Playback Theatre – Second Sunday Circle
with Mallika Rao
April 13th from 2:00 to 3:45
$30, no cost for Sol Members *registration is required for all
Second Sunday Circle for this month:
Rather than talking and thinking, playback offers a way to express and feel into the joys, challenges, and questions of our common humanity. This Sunday Circle is an invitation to explore a bit of what it feels like to participate in this form of community process. And, perhaps to expand your comfort zone and emotional resilience in these dramatic times.
Playback theatre is a type of improvisational theatre in which audience members share real moments from their lives and watch it played back by the actors spontaneously in sound and movement in a way that is meaningful and can help them feel seen and understood. In this form of theatre, the conductor asks for tellers from the audience, interviews them getting details for the sharing while actors listen, then the actors improvise the playing back of the teller’s story. In this way, a playback performance, creates community connection, can be therapeutic, and can inspire social change.
Playback theatre was founded in 1975 by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas who started International Playback Network, and since then has become a widely used form all over the world. Pam Gold brought this form to Tucson and created Tucson Playback Theatre. After she retired from leadership, the troupe loosely became known as Tucson Community Playback and has had various permutations since then.
Mallika Rao is a long time Tucson resident who worked in community gardens work, public secondary education, hospital rehab therapist, but now works as a pelvic floor physical therapist in a community health setting. Her training in Playback Theatre form started in 2000 when she joined Pam Gold’s playback troupe. She has also done trainings with International Playback Network and with Playback North America. Her hobbies include playing tabla for kirtan, dancing, backpacking on the Arizona Trail, and hanging out with her spouse and dog.
The Second Sunday Circle is a monthly gathering to explore diverse topics relating to spiritual perspective, path, and practice in an experiential and conversational format. Long time and brand new sol center friends are welcome.
