October 11-13, 2024
In the beginning of October we made First Baltic Playback Theatre and Psychodrama Forum and held the first gathering of the Playback Theatre community in the Baltic region. More than 30 participants from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia attended.
Over the few days of the forum, we explored new opportunities for developing the Baltic Playback Theatre and Psychodrama School, ways to provide high-quality training for Playback Theatre practitioners, and the advantages for those teams and practitioners who united under institution of the School.
It’s clear what the School offers to students, but what can it offer to practitioners and teams?
The School supports teams in legitimate processes when they need official representation. It can be challenging to explain to social institutions what a playback theatre team is, its purpose, and how it works. The School represents the teams, showing that Playback Theatre is not only about acting practices but is also a serious social movement with a structured approach to addressing social issues. Playback teams don’t just perform for audiences; they engage in targeted actions that address relevant social issues within each audience.
The School also provides financial support to teams and practitioners involved in its projects.
Another function of the School is to offer social support and create a professional community where participants can share experiences, coordinate their development path, and integrate Playback Theatre into various areas of social life.
During the forum, much attention was also given to studying cultural and psychological phenomena that Playback Theatre practitioners encounter in their work. One of notable phenomenons is the culture of silence. In our observations, we’ve recognized that people in the Baltic countries find it challenging to open up to an audience and to speak about what is happening. This phenomenon will be a particular focus of future work.
Throughout the forum, we noticed the strong influence of psychodrama within the Baltic Playback Theatre and Psychodrama School. Aivars Simmermann (Moreno Keskus, Estonia), Endel Hango (Tartu Psychodrama Institute, Estonia), and Maria Bambulyaka (Latvian Association of Psychodrama, Sociometry, and Group Psychotherapy, Latvia) not only work on developing playback but are also involved in organizations that use psychodrama as a powerful tool for group and individual psychotherapy in society. Playback Theatre and psychodrama have historically been closely linked, and it seems this connection is very vibrant here.
The School aims to implement and advance these methods. An additional outcome of the forum was the development of an action plan and development strategy within the BPTPS cycle – training, research, and transformations.
For training, in fall 2025, we will start Advanced Course for certification of playback practitioners in the Baltic region.
For research, we carry out regular performances by teams and practitioners in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia and share these experiences on the School’s platforms. We are also studying the field of teams that use playback theatre techniques and, in November 2024, will visit Lithuania to connect with the 4Rooms team.
For transformations, in January 2025, we will begin a performance cycle called “Say It Out Loud,” dedicated to the theme of voicing problems and stories that people want to discuss but feel unable to express.
The work is in full swing, and we invite everyone interested to join us. Together, we can achieve more than alone.
Looking forward to meeting again in October 2025!
