What is playback?
Playback Theatre is a social and interactive form of theatre that enables audience members to share real-life moments and stories and see them transformed into live improvised theatre, reflected back to you with a combination of integrity, pathos and humour.
This work is for actors, musicians and for ANYONE who wants to explore creative and playful performance.
Playback in its nature is the most inclusive of art forms. Based in improvisation it uses the tools of spontaneity, eye contact, confidence and communication while providing a structured form to present this work.
It is developed as a form of communication for those who don’t have the ability to form words successfully. Playback is definitive in its expression of sound and movement.
It also has a value system where protecting the group is sacrosanct. Well being and safety at the forefront of how I as leader holds the energy of the group, the group holds each other protecting the dynamic and development of storytelling and performance skills.
It is a very fun form full of laughter and creative expression. And significantly changes viewpoint and ability to state our true feelings. Playback is a very honest form which makes it very relevant to our current experiences.
I have pulled together my favourite snippets about playback from all around the world.
Introducing a video from Melbourne Playback Theatre Company, our industry leader for creativity, expression and communication. You can learn more about their work here.
If you haven’t seen it or heard of what it is like a Chinese whisper it can be very hard to imagine what it is and what it does?
I wanted to follow the history of Playback Theatre in Australasia and also share with you some awesome video experiences about Playback.
To hear more about Playback Down Under, how it first started and when it first got created you can watch that here on the Sydney Playback Theatre Website. They are 31 mins and 10mins in length.
Next, I would love to introduce you to the marvellous inspiring Anastasia and Jack from the International Playback Camp have made these great stories that I wanted to share a little bit more about playback Theatre.
Our stories all have different meanings depending on the teller. In a world where we have all been effected by COVID-19 our stories may uniquely differ but we will all have a story to tell.
Video Animations are by The International Playback Camp. Written by Anastasia Vorobyova, Animation and Voice by Jackson Nash.
Empathy is a powerful piece of how we listen and connect to the stories around us. Humans, handle with care.
I also met Joyce in Hong Kong at The Asia Pacific Playback Theatre Conference in 2015. This is so beautifully said, I would like to acknowledge this fine work.
Then there is always the work you do with your own groups and what playback theatre means to them.
How the form works for people of all ages and abilities, there are no limitations.