A Week on Wheels That United the Baltic Playback World
In the summer of 2025, the Baltic Playback Theatre and Psychodrama School (BPTPS) launched its second international forum — Vagabunda (Vagabund is a person who wanders from place to place without a permanent home; a drifter, a wanderer). What began as a creative experiment grew into a moving cultural laboratory, a traveling school, and a celebration of human stories.
For seven unforgettable days, the group crossed more than 2,000 kilometers, visiting all Baltic countries and creating a living, breathing forum on wheels.
The route became a symbolic circle of connection:
Liepāja → Tallinn → Pärnu → Riga → Liepāja → Kaunas → Vilnius → Liepāja
Participants from five countries — Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, and Ukraine — met in real time, shared skills, explored cultures, and performed in six languages: Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Danish, Russian and Ukrainian.
Every city added its own color, energy, and emotional landscape.
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Tallinn: Two Days of Deep Exchange and a Jam Under Northern Skies
The forum began in Tallinn, where the local playback community warmly hosted the Vagabunda travelers.
For two full days the group and Estonian playbackers engaged in:
- experience exchange sessions,
- masterclasses,
- training laboratories,
- and a joint jam performance that blended multiple languages and styles.
Tallinn set a tone of generosity and partnership that followed the group across all borders.
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Pärnu: Young Voices, Open Sky, and a Terrace Full of Stories
Next stop — Pärnu, where the team met a summer camp of young people from Latvia and Estonia.
These teenagers were learning languages, theatre, and communication skills — and Playback became the perfect bridge.
The performance took place outdoors, on a terrace surrounded by warm evening air.
The young audience reacted deeply, openly, emotionally. After a long and heartfelt evening, they simply did not want to let the actors go.
It was one of those moments where Playback becomes magic:
when young people discover that their stories matter.
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Riga: Training With Diližans and a Full-Hearted Joint Performance
In Riga, Vagabunda brought advanced training to the local playback team Diližans.
A masterclass transformed into a lively dialogue between experienced actors and new voices.
Later that evening, a joint performance gathered the local community — full of humor, truth, vulnerability, and Riga’s unmistakable rhythm.
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Liepāja: A Warm Homecoming and a Full Theatre
Returning to Liepāja, the team split their work into two powerful days.
Day 1
A masterclass for the local playback community and guests — strengthening technique, presence, and connection.
Day 2
The Liepāja team Baydarka gave a performance at the Liepājas Leļļu Teātris.
Not only was the hall full — some people were standing, unwilling to miss the experience.
It was an exceptionally warm, resonant performance that touched the audience deeply and made the hometown stop one of the brightest of the journey.
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Kaunas: Building Bridges With Improvisers
In Kaunas, BPTPS met with the local improvisational theatre community.
The conversation quickly evolved into a shared creative space, and the teams discovered many common values.
A new collaboration was agreed upon — a sign that the movement continues to grow across borders.
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Vilnius: A Final Performance With Vakhtery
The last stop brought the group to Vilnius, where the Ukrainian team Vakhtery performed for a local audience. Wormy hosted by playbackers in Vilnius.
It was a thoughtful and sincere closing point of the journey — a performance that held both local flavor and the collective energy of the entire Vagabunda week.
And then — back to Liepāja, completing the circle and bringing home a suitcase full of stories.
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What Vagabunda Created
This was not a typical tour.
It was a mobile forum, a school, a laboratory, and a celebration of cultural diversity.
It connected countries.
Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania — joined by Denmark and Ukraine — shared the stage, the road, and the stories.
It united languages.
Playback was performed and taught in six languages, proving that listening is universal.
It strengthened networks.
Teams met, collaborated, and opened paths for future projects and exchanges.
It gave voice to communities.
From experienced actors to teenagers discovering their identity — everyone had a place in the story circle.
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A Journey That Lives On
The Vagabunda forum-on-wheels showed that theatre doesn’t need walls — it needs people.
It needs stories.
It needs movement.
Over 2,000 kilometers, dozens of workshops, and nights of improvisation created something more than performances:
a living, expanding map of the Baltic playback community — vibrant, multilingual, and deeply human.
And this map will continue to grow.