ABOUT THIS TALK SERIES
Who gets to perform playback theatre? Who gets to see it? Whose stories are centered? Whose needs are considered, included, accommodated for?
In this on-line conversation series, playback trainers Michele Chung, Allison Kenny and Devrim Nicolò Turletti share global perspectives on what makes “good playback” accessible. Join us for four conversations this Spring and:
deepen your understanding of disability justice, inclusion and accessibility;
explore how Jo Salas’ ideas of what makes good playback (Ritual, Social Interaction, Artistry and Personal Growth) bridge to key disability justice principles (Consent, Care/Mutual Aid and Accessibility/Accommodations);
practice deep listening to the experiences of disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent playbackers;
share and receive practical strategies for making playback spaces more accessible to artists and audiences in your community.
SCHEDULE: this is a series of 4 meetings of 1,5 hours each, happening on
March 8th
March 22nd
May 17th
May 31st
at 4 PM Central Europe Time / 8 AM Mountain Standard Time / 11 PM Hong Kong Time.
COST: sliding scale prices 45€ / 68€ / 90€ per session. No one will be turned away for lack of funds! There is a 10% discount when you sign up for all four sessions.
ACCESS: This workshop will be offered in English on Zoom with live captioned interpretation into the language of your choice. We will center the needs and stories of disabled, chronically ill and/or neurodivergent playbackers in this talk series. We invite our able-bodied playback community to join as listeners/participants as well and will work to make this an inclusive playback space for all learners.
All participants should have experience performing and/or training others in Playback Theater.
Read our refund policy.
MICHELE CHUNG (siumao)
Hong Kong independent artist in exile, human rights defender, third party advocate for persons with disabilities, playbacker.
Michele first watched playback in 1997, the year Hong Kong was handed over to China. She began getting involved with the community theatre form and has applied it in many different sectors since 1999, eventually focusing on accessibility and inclusivity. Michele graduated from the former School of Playback Theatre in 2004, became the president of IPTN in 2015 and stepped down after two years.
She is blunt, honest and direct as a trainer but also humble and with an acute awareness of inclusion and exclusion and the fact that we are all human. As she is rather socially awkward, it is not her strength to talk about herself and it’s best for you to come and experience the space she has learnt to create from working with people with disabilities for two decades.
ALLISON KENNY
Allison is a neurodivergent, chronically ill, queer playbacker and the Artistic Director of High Desert Playback in New Mexico, USA. Our multi-racial, queer-centered and (almost) entirely neurodivergent company focuses on welcoming all parts of ourselves to the work. We dedicate as much energy to company life as we do to the stage and explicitly offer playback for social change.
Allison began her playback studies in 2007 with Living Arts Playback, eventually Co-Founding Oakland Freedom Theater in 2019. She’s currently on the leadership team of LA Playback Theatre Company and was part of the Mexico City Playback Leadership Cohort in 2022.
In addition to playback theatre, Allison is aplaywright, certified leadership coach, antiracism trainer and mother to a disabled child. She spent many years leading theater experiences with Autistic children, coaching their parents and training in play therapy. Allison is a dedicated learner on the road to disability justice, racial equity and collective liberation.