I'm excited to soon share with you some of my reflections about the practice of Playback and what it's like to perform with True Story Theater. Feel free to respond to posts and to submit your own posts. I'd be glad to include writing from other practitioners and fans of Playback Theatre.
Be bold: True Story was hired to be the first artists to launch a new Arts in the Park series in Everett. The show started with an audience of only five elderly women in lawn chairs! So as people innocently strolled through the park, never guessing they would be part of our show, our conductor Christopher just brazenly went up and asked them to share something from their lives. He skillfully drew out stories from teens and elderly, from long-time residents and new immigrants… and we managed to pull off a surprisingly satisfying show.
Be nonverbal: At the Cambridge River Festival, it was reasonably quiet in our Storytelling Tent… until a rock band started playing in the next block! We actors could barely hear each other. Our show about stories from long-time Cambridgeport residents got even livelier, as we communicated mostly in body language (and shouts when essential). Fortunately, we heard from audience members that they heard us well enough and loved it.