Music in Playback Theatre

Journal/Book: Arts in Psychotherapy. 1992; 19: 13-18.

Abstract: Describes purposes and practices developed in Playback Theatre, an improvisation of a series of personal stories told by audience members. Because music can evoke emotion, it can be used to summon an atmosphere, assist in shaping a scene, and convey the emotional development of a story. The musician begins to play as the actors silently prepare the stage. The transition from the spoken word to music shifts the audience from a cognitive to an affective mode. The conductor's directorial role is suspended once the enactment has begun, and the musician decides on which elements to focus, when to play, and what instruments, including the voice, to use. Techniques depend on the relationship between the musician and actors; the music takes on the role of another actor. The musician should be fluent and creative in preferably more than one instrument; however, untrained musicians can be effective.

Note: emotional fulfillment & role of music in enactment of personal stories in Playback Theatre; implications for psychodrama

Keyword(s): Music ; storytelling ; theatre ; psychodrama ; emotional content

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