Playback Theatre: the art of being oneself. A tool for empowerment and real change for individuals and communities

This article presents the application of a theatrical technique—Playback Theatre, which was developed in the United States during the 1970s—to social intervention, as a narrative and listening space that confers value and dignity upon the person and the unique and distinct individual experiences that facilitate their social and relational integration. This art of being oneself, as the author states, uses the oral tradition and spontaneous and creative communication of psychodrama and combines them with theatrical expression. This technique has been shown to be pertinent to both community social work and support groups for persons in problematic situations. The aim of this is to celebrate some specific moment of their lives, as individuals or as a community, and to define strategies for improving living conditions or resolving or alleviating conflicts. It is also used to assess the achievements of the proposed objectives, to strengthen the motivation to change and to transform existing relationships into collaborative ones. This is possible not only owing to the participation of persons, but also to the assumption of different roles that can permit the overcoming of certain traumatic events.In addition to support groups, it is used for the training and supervision of social work professionals. The theatrical technique in question allows them to assume roles as diverse as narrator, audience or actor, whether simultaneously or successively. Taking the role of «performer» or guide to the theatrical action requires prior preparation in order for the group of participants to be able to pool their individualities and their emotions and reflect on them. The participatory methodology that Playback Theatre proposes is important in community social work and is posed in a new and transformative key.

Intimacy at work: Playback theatre and corporate cultural change in Mercedes Benz, Brazil

On the back of a faltering economic year in 2007 and a major merger of motor car and truck dealerships, international motor car giant Mercedes Benz adopted a radical approach to re-aligning the company vision for their Brazilian business. Adopting a people-centred approach to change, they integrated participatory theatre and personal stories into a nationwide cultural development programme producing twelve performances in twelve cities. The central content of the performances came from employees who told personal stories that were then performed onstage. Each event acted as a unique expression of workplace values that would be led by employee attitudes and behaviour. Through the dialogic process, the company established a new code of conduct for customer care for the next phase of company activity. This article critiques various aspects of the programme and considers the value and limitations in the person-centred approach facilitated through theatre.

Refugee performance: aesthetic representation and accountability in playback theatre

This essay seeks to unpack some of the issues concerning representation when performing refugee stories using playback theatre. It questions the reductive influence of narrative structure and, using the framework of artist as ethnographer, it argues that strong aesthetic production is required to overcome the dampening effect of empathy when performing personal stories in refugee/asylum contexts. The tension that emerges among the key imperatives of accountable, accurate and aesthetic representation in refugee performance is then explored as a dialogic space.

Brave New Welcome

Brave New Welcome is the title of a short film, and a project, which was driven by a diverse group of young people who engaged with arts practices such as playback theatre, visual and media arts, and who worked with a range of professionals to develop their own response to the issue of how young people from refugee backgrounds are welcomed in Brisbane. Film Description on Vimeo: In January 2014, at a time when Australia is full of messages of ‘unwelcome’, a group of 20 young people from diverse backgrounds came together in Brisbane. We asked, ‘What does it take to make friends with people who are really different from ourselves?’ We told stories using music, playback theatre and community café dialogue. Our experience was so awesome we decided to give others a taste. So, three months later, we brought over 80 young people together in a forum to meet each other and tell stories in creative and interesting ways. We shared our ideas, asked big questions, and challenged others in our community. What can you do to create a Brave New Welcome?

Elos: trabalho de projecto

Trabalho de Projecto submetido à Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Teatro – especialização em Teatro e Comunidade.

Big clumsy feet stomping all over: shame, caution and fear in performance for peace building

This article examines some of the tensions implicit in performing in peace contexts. Drawing on the community-based performance form playback theatre, the article interrogates the (citizen) artist/performer within the demands of improvised performance. The article investigates the demands on the actor in a practice context that features refugee and asylum-seeker audience members/participants: the way in which performative risk, the risk of intimacy, the risk of getting it wrong and the risk of shaming self and other are considered in light of the challenges associated with the specificity of the ethnicity, cultural context/s, values and protocols of these audiences.

In the mouth of the imagination : positioning children as co-researchers and co-artists to create a professional children's theatre production

In recent decades a number of Australian artists and teacher/artists have given serious attention to the creation of performance forms and performance engagement models that respect children’s intelligence, engage with themes of relevance, avoid the cliche´s of children’s theatre whilst connecting both sincerely and playfully with current understandings of the way in which young children develop and engage with the world. Historically a majority of performing arts companies touring Australian schools or companies seeking schools to view a performance in a dedicated performance venue engage with their audiences in what can be called a ‘drop-in drop-out’ model. A six-month practice-led research project (The Tashi Project) which challenged the tenets of the ‘drop-in drop-out’ model has been recently undertaken by Sandra Gattenhof and Mark Radvan in conjunction with early childhood students from three Brisbane primary school classrooms who were positioned as co-researchers and co-artists. The children, researchers and performers worked in a complimentary relationship in both the artistic process and the development of product.

"Theatre of the dancing language" : new possibilities in contemporary Australian playwrighting

This study focuses on trends in contemporary Australian playwrighting, discussing recent investigations into the playwrighting process. The study analyses the current state of this country’s playwrighting industry, with a particular focus on programming trends since 1998. It seeks to explore the implications of this current theatrical climate, in particular the types of work most commonly being favoured for production. It argues that Australian plays are under-represented (compared to non-Australian plays) on ‘mainstream’ stages and that audiences might benefit from more challenging modes of writing than the popular three-act realist play models. The thesis argues that ‘New Lyricism’ might fill this position of offering an innovative Australian playwrighting mode. New Lyricism is characterised by a set of common aesthetics, including a non-linear narrative structure, a poetic use of language and magic realism. Several Australian playwrights who have adopted this mode of writing are identified and their works examined. The author’s play Floodlands is presented as a case study and the author’s creative process is examined in light of the published critical discussions about experimental playwriting work.

Online scheduling in the operating theatre

Online scheduling is considered in this paper for the Operating Theatre. Robust elective schedules are determined in the offline environment prior to the day of surgery for the online environment. Changes to the offline schedule during project implementation are minimized using an online scheduling model that operates in real-time. The model aims to minimise cancellations of pre-scheduled elective patients whilst also allowing for additional scheduling of emergency cases, time permitting, which may arise during the schedules implementation. Surgical durations are modelled with a lognormal distribution. The single theatre case is solved and the computationally complex multiple theatre case, which is left for future work, is discussed.

The new wave : a Brisbane perspective : La Boite Theatre Company's distinctive contribution

In 1967 Brisbane Repertory Theatre made a decision that was to change the city's cultural landscape in a significant and lasting way. Faced with crippling theatre rental costs, Brisbane Rep. found a realistic solution by converting one of its properties - an old Queenslander - into a unique theatre space. The theatre-in-the box that emerged, aptly called La Boite, opened on 23 June 1967 with a production of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger. This experimental space excited the imagination of a new, younger audience not previously interested in Brisbane Rep's essentially conservative fare. It attracted a new group of directors and actors keen to be part of a changing repertoire that embraced more radical, non-mainstream productions, some of which were of Australian plays. The decade after 1967 was a period of change and development unprecedented in La Boite's history. Since then the company has sustained and grown its commitment to Australian plays and the commissioning of new works. To what extent was this most significance moment in La Boite's transformational journey influenced by southern 'new waves' of change? With the benefit of hindsight, it is now time for a re-consideration of Brisbane's distinctive contribution to the New Wave.

Applied theatre and organisational transformation

Applied Theatre is an umbrella term for a range of drama-based techniques, all of which align with a lineage of pedagogical theory and practice: (e.g.) Freire, Moreno, Heathcote. It encompasses methods and forms including Drama Education (O’Neill); Forum Theatre (Boal); and Process Drama (Haseman, O’Toole). Applied theatre often occurs in non-theatrical settings (schools, hospitals, prisons) with the aim of helping participants address issues of local concern. Increasingly, Applied Theatre practices are utilised in the corporate environment. Appied Theatre adopts artistic principles in production, but posits a practical utility beyond simple entertainment.