Selected Topics in Playback Theatre
To support Playbackers in the UK - hotfoot from Core Training, or in newly forming groups, or for those with more experience looking to deepen practice from a fresh perspective - SPT (UK) offers non-residential weekends, and a series of 4 & 5 day residential trainings across the country in comfortable, welcoming venues across the UK.
Coming up soon…..
Click on INFO to download a pdf of information on each course
Deeper Listening (2010:1-4 Oct)
Deeper Listening INFO
The Dramaturgy of Story (2011:30 Apr-2 May)
Dramaturgy of Story INFO
Shamanism & Playback Theatre (2011:1-5 June)
Shamanism & PT INFO
The Interplay of Psychodrama & Playback Theatre (2011:29 Jul-2 Aug)
Interplay of Psychodrama & PT INFO
2010: Deeper Listening – October 1-4
with Kay Kay & Veronica Needa
1st-4th October (Friday 11am to Monday 4pm)
4 days (3 nights) residential at Poulstone Court, Kings Caple, Herefordshire HR1 4UA
Our Playback work demands keen listening, not just on stage with our Tellers, and between our fellow actors, but also during our regular practice and through the ups and downs of company life.
Kay Kay has developed a training programme LISTEN for a CHANGE © which enables us to gain insights into the ways in which we communicate, and listen to each to other. We will take this opportunity to study this subject with her, and come to understand our own constructive and destructive patterns of listening. We will then apply our learning within the Playback context. We will be coached on conducting – balancing listening with intervention; and coached on acting – weaving personal impulse with listening as an ensemble.
About the venue: a spacious Victorian country house, Poulstone Court lies in lush rolling countryside midway between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye, and five minutes from the River Wye. Close to the Black Mountains, the Brecon Beacons, the Forest of Dean, Symonds Yat, the Malvern Hills, it is easily accessible via M4, M5 and A40, and easy reach by train from London & Birmingham.
Fees: £545 (inclusive of all meals, shared accommodation and training)
2011: The Dramaturgy of Story – April 30-May 2
with Fra Zeller
30th April to 2nd May (Saturday-Monday 10am-6pm)
3 days non-residential at Camden Chinese Community Centre, 9 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SN
The artistic portrayal of story is at the heart of our playback work. Using all of our theatrical creativity and imagination is the area of Playback training which Fra Zeller is most passionate about. She is our guest teacher from the German-speaking School of Playback Theatre this year.
Within the simple frame of our Playback Theatre stage, we will explore the use of space, time, the actors’ body, imagination, collaboration, metaphor, objects, boxes, cloth to bring forth the essence of whatever story is offered to us by our Teller. Fra has had extensive training in a variety of theatrical traditions. She introduces the power of Noh Theatre into our practice, and draws from her sensitivity as an expressive arts therapist, as well as from many years of performing playback in corporate context
About the venue: We will make ourselves at home within the heart of an active community space. The Camden CCC has taken custodial ownership of a characterful listed building near Russell Square, and a short walk from King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston stations.
Fees: £275
2011: Shamanism & Playback Theatre – June 1-5
with Howard & Elsa Malpas, Simon Floodgate & Veronica Needa
1st-5th June (Wednesday 12noon to Sunday 4pm)
5 days (4 nights) residential at Earth Spirit, Dundon, Somerton, Somerset TA11 6PE
This unique course is designed for those who have some experience of Shamanic practice, who wish to explore the performative aspects of Shamanism via Playback Theatre. It is also for experienced Playbackers wishing to enhance their own practice through a deepening of self via Shamanism. The Playback practitioner could also be regarded as a direct descendant of the Shaman – the first actor, dramatist, storyteller – using performance to serve the emotional, spiritual and physical health of their community. Newcomers to Playback Theatre will have an induction to basic principles. Newcomers to Shamanism will have an induction to Shamanic Journeying. And – weaving together Shamanic practice with its performative elements – we will all be exploring Playback Theatre not only as a 21st Century Community Theatre but as a form of Spiritual Theatre.
As actors and conductors, Playback Theatre requires us to keep open to inspiration – from our team mates, as well as from somewhere deep inside us. The ritual of our practice creates a holding container which invites our audience into a place of co-creation. Many of us conceive the nature of our work as a manifestation of the transpersonal. Lets explore this through the ancient tradition of shamanism. These 5 days we will work with Howard & Elsa Malpas- teachers of the Shamanic Way – and experience ourselves as warriors of the heart. We will journey together in many different ways, and integrate Playback Theatre into this experience. We will take time to reflect on our personal process as well as on our playback practice.
About the venue: Just five miles from Glastonbury, on the edge of Compton Dundon village in Somerset, EarthSpirit lies within the ‘temenos’ (sacred enclosure) of Avalon. The centre is situated in a beautiful landscape next to two nature reserves; and just two minutes walk from St Andrew’s church, which has within its cemetery a yew tree over 1,700 years old. The seventeenth century farm buildings have been restored and specially converted for use as a venue. They are set within seven acres of fields and gardens.
Fees: £675 (inclusive of all meals, shared accommodation and training)
2011: The Interplay of Psychodrama & Playback Theatre – July 29-August 2
A celebration of creativity and therapeutic depth
with Anna Chesner & Veronica Needa
29th July to 2nd August (Friday 11am to Tuesday 5pm)
5 days (4 nights) residential at the Claret Centre, Buckden Towers, High St, Buckden, St Neots, Cambridgeshire PE19 5TA
This 5 day Residential provides an opportunity for Playbackers to have a deep experience of Psychodrama for personal work and to enrich our practice of Playback Theatre. For Psychodrama practitioners & trainees, this residential will be an excellent opportunity to explore the artistry and therapeutic impact of both modalities. We will have sessions each day of both methods, with evenings of processing, and discussions of theoretical & ethical considerations.
Prerequisite:
For Psychodramatists and Psychodrama trainees, with or without playback experience.
For Playbackers with or without psychodrama experience. Playbackers must have had some foundation training in playback theatre or at least 6 months experience with an active playback group.
Counts as 50 residential hours for BPA purposes.
Counts as 50 hours of Psychodrama towards the School of Playback Theatre prerequisites for Leadership Trainin
About the venue: Buckden Towers is a complex of buildings, gardens, lake, and park, located in the village of Buckden, approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of London between the market towns of Huntingdon and St. Neots. Originally the home of the Bishops of Lincoln, the Claretian Missionaries since 1956 have painstakingly restored this place to welcome individuals and groups for a range of activities.
Fees: £675 (inclusive of all meals, shared accommodation and training)