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The Essential Moreno was first published by Springer Publishing Company in 1987 and has been a classic in the psychodrama literature since then, with numerous foreign-language editions. Tusitala is pleased to take over the publication of this important collection of excerpted writings of psychodrama’s legendary founder J. L. Moreno, including basic and advanced concepts and techniques, and verbatim transcripts of psychodrama sessions. Comments “It is not the usual book on psychiatry, psychotherapy, or psychopathology. It is a book about living, and the massive contribution of a true master.” —from the Foreword by Carl A. Whitaker, MD 2008 262 pages ISBN 978-0-9642350-5-2 -
20th Anniversary Edition
First published in 1993, Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre by Playback cofounder Jo Salas is the basic text used by new and seasoned Playback practitioners, trainers, and in university courses. The book has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Hebrew. The new edition includes a foreword by Roberto Gutiérrez Varea, a steering committee member of Theatre Without Borders and co-founder of the Performing Arts and Social Justice Program at the University of San Francisco. Other new material in the book includes new photos and an afterword by the author with comments on Playback’s current development. The main text is mostly unchanged except for revisions in the chapter called “Scenes and Other Forms,” bringing it in line with current practice. Kindle Edition Photos to accompany the electronic edition are available here. Discounts are available on orders of 10 or more copies. Please contact us. Comments “A basic operating manual for anyone who works with expressive therapies, role play, storytelling. Jo Salas's language is as direct and evocative as a Playback Theatre episode. Study this book, use it!” —Robin Larsen, PhD, co-author of A Fire in the Mind: The Life of Joseph Campbell “Readers concerned with story and theatre will find much of interest in this clearly and simply written account, which combines some of the elements of a how-to manual with reflection and theory.” —Parabola Magazine “This is a must-read book not only for theatre artists, but for educators and social service professionals interested in the arts as a tool toward both self-expression and community building.” —Mady Schutzmann, Co-Editor, Playing Boal: Theatre, Therapy, Activism 1993/2013 200 pages ISBN 978-0-9642350-9-0 -
Zoomy Zoomy is a collection of dynamic, well-tested, and easy-to-follow theatre games, warm-ups, and exercises for leaders working with groups of all ages, including theatre teachers, directors, classroom teachers, and group facilitators. Author Hannah Fox has collected and, in many cases, invented these activities over years of facilitating groups and performing. She also shares her wisdom as an experienced group leader about how to use the exercises—when and why to select them, how to introduce them, and how to lead them. Hannah Fox, M.A., APPT, RYT, is a senior international applied theatre trainer, co-director of the New York School of Playback Theatre and founder of several Playback Theatre companies including Pangea Playback Theatre (an online Playback Theatre company). Hannah is author of Zoomy Zoomy: Improv Games and Exercises for Groups as well as numerous other scholarly publications about Playback Theatre. www.nyspt.org / www.hannahkfox.com Comments “Hannah Fox has been at it a while—it’s in her blood, and it’s in her bones. The ‘it’ is using theatre as a practice to bring people together. You’d have to study with her to gain access to what she acknowledges is the most important aspect of excelling as a leader/facilitator—intuition. Presence. Experience. But she gives us what she can in print—a brisk list and thoughtful description of her tools. The games. From Spolin to Boal to Bogart, the grab bag is broad and its usefulness grand. If you’ve ever said to yourself, or to anyone—‘got any ideas for a good game or structure I can lead with my group?’—here’s your book.” —Michael Rohd, author of Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue Founding Artistic Director, Sojourn Theatre; Assistant Professor in Theater, Northwestern University “Zoomy Zoomy is an excellent and imaginative collection of exercises and games drawn from performance forms around the world. Some are variations of known masters, while many are original creations developed through the course of Hannah Fox’s diverse performing and teaching experience. As a professor of performance studies and anthropology, as well as having taken workshops in conventional Western theatre, theatre in Africa and Latin America, Playback, improvisation, clown, and dance, I find this book an invaluable source that can be used in a variety of artistic and academic contexts.” —Dr. Laurie Frederik Meer Assistant Professor of Performance Studies, University of Maryland “A useful resource for facilitators looking to expand their repertoire of theatre games.” —Jan Cohen-Cruz Director, Imagining America Artists and Scholars in Public Life University Professor, Syracuse University 2010 148 pages ISBN 978-0-9642350-8-3
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PERSONAL STORIES IN PUBLIC SPACES gathers together, for the first time in one place, key essays, articles, talks, and reminiscences by Playback Theatre’s founders. Covering a body of work that spans almost five decades and locations from war zones to great cities, this anthology takes the reader on a journey from the earliest days of Playback Theatre to the present day, and includes several essays written specifically for this collection. “Playback Theatre is one of the most widely used forms of applied performance throughout the world. This book from its founders is a timely reminder of Playback's practice and theory, highlighting both its social significance as a public storytelling method and its artistic importance in advancing the aesthetics of theatre for communities. The authors draw upon a lifetime as practitioners in an enormous range of contexts to demonstrate again and again the power of the story in helping each of us to make sense of our relationship to the world.”-- Tim Prentki, Emeritus Professor of Theatre for Development at the University of Winchester, UK, and co-editor of the Applied Theatre Reader (Routledge). 2021 320 pages ISBN 978-1-7342250-0-6 -
Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter was the translator of the writer Thomas Mann. E. A. Lowe was the premier Latin paleographer of his day who taught at Oxford University for nearly thirty years and was one of the founding fellows of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. They met in Munich in 1906. A Marriage of True Minds is a brief memoir by their daughter Patricia Tracy Lowe, telling of her parents’ distinguished lives. The volume also includes some of Ms Lowe’s own short stories and poems. 2006 112 pages ISBN 0-9642350-4-8 -
Spanish edition of Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre. Translated by Leticia Pérez Rodríguez and Alberto González Rivero. 2005 166 pages ISBN 9974-42-128-4
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Do My Story, Sing My Song tells the stories of children in residential treatment, diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed, who took part in music and drama therapy with the author. Engaging, informative, and moving, this book is for general readers, teachers, parents, artists, therapists, policy makers, and anyone interested in children and the arts within or beyond therapeutic contexts. Comments “The children whom Jo Salas writes about were all, in one form or another, profoundly disturbed. And yet she managed to contact them with a model composed of music, art, storytelling, role playing and various forms of drama. With delicate insight, deep tenderness and above all, with creativity, she deals with the magic, too often buried and untouched, that is to be found in children.” —Zerka Moreno, psychodramatist and co-author (with J.L. Moreno) of Who Shall Survive? (Vol. 2.) and co-author of Psychodrama, Surplus Reality and The Art of Healing. “I was deeply moved by this natural, human and heart-touching book. The style is so unassuming and clear. How well the author serves these embattled children!" —Dr Clive Robbins, Director of the Nordoff Robbins Center, New York University, co-founder of the Nordoff Robbins Clinics, London and New York, and co-author of Creative Music Therapy. “A fine accomplishment with an inspiring, yet usually overlooked, subject. Jo Salas has written a powerful testament to the raw power of artistic experience and the redemptive power of creative expression. She has the poet’s eye for telling detail, the playwright’s ear for the surprising (and hilarious) rich dialog, and the writer’s gift for capturing troubled children in elegant, beautiful portraits.” —Eric Booth, Founder of Juilliard's Art and Education Program, consultant to The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center Institute, and Tanglewood, and author of The Everyday Work of Art. 2007 180 pages ISBN 978-0-9642350-6-9 -
This 16-page booklet includes Jonathan’s essay on the theory of Narrative Reticulation, a deepened understanding of Playback Theatre’s process and impact. The essay describes how a Playback Theatre event builds a network of stories, meanings, and connections; how this process benefits audiences and communities; and how practitioners can make their work more effective by understanding and mastering elements that strengthen narrative reticulation. The workbook also includes exercises for PT companies to explore together, along with some of Jonathan’s favorite quotes from theatre and philosophy. Jonathan Fox is the founder, with Jo Salas, of playback theatre. He is a Harvard graduate and Fulbright scholar, and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Kassel in Germany. He is the author of Acts of Service: Spontaneity, Commitment, Tradition in the NonscriptedTheatre and the co-editor of Gathering Voices: Essays on Playback Theatre. 2020 16 pages ISBN 978-0-9889857-8-0 -
Beyond Theatre tells originator Jonathan Fox ’s personal story of the background and evolution of playback theatre, with chapters about his childhood in New York City and formative experiences as a young man in Nepal and New Zealand. He describes the emergence of the playback theatre vision, and how playback grew from its beginnings with the original company to its current worldwide presence. It is a story of struggle as well as discovery—as he tried to find acceptance and support for a theatre transcending familiar categories—and ends with a tribute to stories and the people who tell them. Jonathan Fox is the founder, with Jo Salas, of playback theatre. He is a Harvard graduate and Fulbright scholar, and the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Kassel in Germany. He is the author of Acts of Service: Spontaneity, Commitment, Tradition in the Nonscripted Theatre and the co-editor of Gathering Voices: Essays on Playback Theatre. 2015 167 pages ISBN 978-0-9889857-5-9
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