in the Fox-Salas household?

-What is unique about playback theatre acting?

-What does the term "Citizen Actor" mean?

-What are the main values of playback acting?

-What should we keep in mind when we are doing playback online?

-What playback theatre and yoga have in common?

Please join us!

Ronen Kowalsky is a clinical psychologist, practicing and teaching playback theatre in Israel for almost 30 years.

Ronen is also one of the founders of the Israeli Institute for Psychotherapeutic Playback Theatre. 

Ronen and me will be talking about therapeutic elements in playback theater and about the method that Ronen developed with Nir raz named- Psychotherapeutic Playback Theatre.

We will also discuss-

-The differences between performative playback work and non performative playback work.

-Unconscious communication in the playback group.

-The psychological impact of structured playback forms and unstructured playback forms.

-What is unique in the method- Psychotherapeutic Playback Theatre.

To read more about the method, please visit the website- https://www.playback-therapy.co.il/home

Please join us for another interesting and insightful talk!

Anne and Christopher Ellinger are the founders of  True Story Theater and Playback North America.  They have published several books about Playback, the most familiar one is  A Playback Theatre Toolkit: through the lens of one company's experience.

In this episode we will discuss -

-Types of groups.

-How to evaluate a team's morale?

-How to prevent conductor's burn out.

-Leading a group together as life partners and spouses.

-How the toolkit can help you create an impactful group.

If you want to learn more about Anne and Christopher's activities please visit:  https://playbacknorthamerica.com/ and https://truestorytheater.com/

Anastasia Vorobyeva is a playbacker from Moscow who specializes in combining playback and movement.

In our talk we will answer the following questions-

-How can we translate certain playback theatre forms to be based on movement?

-What types of movement can serve us when we're practicing playback?

-How can we avoid repetition and break patterns?

-What is required in order for us to fulfill our potential as dancing playbackers?

We will also talk about Anastasia's personal journey to playback, her social activism and the different roles that she's playing in Vozdukh Center and in the International Playback Theatre Network.

Please join us!

Can playback theatre be used for social change?

In this episode, Ben Rivers is sharing some of his experiences as a social activist using playback to prompt social change.

Ben and me  discussed some of the following questions-

-Can playback be used as an effective tool to promote social change?

-What are the advantages of playback theater on other methods like theatre of the oppressed?

-Are we as playbackers exposed to secondary trauma when working with complex stories?

-How can we use playback theatre to fight climate change?

Dr. Ben Rivers is a psychotherapist and educator.  He has practiced and taught in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, working extensively with communities impacted by violence, trauma and adversity. He is Executive Director of Dawar Kitchen and Dawar for Arts and Development (Cairo, Egypt). He holds  a PhD in Peace Studies