Improvising Real Life

In a Playback Theatre performance, audience members tell true stories about their lives and a team of actors improvises theatre pieces on the spot. First developed in 1975 in upstate New York, Playback Theatre is now practiced around the world, in theatres, schools, refugee camps, prisons, governmental departments—wherever people have stories to tell. Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre, written by Playback’s cofounder Jo Salas, is the basic text used by new and seasoned Playback practitioners, trainers, and university teachers. The photo-illustrated book describes the origins, practice and philosophy of Playback Theatre. Entertaining and thoughtful, Improvising Real Life is illustrated with dozens of real-life stories told in performances and workshops. It has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, and Korean (forthcoming). The 20th Anniversary edition includes a foreword by Roberto Gutiérrez Varea from Theatre Without Borders and co-founder of the Performing Arts and Social Justice Program at the University of San Francisco, as well as an afterword by the author with comments on Playback's current development.