Improvising Real Life

Contents

Foreword by Roberto Gutiérrez Varea: “Who has the next story?”

Introduction
Chapter 1: The Beginnings
Chapter 2: The Sense of Story
Chapter 3: Scenes and Other Forms
Chapter 4: Being a Playback Actor
Chapter 5: Conducting
Chapter 6: Music for Playback
Chapter 7: Presence, Presentation, and Ritual
Chapter 8: Playback and Healing
Chapter 9: Being in the Community
Chapter 10: Growing in the World

Glossary
Appendix
References and Resources
Index
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the author

From the Introduction

Playback Theatre is a form of improvisation that is based on stories of ordinary and not-so-ordinary life events told during a performance—dreams, memories, fantasies, tragedies, farces: all holographic glimpses into the lives of real people. It is accessible and fun, and yet carries dimensions of depth and sophistication. It takes place in theatres, but also outside them—it can work in virtually any setting, because by its nature it adapts to the needs and concerns of whoever is present. Whether in the hands of polished performers or awkward beginners, Playback Theatre celebrates individual experience, and the connections between people—their collective experience—through their stories.

People who are drawn to practice Playback usually find themselves doing it for its own rewards—the fun of it, the satisfaction of bringing a story to life and knowing that you have given a memorable gift to a stranger, or perhaps to a friend. Other kinds of rewards—money, recognition, prestige—are not so easy to come by through something that defies categorization the way Playback Theatre does. It is artistic, healing, community-building, visionary, all at the same time. It is, perhaps, a kind of synthesis of these functions that has not been familiar in our culture for hundreds of years.

I have written this book most of all as a resource for the many people now doing Playback, and for those who would like to learn more about it. As someone who teaches Playback Theatre to new and experienced people, I know that it’s not something you can really learn from a book. What I’m offering will be, I hope, a supplement to hands-on training, a supportive and informative companion.

Jo Salas is the co-founder of Playback Theatre and the artistic director of Hudson River Playback Theatre in New York State. She has taught Playback Theatre in 27 countries, often teaching courses for the Centre for Playback Theatre and the New York School of Playback Theatre. She was a keynote speaker at academic symposiums on Playback Theatre held at the University of Kassel, Germany, and Arizona State University.

Jo’s publications about Playback Theatre include numerous articles and three books: Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre, now published in eleven languages; Do My Story, Sing My Song: Music therapy and Playback Theatre with Troubled Children; and Personal Stories in Public Spaces: Essays on Playback Theatre by Its Founders, co-authored with Jonathan Fox. She also co-edited the bilingual publication, Half of My Heart/La Mitad de Mi Corazón: True stories told by immigrants. Her TEDx talk “Everyone has a story” can be viewed on Youtube.