Are you ready to...
Learn how to use Playback Theatre to create social and environmental justice?
Meet Playback practitioners from all around the world who will encourage and challenge you to grow?
Take part in a ground-breaking six-day retreat in Croatia in 2025, followed by a year-long program of mentorship and support?
Become empowered to make your Playback dreams come true for your own community?
Then HEED’s next training program might be for you!
Tell me more…
HEED’s first year-long training and support program will begin in Croatia in June 2025, led by the dynamic and skilled facilitation team of Hane Alrustm, Emily Conolan, Elsa Maurício Childs and Devrim Nicolò Turletti. This project will bring together old and new Playback practitioners to collaborate on projects of social justice, and will be offered every two years to establish a ground-breaking yet sustainable project for lasting change.
We will select ten experienced practitioners, who will bring their knowledge of the form of Playback, their experience of company life and leadership, and their networks and resources within the PBT community; and ten new practitioners, who will bring their inspiration, their perspective and lived experience. Together, all participants will represent a wide range of diverse communities and identities. As we are committed to ensuring equity and diversity among our range of participants, a sliding fee scale will be offered, ranging from full scholarship places, to fees that include a ‘paying it forward’ donation.
The incubation phase will take place at a six-day-long retreat where we will provide teaching on subjects such as identity and decolonising Playback; representing social and political forces on stage; the myth of neutrality; and other subjects designed to leave participants feeling inspired, challenged and nourished. While the first iteration of the project will have its retreat phase in Croatia, the project will select other countries for future iterations to ensure maximum accessibility.
At the end of this retreat, participants will form pairs or small groups combining less and more experienced playback practitioners who can best support each other to move forward with a project, such as starting or strengthening a new or existing troupe; running a series of performances or training; fundraising; hosting a gathering or training. The projects will all strengthen representation of diverse voices in Playback, and bring Playback to communities where it can serve social or environmental justice outcomes.
There will be thorough and continued support over the course of the following year that will include multiple supervision sessions with the teaching team, and group gatherings online. At the end of the program, there will be a celebration, recognition, and presentation of our projects to the global Playback community. This program is designed to not only enliven and enrich participants’ Playback practice, but also to provide the follow-through, networking, and support they need as practitioners in their own communities, which is an element crucial for success that is often lacking in other Playback training programs.
Applications for this year’s program are closed. You can support one of the candidates in getting their full scholarship!