By Robin Beaudoin
I kick off my high-heels, feeling the cold concrete floor underfoot in the front row of the basement theater space of First Congregational Church. I rise, invited to warm up with the Playback Memphis theater group and several other audience participants. The 15 or so of us stretch our voices and bodies by screaming, sighing, and laughing, replaying a feeling from each person’s day. A few chairs and colorful scarves become props for storytelling and emphasis while audience members see their fears, anger, and gratitude reflected in a living mirror of Playback members who give movement, voice and music to our stories.
Facilitator and trainer Virginia Murphy was introduced to Playback through her drama therapy graduate studies in California. The performing-arts- as-therapy form began as a movement in the 1960s, and now Playback theater companies perform on six continents. Murphy and her actor/musician husband brought Playback to Memphis from New York in 2006, began training people in the form, and then the Memphis area Playback became a nonprofit in 2011.
Not having known what to expect in this performance, I am surprised to find it more entertaining and therapeutic than informative. Perhaps this is because each performance Playback gives conveys an ever-changing myriad of unique life emotions, to a broad spectrum of audiences. Playback Memphis is a partner of the Memphis Matters/Community Matters program, and is able to share their program with all kinds of small groups, giving them a voice. Murphy’s program stays fresh through that variety.
“We are called to so many different places,” she says. So many places, in fact, that they even train police officers in empathy with help from former inmates through a program called Performing the Peace. Murphy expresses gratitude for the partnership they have with Community Matters and OUTMemphis. “We love Community Matters, because we get to lift up the work of so many amazing nonprofits. It is about inviting people to share personal stories, but those personal stories illuminate community concerns, and public health issues.” This performance on November 19, highlighted Trans Awareness Week, sponsored by OUTMemphis, and served the Transgender and allied audience, freshly reeling from a surprising presidential election with deep concerns for the future. The somber mood lifted with demonstrations of gratitude, hope, and some humor, and finally the crunching of ice from the back of the house (crunch on, Mimi – timing is everything).
Murphy’s gentle, discerning facilitation appears to stem from a genuine respect for each person’s story. “Playback is a practice of generous listening, of mindfulness, of being thoughtful of what’s alive in your art mind. Right now, we need spaces that are safe to share our stories and speak our many different truths. To see that come to life through Playback is fulfilling. It’s a wonderful way of connecting with myself and with other people I might never imagine I have things in common with.” At the end of the evening’s exercise (and neared the close to Trans Awareness Week), my own participation in Playback Memphis left me feeling validated as an ally, and hopeful for things to come.
To support or book Playback Memphis, visit playbackmemphis.org or email info@playbackmemphis.org. You may also participate in upcoming training courses to become a facilitator. The National Centre for Playback Theatre will host winter training sessions in Memphis February 18-27. Registration for the program is now open at playbackcentre.org/upcoming-courses/
