3 . Playback Theater Fosters a Sense of Belonging for Youth
Young people growing through adolescence experience many transitions which can be exacerbated by marginalization but improved by inclusion . Harrisonburg , VA , where Eastern Mennonite University is located , is a hub for refugee resettlement in the United States . Though Harrisonburg is a rural town of only 53,000 people , students at Harrisonburg City Public Schools were born in 53 countries and speak 57 different languages in addition to English , with 35 % identified as ‘ English Learners .’ In 2016 and 2017 , Inside Out facilitated a day-long interactive Playback Theater workshop at Harrisonburg High School with some of these immigrant and refugee students in the English as a Second Language program .
At these events , Inside Out first hosted an hour-long Playback Theater performance with students . During the opening exercise , it became apparent that about 40 students had arrived in the U . S . within the past year , traveling from countries throughout Asia , Africa , the Middle East , and Latin America . When the Conductor invited these students to share their experiences of transitioning to a new country , at first they were shy . Like any high school students , they said that they were “ sleepy ” or “ stressed by homework ,” which the troupe improvised to laughter . As the audience became more confident , one student told his story of departing the Congo , expressing the pain he felt of leaving his professional soccer team in order to join his father in the U . S . to grow up with less violence . This student explained how scared he felt initially at high school , but that a coach encouraged him to join the American football team , which helped him make new friends and feel at home with a new sport . As he watched his story improvised , he exclaimed “ yes !” in recognition . This story inspired another student to share his experience of leaving Iraq .
Following the performance of students ’ stories , the Playback Theater troupe spent the rest of the day teaching students theater exercises and games in a participatory workshop , using spoken word , movement , and music to express emotions and stories . This workshop gave shy students the opportunity to express themselves with instruments and students of various languages the opportunity to improvise in Spanish , French , etc . These interactive activities provided an opportunity for youth to express and validate each other ' s experiences of transition , loss of home , and gaining a new culture , as theater participants and not just audience members . Students acquired communications skills and tools for self-expression which empowered them to honor each other ’ s stories and to better handle their own transitions .
These three examples offer a glimpse into the many ways that Playback Theater can be used to build peace in communities . In addition to conflict prevention , there is much potential for Playback Theater to also be used in post-conflict reconciliation and truth-telling as explored in the resources listed below .
Recommendation .
1 . Stakeholders involved in conflict prevention and transformation should consider funding arts-based peacebuilding initiatives and partnering with Playback Theater troupes for community-building events . Such stakeholders should consider how organizational , group , and personal identities affect power dynamics and relationships in communities . Only trained Playback Theater personnel should conduct such events . Playback Theater personnel should consider their own identities ( race , age , gender , etc .) when designing events , because visible identity markers of actors may affect which stories audience members feel free to share ( especially for events about racial issues or gender-based violence ).
2 . Societies that are experiencing significant divisions that could lead to violence should consider using Playback Theater events to build understanding and empathy for other people / groups and their experiences . This can lead to more understanding for why people have the positions / opinions that they do and remind people to respect each other ’ s humanity .
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