A collaboration between Playback North America (PNA) and the New York School of Playback Theatre. This is the only in-person Playback training being offered this summer in the U.S.

Thurs 7/17 - Sat. 7/19, 9:30am-4:30pm
In person - in Arlington, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston)
$250-$350 sliding scale

Don't miss this rare deal! Usually, the Core Training is $600 plus housing costs. Here, we are doing our best to keep the price low plus provide free housing. See logistics details below.

Only a few spaces are still available, so if you are interested, register ASAP.
Please only register if you commit to staying for your whole training.

IMPORTANT: to save your spot, you must fill out this registration questionnaire. The link will be in your confirmation email as well as here and at the end of this page.

About the training:
Are you looking to start or join a Playback performance company? Or have you been doing Playback, perhaps for years, but never took this basic course? In this immersive experience for both new and experienced Playback performers, you can dig into the foundational principles, forms, and applications of Playback Theatre. In small and large groups, you will get to learn (or re-learn) and practice:

Playback forms: fluid sculptures, pairs, stories, tableau 3-part stories and chorus.
The roles of actor, conductor and musician.
The art of deep sharing and listening in Playback.
Some of the artistic and ensemble skills that create compelling improvisational theatre.
Some of the social activism and community-building applications of Playback Theatre

The class culminates in mini-performances offered by small groups that work together throughout the training. More experienced students are offered individual feedback and coaching as desired.

You will also get to build relationships with people from many different Playback companies, and over meals getting to “talk shop” about the many joys and challenges of sustaining an ensemble. To give you a taste, registrants as of mid-May include:

New and long-time members of Liberation Playback (W. Mass), Portland Playback (Portland OR), True Story Theatre (Boston), Living Mirror (Tampa, FL), and NYU Playback (New York), as well as companies newly forming in El Cerrito, CA and Newton, MA; and individual performers with fascinating and extensive experience with Playback, Theatre of the Oppressed, drama therapy, scripted theatre and more.

“Taking Core Training with Hannah was an important part of my continuing to develop my craft as an experienced Playbacker. I enjoyed Hannah's spirit, welcoming presence, clarity, and generosity as a teacher, and was inspired by reconnecting to the original forms and sources of Playback.”

- Mary Elizabeth Wheeler (with 20 years of Playback experience)

A few logistics details:

Arlington, MA is 20-40 minutes (depending on traffic) from Logan International Airport.
We aim to find local hosts for any out-of-town participants who prefer a home stay instead of a hotel. Assignments will be determined in June. Guests and hosts will work out their own arrangements for food costs.
Lunch each day will be a potluck provided by local hosts (with guests sharing costs); breakfasts and dinners will be on your own or worked out between you and your hosts.

About the trainer

Hannah Fox, M.A., APPT, RYT, is an accredited senior Playback Theatre trainer, co-director of the New York School of Playback Theatre and founder of Eugene Playback Theatre (1996), Big Apple Playback Theatre (2002), and Pangea Playback Theatre (2020), all professional multi-cultural Playback Theatre companies. Hannah has a special interest in using theatre and performance as a tool for promoting social justice as well as using movement and full embodiment to enact stories. Hannah is the daughter of the founders of Playback Theatre and the author of Zoomy Zoomy: Improv Games and Exercises for Groups (2010), as well as numerous other scholarly publications about Playback Theatre. Hannah is also a certified yoga teacher, dancer, and performance artist.

About the organizers and hostsThis event is a first-ever collaboration between Playback North America and the New York School of Playback. A robust volunteer group from PNA, True Story Theater (Arlington MA) and a newly-forming Playback company in Newton MA are organizing the event and making possible its lower cost.

After you register, be sure to fill out the registration questionnaire.
Questions? Email: Connect [at] PlaybackNorthAmerica.com

Core Training Plus- for beginning and experienced Playbackers