Description:
PERSONAL STORIES IN PUBLIC SPACES: Essays on Playback Theatre by Its Founders gathers together key essays, articles, and talks about this widely-used interactive theatre form.
Brief description: JONATHAN FOX was artistic director of the original Playback Theatre company from its inception in 1975. From 1993 until 2010 he was director of the Centre for Playback Theatre in New York. He earned a BA from Harvard University in English, where he studied the oral tradition under Albert Lord; an MA in political science from Victoria University in New Zealand, studying under a Fulbright scholarship; and in 2008 a D. Phil. h.c. from the University of Kassel in Germany for his artistic and scholarly contribution to theatre. He is also a Trainer, Educator, and Practitioner of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. Jonathan is the author of Acts of Service: Spontaneity, Commitment, Tradition in the Nonscripted Theatre; Beyond Theatre: A Playback Theatre Memoir; and The Playback NR Workbook. He also edited The Essential Moreno: Writings on Spontaneity, Psychodrama and Group Method; and co-edited Gathering Voices: Essays on Playback Theatre. Since 1980 he has been teaching Playback Theatre in a variety of settings around the world.
Review Quotes:
"Playback Theatre is one of the most widely used forms of applied performance throughout the world. This book from its founders is a timely reminder of Playback's practice and theory, highlighting both its social significance as a public storytelling method and its artistic importance in advancing the aesthetics of theatre for communities. The authors draw upon a lifetime as practitioners in an enormous range of contexts to demonstrate again and again the power of the story in helping each of us to make sense of our relationship to the world."
Tim Prentki, Emeritus Professor of Theatre for Development at the University of Winchester, UK; co-editor of The Applied Theatre Reader (Routledge)