2023 WINTER - SPRING - SUMMER 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 sliding scale pricing for Core Training. NYSPT courses work in compliance with the Centre for Playback Theatre's course curriculum.
Beginning in the fall 2022, we will offer a hybrid program with some classes offered online, and others in person.
Before enrolling, please check the course prerequisites below.
January 13-16, 2023
Online
Sliding Scale Pricing
$595-$300 USD
Core Training
Hannah Fox
Come learn the foundational principles, forms, applications of Playback Theatre! In this four-day intensive, you will 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.
January 28 & 29, 2023
Online
Sliding Scale Pricing
$300-200 USD
The Climate Crisis: Grief and Action
Jo Salas
We humans are creatures of the natural world. Whether we live in the city or the country, nature is our matrix—we are shaped, held, nurtured, inspired, and sometimes threatened by nature. For many of us it is an inescapable grief to know that so much that we treasure is at risk. In these times of tumultuous and potentially catastrophic climate change, we search for ways to save our world and ourselves.
Meeting online, we will share and enact our personal stories of our relationship with the natural world—our joy, our fears, our determination and sometimes despair. We’ll learn about climate issues and initiatives in each other’s countries, and explore practical ways of using Playback Theatre in our home communities to raise awareness, build resilience, and inspire courageous action.
Prerequisite: Core Training or one year in an active Playback company.
April 14,15,16, 2023
Online
$645 USD
Advanced Conducting
Randy Mulder & Synne Platander
Advanced Conducting is an opportunity for the experienced conductor to delve deeper into this delicate and complex role. The course will focus on the warmup phase and the use of sociometry, conducting the primary forms (short and long), eliciting stories from the audience and interviewing the teller, dealing with challenging tellers, and how to pay attention to the emerging connection between stories. Learning to implement the attributes of Narrative Reticulation to increase the efficacy of the performance and gaining exposure to basic techniques of trauma-informed conducting will also be included. Students can bring specific conducting questions and challenges to the group and will have ample opportunities to practice. This course will focus on skills needed for both in-person and online Conducting.
Prerequisites: At a minimum, Core Training, Conducting courses, and at least one year of practical conducting experience using Playback in the community in-person or online.
May 5,6,7,19,20,21, 2023
Online
Sliding Scale Pricing
$800-675 USD
Advanced Practice
Jo Salas
This six-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: Core Training (Level 1), Conducting (Level 2), and at least one year of practical experience doing in-person Playback performances in the community (outside of participating in training workshops and online experience).
July 22-25, 2023
In Person
Sliding Scale Pricing
$625-$400 USD
Core Training
Sheila Donio
Come learn the foundational principles, forms, applications of Playback Theatre! In this four-day intensive, you will 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.
July 26-29, 2023
In Person
$695 USD
Conducting the Story, the Group and the Event
Sarah Urech
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 listen for the heart of the story and explore the resonances within the audience. In addition, 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
July 30-31, 2023
In Person
$400 USD
The Presence of the PT Performer
Jonathan Fox
Strong presence can make all the difference as a performer. Does your manner as an actor or conductor pull the audience in as well as provide a sense of safety? Do you want feedback on how you are handling the meta level? This workshop will focus on this crucial element that needs to accompany the Playback Theatre practitioner's artistic skillset--their sense of presence on stage and how they relate to the audience in between enactments.
Prerequisite: Core Training or equivalent*
*One year with an active company or 40 hours of practice