CLICK HERE FOR JULY NEWSLETTER
Content (without pictures or right column) below.
July Newsletter
Playback Theatre Sydney works within organisations, performs public shows in Newtown and runs regular training workshops in core improvisational skills.
1. Organisational Update – Insights & Collaboration
Recently, Playback Sydney worked with a team of service providers catering to homeless women. Playback was invited into their conference program to facilitate and perform a story-based session, focusing on the dynamic complexities – both political and personal – of inclusiveness of service for transgender women.
There were stories of support, sitting in discomfort, discrimination, judgement, gender identification, acceptance, outrage, femininity – a diverse and rich array of experiences from their work and the organisations they interact with to provide services to transgender women.
The show was poignant, thoughtful and entertaining. Voicing these experiences within the group opened up new paths for dialogue, reflection and acknowledgement of the good work being done, and the subtle complexities of creating a truly inclusive service. Playback Theatre Sydney felt honoured to offer a forum in which these themes, and the many diverse voices, could be expressed, heard and acknowledged.
2. You Asked, and We Heard!
Students of the Sydney School of Playback (SSP) often ask us How can we practice the skills we’ve learnt? Well, here is your opportunity!
In August and September, the SSP will run two Skills Refresher Workshops.These key skills sessions are for past students of SSP, who’ve already completed a Playback Skills Workshop or have performed with other Playback companies. They provide an opportunity for students to refresh and practice their improvisational skills and work with other Playback students in a safe and explorative setting.
During the 3 hour workshop, core Playback skills will be revisited through the Playback form, stories will be told and connections renewed. N.B. As there is an assumed level of knowledge, the workshop is only available to those students who’ve already attended a SSP Workshop.
BOOK NOW
Dates – Thurs 13th August OR Thurs 17th September
Time – Thurs 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Cost – $35
Venue – Inner West Cultural Services 35-39 Dickson St, Newtown
3. International Conference in Montreal
In early July, Playback Theatre Sydney (PTS) took a team across to the International Playback Conference (IPC) in Montreal, Canada. As the second longest-running Playback ensemble in the world, we offered a workshop on Sustaining Company Life, and performed a Playback Show to international peers. This was our first show at an IPC for 20 years so it was exciting and nerve-wracking!
Being invited to perform in front of 260 colleagues from 31 countries – experts in our field of course – was an honour and a challenge. We were fortunate to have Peter Hall and Debra Driscoll as part of the performing team – Peter, an original member of PTS conducted the show and Debra, an honorary Sydney member now in the US, acted onstage.
Our theme was ‘Anything Can Happen’ – and this is never more true than in improvisational work! The audience gave us a warm reception and Peter conducted a show of depth and breadth. He elicited a range of responses to how Playbackers had experienced the conference and then settled in to open up some deep, raw and revealing stories. Somewhat surprisingly, they were all essentially about love and courage – the courage to love – key human themes it seems. We put our heart and souls into our performance and were so proud and overwhelmed to receive an ongoing standing ovation! That’s a show we won’t forget in a hurry. The IPC convenes every four years so we’ll be basking in this glory for a little while to come. A terrific accomplishment – well done team!
4. The Many Applications of Playback Theatre
During the International Conference in Montreal, many Playback Ensembles ran workshops to demonstrate how they use Playback in their region. To demonstrate the many applications of Playback Theatre, here are some of the workshop titles:
Anti-bulling and beyond: sharing school-based applications and exploring new opportunities; Playback as An Agent for Change; Weaving Playback Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed towards Social Justice; The Big One – tackling Global Climate Change with Playback Theatre; The use of Playback Theatre for health care professional education; Anthropological perspectives on performing in post-conflict societies; Stories of Hope and Recovery with war widows in Northern Sri Lanka; An Approach to Oral History, and as a Response to Collective Trauma; Playback Theatre and Popular Struggle in Occupied Palestine; Can You Hear My Story? – creating a space for the stories of the children with physical and mental challenges in Fukushima after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster; Honouring and Reflecting the Queer Experience Through Playback Theatre; The Individual And Society – The Story of Playback Theatre in Asian Countries; A Balancing Act: Listening for and Finding the Metaphor in a Literal Story; Sustaining Company Life; The story hiding in a story – creativity and sensitivity; Living Up to the Dream: Social Awareness in Playback Theatre; Reconnecting the whole after trauma: past-present-future; use of PBT in a dramatherapy group with young people; Opening Pandora’s Box: Conductors’ struggles, mistakes and invaluable lessons; Spreading and Integrating Playback in social work practice; Exploring the Role of Music and Movement in Playback Acting; Listening and the rewards of Listening.
Let us know if you’d like to use Playback Theatre in your organisation to enable greater communication, reflection and connection.