1. Playback Theater Builds Bridges Across Divides
One of the tenets of Playback Theater is that audience participants can only tell stories about their own
experiences, not someone else’s. Questions asked by the Conductor will probe core feeling(s) that the
audience members experienced or expressed during their stories. The point of the improvisation is not to
factually portray every single act, but instead to convey the “emotional truth” of the story – what the person
experienced in the recounted events. Others in the audience may resonate with these emotions. Audience
participants are not stating their views/positions for or against something, but are instead explaining a
scenario from their past that affected them in some way. As such, this does not automatically trigger other
audience members’ defenses. Playback Theater’s storytelling format encourages audience members to
listen with compassionate understanding instead of debate about whether the person is wrong or right,
which honors the person’s dignity (See Essential Elements of Dignity (D. Hicks, 2011).).
Coming To The Table (CTTT) is a racial reconciliation organization in the United States founded by
descendants of enslaved people and slaveholders, inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision that
“the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the
table of brotherhood.” The focus of CTTT is transforming historical harms through acknowledging
history and creating connections in the present. This continues to be important today in the United States,
since the legacy of slavery still affects unequal distribution of resources, access to education, and
overrepresentation in prisons, and since many descendants continue to live in a disconnected or segregated
manner. In March 2015, Inside Out Playback Theater partnered with the Shenandoah Valley Chapter of
Coming To The Table to perform an event titled “Got Privilege?” In this event about race in the United
States, African-American and European-American participants shared stories about how they had
experienced privilege or discrimination due to race, including more explicit segregation from decades past.
2. Playback Theater Creates a Safe Space for Processing Traumatic Loss
After a traumatic event, if the trauma energy (shock, hurt, negativity, etc.) is not resolved, it will turn in on
oneself or out on others in cycles of acting in and acting out, potentially perpetuating issues such as
depression, substance abuse, high-risk behavior, suicide attempts, domestic violence, child abuse, criminal
activity, and even armed conflict. Key to breaking out of this cycle of trauma/violence is finding support,
mourning and grieving losses, and reconnecting with community. Acknowledging for oneself and with
other people what happened through telling one’s story is part of this process. (See Strategies for Trauma
Awareness & Resilience (STAR) Snail Model.) It must be noted that there are complex and contextual
considerations to keep in mind when re-telling stories in order to not entrench negative narratives or re-
traumatize people who have experienced harm. Yet, there are many potential benefits to re-telling difficult
stories, including an ability to shift perspective or gain more coherent understanding of previous events.
One organization that supports adult victims of childhood sexual abuse to find healing and freedom is
GuideSpring in Milton, Pennsylvania. GuideSpring offers intensive, multi-week support groups for
survivors to process and heal from unresolved trauma and loss. Inside Out has been invited to facilitate
several closing events for these groups, wherein survivors and their families attend and share stories about
their lives. Playback actors have been trained in trauma-sensitive techniques to portray traumatic elements
of people’s stories in indirect ways in order to mitigate the potential for exacerbating harm. Thus far, there
has been a tremendous favorable response from survivors and their families to this initiative. Although
GuideSpring often works within faith communities, since Playback Theater creates a space for all voices
to be heard, even those who are cynical about religion have also felt free to share their stories. Of note, at
one event, a family member of a survivor shared a story for apparent shock value, but the troupe performed
it in a way that led to a vision for healing and deeper sharing of additional challenging events.
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