About

Mission Statement

Portland Playback Theatre Company is dedicated to honoring the countless stories that shape our lives. Our performances create a venue for individuals to share significant events and experiences, and through the art of improvisation, witness their immediate enactment. In this way, the story ‘tellers’ come to recognize that they are not alone, that their stories matter, and that they are part of a larger community of empathic witnesses who recognize both the unique and the universal within us all.

For Hire

Portland Playback Theatre Company is available for commissioned performances in a variety of settings such as conferences, festivals, hospitals, prisons, classrooms and public performances. The form has proven very effective for team building within corporate environments. The experience of playback helps foster empathy and compassion within any community. Contact us for more information.

Benefits

  • Builds a sense of community.
  • Validates the feelings and experiences of audience members.
  • Demonstrates the power of story.
  • Helps people see the many sides of stories.
  • Promotes compassion and empathy.
  • Honors important events in people’s lives.
  • Helps people remember and reminisce.
  • Visually gratifiying and cathartic.
  • Presents universal truths and threads within our human condition.

Background

Portland Playback Theatre Company was founded in Portland, Maine in 2005. The Playback Theatre style models transformation; a new way to relate to the world. When trained playback practitioners enact a story told by a member of the audience, a deep bond of understanding is established between the “teller” and the audience. Playback helps people see their common humanity. When people join together in sharing their stories and watching the re-enactments, it engenders an ability to focus on commonalities rather then judgments of otherness.

Stories are brought to life using movement, dialogue and music. Playback Theatre is an expression of art and a vehicle for positive change. It provides laughter, reflection, connection, and catharsis for the audience.