ABSTRACT:

We are among the first trainees to hold the title of “Assistant Sociodrama Group Leader” in Hungary. One of our pioneering projects involved an experiment that combined the methods of sociodrama and playback theater—both developed by Jacob Levy Moreno.

The roots of playback theater trace back to Jacob L. Moreno’s Stegreiftheater, which operated in Vienna from 1921 to 1923. In this innovative theater, personal stories were vividly brought to life. The fusion of sociodrama and playback theater is particularly intriguing due to the profound role stories play in the fabric of human existence. Stories possess the remarkable ability to unite and connect us, erode the barriers between individuals and their life experiences, and facilitate healing for individuals, families, and even entire societies. Stories represent an ancient and integral aspect of universal culture. By passing them on, we forge traditions and customs, transmit values, educate future generations, and gain a deeper understanding of both ourselves and the world around us. Stories also serve as mirrors to the collective unconscious, the part of our psyche shared by all of humanity and inherently ingrained within us. The goal of our workshop is to explore the sociodrama community and its dynamics through the lens of socio-playback methodology.

We aim to discover our shared narratives and integrate our collective experiences from the sociodrama conference. During the session, participants will engage in a playback performance, where the focus will be on a group, a collective experience, and a shared story. They will come to understand that playback theater can be harnessed to reenact collective stories as well.

Moreover, participants will have the opportunity to discern the distinctions between traditional playback and socio-playback. Together with fellow participants, they will demonstrate the enactment of a collective story on stage, further strengthening their understanding of this powerful approach.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

ABSTRACT:

Playback Theatre is one of the most important contemporary community based, participatory theatres in the world. It is a genre of storytelling theatre based on interaction and improvisation, which utilizes the wisdom and strength of community, the art of theatre and the basic idea of psychodrama. Playback Theatre companies have been operating around the world for over 45 years and in more than 75 countries. It has a world wide movement and an international network of Accredited Trainers and of Schools in affiliation with the Centre for Playback Theatre. There are more than 11 Schools of Playback Theatre in this netwtwork, including the Hungarian School of Playback Theatre.

In Playback Theatre, members of the audience tell their personal experiences and the performing team members “play them back” on the spot. This helps a personal and at the same time facilitates a community and social change and transformation. There is place for all stories, for everyday moments and turning points in our lives, for untold and unheard stories too. Each story is unique and each has a common humanity. Playback Theatre draws people closer as they see their common humanity.

This genre of improvisational theatre is also a powerful method of communication in almost any human community. It is not only practised as theatre, but also used as an applied method in many contexts: education, health, social institutions, NGOs, church organisations, companies, private and public sectors, etc.

A personal story, told in front of us and immediately played back, respecting the storyteller, his or her experience and in tune with the community, allows an intimate and deep connection, creating the necessary atmosphere.

Playback Theatre is a modern recreation of an oral traditional ceremony. Similar events entertained the community of a village or a tribe, but the goal was always something more – for example, to cure an illness, to solve a social or community problem, or to remind the creators of some kind of ancient wisdom.

With the ecopsychological approach of playback theatre, our aim is to respond to ecological challenges, the destruction of nature and the alienation between man and nature through the tools of playback theatre. During the interactive performance, participants share their own feelings, moods and stories, which are processed and presented on the spot, as well as reflected in an ad hoc exhibition of paintings and drawings. In doing so, we foster a community dialogue, connection and reconnection with ourselves, each other and nature. Thus healing the crisis of alienation in alignement with all activities and programs of the Ecopsychology Association.

The performance of the two companies and their international playback theatre colleagues at the conference will give participants the opportunity to directly experience the power of Playback Theatre and its associated fine art forms to address social and ecological issues, especially in the light of their fresh experiences at the conference.