What’s your Playback story?
In the 90s, as an engineering student in Greece, (in an engineering-only university) theatre was as far away on the horizon as it can be. In spite of this, a friend and fellow student, started being involved with theatre. This demystified theatre and made it more accessible to my mind. Going to the USA to further my engineering studies, I was looking for something to expand my social interactions, to hone my English, and – probably most of all – try something different to engineering. The Uni was offering a wide range of recreational activities, and my eye fell on an “Acting and Improvisation” class. It seemed scary but exciting, so I decided to give it a go and fell in love with it. Over the next 5 years I did these classes intermitently, as well as classes in the Theatre department, and developed this “other side” of myself. When I arrived in Australia in 2004 (accepting a research engineering position), I looked for actor training options, especially in improvisation (impro). I was blessed with some excellent teachers that fuelled my growth, and I got involved in university impro troupes. I started being cast in several theatre productions and took part in impro shows. It was an exciting time and I was always looking to further my craft. In 2008 I saw a flyer for an 8-week Playback workshop, offered by Playback Theatre Sydney. This different take on impro appealed to me and I took the workshop. I was impressed by the ability of the trainers and the guidance they could provide. I loved the physical impro aspect of Playback, as well as the challenge to identify the core of the story and honour it. A year later, in October 2009, I auditioned and joined Playback Theatre Sydney! Almost 7 years have passed since then and I feel Playback is a big part of my life. It is the major part of my work in theatre, and even though I am more confident in my skills, it is still as challenging as ever.
Has any particular show stayed with you?
There was a show we did for a well-known company’s upper-management staff. They had identified some work-culture issues that were impacting communication and making things difficult. Playback was an important part of their full-day workshop and we were called to help open up an honest discussion on those issues by letting individual stories emerge. We had an intimate audience of about 20 people. The session started with the more innocuous moments (short stories), but we soon dived into the thick of it with an emotional account of what was like to work in such conditions. This triggered a response from someone who felt that some comments targeted him, while another one shared and supported the first teller. That was quite unusual, as we don’t often have heated discussions between audience members. Our conductor was amazing – she was able to hold the interactions from derailing and bring attention back to Playback. At that point we had heard from 3 people (while more interjected) and we had not reflected back anything yet. So our conductor said ‘So we will see all this!’ – and it was a Playback ground-breaking moment. We broke the norm of reflecting back a single individual’s story and instead reflected back (through our performance) the group story. It was a very powerful moment for all people involved. The Playback team did a beautiful job of reflecting back the emotions and the core of the moments shared by the tellers in an extended fluid sculpture (which offers a visual representation of emotions and action). More powerful stories then followed, which allowed the hidden and (previously) unsaid to be spoken. It was an incredible opening up with honesty. I remember after the end of the show, the organisers were thrilled (almost stunned) that we were able to bring such important issues to the surface, honour every story, and set a foundation for further honest discussion to follow. I felt so proud being part of such a strong team.
And your other passions?
I am really passionate about education, especially when it comes to science, maths, and critical thinking. I love explaining ideas to people of all ages, explore new topics with them, or challenge them with puzzles. I, myself, love to learn new things. I am also an entrepreneur. Together with my partners we have developed a new service to make waiting in queues a little less painful. The service is called qBuzz and it can notify you on your smartphone when the thing you are waiting for is ready. The ‘thing’ could be your food, your prescription, or your turn in the queue. Our “secret sauce” allows us to do this without the customer needing to share their phone number, and with minimal disruption to the venue’s processes. We are currently trialling qBuzz out in a few venues which is exciting. You can check it out at qbuzz.com.au
What does Playback Theatre offer?
Playback Theatre offers a forum for stories to be heard and honoured. It gathers its power from the power of story, This can range from the mildly entertaining to the transformative. It can create connections by highlighting the common experience of the human condition. It can promote awareness and further understanding. It can promote individual and societal healing. It can even trigger the formation of new communities. For us, the practitioners, Playback is usually a big part of our lives. It creates a strong community among the members of the group as we work together and share our stories (during weekly rehearsals to hone our craft). I definitely feel there is great trust and openness among the members of Playback Theatre Sydney – and there is also a sense of belonging to a greater global community. When I meet other Playbackers around the world we immediately feel a connection. Playback also offers us a way to hone important life skills: listening to others and letting them know they are heard, avoiding judgement, promoting empathy, stepping into the unknown, working as an ensemble, and saying ‘yes’. The more I practice it, the more I find myself immersing into it and being changed by it. It offers connection and learnings in a truly unique and fundamental way – for both practitioners and our audiences.