ONLINE COURSE OFFERINGS
NYSPT courses have been designed to provide a broad range of instruction to reflect the needs, backgrounds and interests of our students. We offer several discounts which can be found when you register for courses. NYSPT courses work in compliance with the Centre for Playback Theatre's course curriculum.
In response to COVID-19, all courses are online until further notice.
Before enrolling, please check the course prerequisites below.
December 4, 2021
Online
Sliding Scale Pricing
$75-$25 USD
Celebrating Community: Stories of Black, Indigenous, People of Color
Randy Mulder & Rosalyn Smith-Stover
Celebrating Community is an opportunity for BIPOC folks to remember, share, and honor our stories through Playback Theatre. We understand that as a person of color sharing some truths can be like navigating an obstacle course. How much can I tell? How real can I be? Will the performers be able to enact the nuances I am referencing? Will they get me?
As 2021 comes to a close, let's gather in community to hold space for one another, reflect on the year behind us, and set intentions for our future. Through Playback, we’ll witness and play back our individual and collective stories of trial, triumph and trajectory.
This course is for people who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC).
Prerequisite: Some practical experience with Playback Theatre or a willingness to review materials in preparation for the workshop.
January 15,16,29,30, 2022
Online
Sliding Scale Pricing
$595-$250 USD
Core Training
Hannah Fox
Getting a strong start in Playback Theatre means taking enough time to immerse yourself in the rich atmosphere and dynamics of the Playback experience. In this four-day intensive, you’ll learn the basics with lots of opportunities to practice. The fundamental Playback forms will be taught—fluid sculptures, pairs, stories, tableau and more. Each student will have a chance to try the roles of conductor and musician as well as actor. Everyone will tell and enact stories together, in the spirit of fun and fellowship. Designed for new and relatively new students.
February 19-21,25-27, 2022
Online
$645 USD
Conducting the Story, The Group, and the Event
Randy Mulder
A skillful conductor knows how to bring out the important stories that are waiting to be heard in all their richness and wisdom. In this workshop, for both new and experienced Playback Theatre conductors, we will explore the many facets of this demanding role, including how to to listen for the heart of the story and explore the resonances within the audience. We'll consider the importance of language, the potency of silence, honoring the Playback ritual, and how to create an inclusive space for dialogue, which includes the art of warming up the audience. We¹ll also be telling our own stories, acting, and playing music.
Prerequisite: Core Training or equivalent*
*One year with an active company or 40 hours of practice
March 18-20, 2022
Online
$325 USD
What the Stories Tell
Jonathan Fox
In this intermediate-level course we will work in a practical way on highlighting images, embodying fuzzy meanings, hearing the unsaid in tellers' stories, and articulating effective launching phrases. We will also experience the Listening Hour and its challenge of the reprise, which is an extended launching phrase, where the conductor/guide recaps in a poetic way all the stories told.
This is the second course iteration and will focus on practical applications.
Prerequisites: Core Training and Conducting
April 22,23,24, 2022
Online
$325 USD
The Art of Online Playback
Hannah Fox with Radhika Jain
The recent transition from in-person to virtual Playback Theatre training and performance has brought broader access to a global audience and, at the same time, has presented complexities both artistically and with the Playback ritual. There are also some fun perks with online Playback such using props and environments in your acting. In this workshop, participants will delve into the new skills Playback practitioners need to be able to tell and Playback personal stories online succeessfully. For those Playback companies and pracitioners who have not yet made leap into the virtual world, this workshop is for you!
Prerequisite: Core Training or equivalent*
*One year with an active company or 40 hours of practice
April 29,30, May 1
May 13-15, 2022
Online
$700 USD
Advanced Practice
Jo Salas
This five-day course is designed to bring your knowledge and practical skills to the level needed for Playback Theatre Leadership, or simply to do your work well. We will pay careful attention to advanced issues in conducting and acting, with time to practice each of these roles, as well as music (both playing and teaching music). Conducting practice will include the subtle art of warming up any audience so they are ready to tell stories; choosing forms; and embracing stories that may not be easy to tell. We’ll also explore other topics such as recruiting and training company members, the practical issues that come up in running a group, and our social responsibility as practitioners. Participants are welcome to come with specific questions from your own Playback Theatre work.
Prerequisites: At minimum Core Training, Conducting, and at least one year of practical experience using Playback in the community.