Hire Us

Is your company or organization interested in bringing Playback to you? Send us an email or fill out our contact form!

What We Provide:

    • Programming that is carefully customized to meet the your mission and target audience, which can include performances, workshops, or a combination of both. 
    • Purpose: We create opportunities for group dialogue and for connecting with each other’s experiences.
    • Outcomes:
      • Building Community and Trust
      • Practicing Skills in Listening, Empathy, and Emotional Expression
      • (Workshops) Exploring Physical Expression
      • (Workshops) Experience Success Giving and Receiving as a Team

Our Show:

CPTE shows are as unique as the audience that attends. An emcee prompts the audience for stories of memories and experiences from their own lives. Once an audience member volunteers a story, the emcee guides a story interview with the volunteer and then the actors dramatize the story on the spot. This process continues with more stories from other audience members.

Unlike other improv you might see in Chicago, Playback is not focused on comedy. Audience experiences of any kind, from the profound to the ordinary, or from the joyful to the sorrowful are worthy of attention, respect, and a voice with CPTE. Sharing stories through Playback Theatre can be a moving experience for both the storyteller and those witnessing the story- it can feel healing, meaningful, or provide a new perspective to see your story reflected back. It can also help build community as listeners recognize their own common experiences within other people’s stories. 

While not every audience member will get to see their story onstage at a Playback show, there are other opportunities for every audience member to actively engage and respond in a show. Shows can be booked for 60, 75, or 90 minutes and can also be customized to themes or age groups.

Workshops:

Have you seen a show and want to learn more about how we do what we do? Or maybe you have ideas for how Playback Theatre skills like active listening, team cohesion, or self expression can benefit your organization. We have worked with several organizations to create bespoke workshop curriculum using Playback Theatre for both youth and adult groups. From a single two hour workshop to a twice monthly semester residency culminating in a performance showcase of participants, we’d love to hear your ideas for what Playback can achieve with your group and design a program with you!

Collaborations: 

  • Jamieson Elementary School – Twice monthly semester long workshop residency with their middle school Genders & Sexualities Alliance club focused on self-expression and community building over stories about their queer and/or ally experiences. The residency culminated in a performance showcase with the youth performing alongside professional Playback actors for the youth’s family and friends.
  • Rincon Family Services – Two workshops exploring how many of the skills that Playback Theatre actors use to interpret real people’s stories can apply to mental health related skills such as learning how to be a supportive listener for others. Following the workshop series, we had a performance exploring stories about mental health, hope, and healing.
  • Woodlawn Restorative Justice Hub – Twice monthly semester long workshop residency with their youth, ages 14-24 focused on improving mental health outcomes using Playback Theatre exercises for self expression, community building, and processing challenging life experiences. The residency culminated in a performance showcase with the youth performing alongside professional Playback actors for their family, friends, and community.
  • Flossmoor Community Church – Performance about navigating the shifts and needs that come with aging for multi-generational families attending a retreat providing resources about caring for aging family members.
  • No Shame On U – Public virtual performances centered on topics of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Wise Up –  Private virtual performance on stories about community for Wise Up’s senior members
  • Sulzer Regional Library – Public shows centering family stories from storytellers of all ages
  • Bezazian Branch Library – Public show for their Community Coffee event and a private show for a local summer camp’s grade school youth
  • Lincoln Belmont Branch Library – Public show celebrating magical stories at their Pottermania Party on Harry Potter’s birthday
  • Berger Park Cultural Center – Public show celebrating community stories at their Arts Showcase event
  • Nothing Without a Company – Public outdoor performance at Douglas Park drawing out community stories for the company’s playwriting workshops
  • State Matters – The director of this nonpartisan educational organization that provides resources on civic knowledge joined our post-show discussion after our show exploring stories on what it means to be an American
  • Howard Brown Health – Provided us free pronoun pins and pamphlets on their resources for us to have available for audiences at our Pride centered shows and beyond

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