Playback Theatre
1975-present
An interactive improv form founded in upstate New York in 1975 by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas, audience members tell true personal stories, actors play them back on the spot using structured short forms.
Known for
- Founded 1975 in upstate New York; Jonathan Fox (theater director) and Jo Salas (musician) built the ensemble method from oral-tradition and Moreno psychodrama roots.
- Now practiced in 70+ countries; International Playback Theatre Network coordinates the global community.
- Not comedy, the point is witness, not laughs. Stories often center grief, migration, injustice, family.
- Structured forms (Fluid Sculpture, Pairs, Chorus, Tableau, Short Form Story, Transformation) give the ensemble a shared vocabulary for rapid response.
Connected to
People
jonathan foxjo salas