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February 2010
Public Performances
- Saturday 13 March
- Sunday 14 March
See Performances page for details.
December 2009
Summer Workshops
- Summer Weekend Intensive (29-31 January)
- Presentation & Public Speaking Workshop (30-31 January)
See our Workshops page.
December 2009
See Our Blog
After our last public performance season at the Carlton Courthouse, many of those who attended have continued the conversation on our blog. Have a look! We are delighted to have so much feedback from our exended community. Leave us a comment while you're there...November 2009
Public Performances
28 and 29 November
See our Performances page
October 2009
Actors Wanted
Melbourne Playback Theatre Company is expanding.
We are seeking male & female actors with strong skills in improvisation.
We are particularly interested in actors aged 20-30, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Melbourne Playback Theatre transforms audiences’ stories into improvised theatre, celebrating the diversity and commonality of human experience. The company performs more than 50 commissioned shows per year, in various corporate and community settings. MPTC rehearses Monday nights. To see Melbourne Playback Theatre Company in action, come to our public shows held at The Carlton Courthouse, La Mama, Drummond St,Carlton on November 28th and 29th 2009.
If you’re interested in applying, please submit a resume, photo and cover letter outlining your interest, relevant experience and availability
.
Or you can post to:
Melbourne Playback Theatre,
P.O. Box 42 Albert Park, Victoria 3206
All CVs must be received no later than Friday 6th, November 2009.
Those shortlisted by interview will be asked to audition.
Auditions will be held Monday December 7th 2009, 10 – 5pm.
(Please note corrected date - previously advertised as Dec 14th.)
Download a printable version of this notice
September
Playback Workshops
Please note, these workshops are now fully booked. See our Workshops page for information on a waiting list and further workshops.
Melbourne Playback Theatre Company is proud to offer a weekend of training in Playback Theatre Practice. There are 3 workshops over 3 days (with just enough space for your family duties!)- Friday 7 November 7pm to 9.30pm
- Saturday 8 November 12.30 to 5pm
- Sunday 9 November 10.30 to 3pm
Inner-city location – venue to be confirmed.
Download flyer and registration form.
September
Celebrating Story Conference
8-9 October, Melbourne
2 day conference organised by Babel Fish Group
Melbourne Playback will be presenting a workshop and a performance at the conference.
Have you a passion around Story? You might be a coach, facilitator, change consultant, qualitative researcher, narrative therapist, OD professional… Could you share the ways that you have worked with Story? What ways have you found of working and helping people/teams/ organisations through story?
August
Public Performances
22 August, 8pm
23 August, 6pm
July
Open Playback Workshops
Stay tuned for the announcement of our forthcoming playback workshops that are open to the general public. Dates soon to be confirmed.
May
Workshops
Melbourne Playback Theatre is currently running a series of performance workshops for young people in the Whittlesea region. This program has been commissioned by First Impressions Youth Theatre and supported by the Bush Fire Relief Fund.
Throughout the last twelve months we have focused on developing and extending our workshop program, often running commissioned workshops in conjunction with performances, for clients such as ANZ and Drama Victoria.
Drawing on the extensive range of skills and experience within the group we are able to tailor workshops to the specific needs or brief of an organisation.
Gala
We are very excited to present a 2009 Melbourne Playback Gala performance for past and potential clients. The 2008 Gala proved such a success that we have decided to use the opportunity to once again connect with clients and offer them a taste of what we do. This industry only showcase performance provides an opportunity for people to come and see playback in action and to gain a clearer understanding of the ways in which Melbourne Playback can meet their organisation’s needs.
April
Regional performances
In March the company enjoyed a tremendously successful and satisfying season of performances at the HotHouse Theatre in Albury-Wodonga. In the wake of Victoria’s bushfires we had some expectation that stories about the recent fires might emerge, however themes of drought, the state of the Murray River and a local story of a violent attack upon a cyclist were shared as central concerns for the community. The rain broke upon our arrival, which made us very popular. Some audience members came to more than one performance – one woman came to all four shows! It was a wonderful opportunity for the company to develop and grow a relationship with a community in such a short period of time. We hope to build upon this experience with future work in regional Victoria. Our thanks and best wishes to all those in the Albury-Wodonga region who supported our season.
10 February
Playback heads to Albury2009 is looking like an exciting year for Melbourne Playback and its members. For the first time the entire company will be traveling to Albury in March to perform a public season presented by Hothouse Theatre. The company is pleased to be able to present a public season in regional Victoria and looks forward to setting up future presentations outside of Melbourne.
Summer SchoolCompany member, Nikki Rydon, will return for the second consecutive year to participate in Playback Theatre Summer School in New Zealand. The school is held at Paekakariki, a small town on the Kapiti Coast thirty minutes north of Wellington. The workshop is run by Bev Hosking and Christian Penny. Members from Melbourne Playback have attended this Summer School for the last three years running, and have returned each time enriched by the experience and inspired by the enormous potential of the playback form.
16 October
Spring Intensive Workshop
Melbourne Playback Theatre Company is proud to offer a weekend of training in Playback Practice. There are 3 workshops over 3 days (with just enough time for your family duties!)
- Friday 7 November 7pm to 9.30pm
- Saturday 8 November 12.30 to 6pm
- Sunday 9 November 10.30 to 3pm
Venue: The Gasworks Theatre in the Garden Studio
Your facilitators are Andrew Gray, Artistic Director of the Company & Ian David.
In this workshop we will dive in the deep end and explore story together. We will play & wrestle with the form and apply techniques developed by Bev Hosking and Christian Penny at the New Zealand Summer Schools over the past 4 years.
Playback skills can be used for a wide variety of disciplines, involving strong teamwork, listening, acting, movement and music. The recreation of stories is often non-naturalistic; students are encouraged to use metaphor, narration, chorus, genre, movement and song
Download flyer with full details.11 October
Winter Workshops
Over six sessions, Ian David and Nikki Rydon recently facilitated a playback Winter Workshop series at Dancehouse. The workshops focused on exploring new approaches to the work informed by the New Zealand Playback Summer School (attended by Ian and Nikki in January this year). This involved building ensemble and improvisation skills by paying particular attention to composition on stage, encouraging the use of metaphor, narration, chorus and genre. The workshops were a great success, with participants generating raw, thoughtful and moving playback, accompanied by much fun and enjoyment!
Stay tuned for future workshops.Member Update
Spring has brought exciting new energy into the company. Musician Ernie Gruner studied in Canada for three weeks with the world’s leading klezmer artists and has returned with renewed inspiration and tunes for his always excellent music. Also returning from Canada this month is conductor/performer Clare Bartholomew, whose show Die Roten Punkte received four major Canadian Fringe Festival Awards. Nancy Sposato joins us following her maternity leave, so the company is benefiting from our members’ diverse creative projects and achievements.
Performances
Recent gigs include new and familiar corporate, council and education clients including; Sinclair Knight Merz, ANZ, Geelong City Council, Greater Shepparton Council, SCOPE, Chisholm Institute and Melbourne Ladies College. Themes have included developing team relationships, community building, incorporating personal values in the workplace, social awareness and celebrating success. We have also performed for a couple of 60th birthday celebrations.
Building the Company
The company has begun working with John Paul Fischbach and the Auspicious Arts Incubator project managed by Auspicious Arts in Melbourne. The Incubator is an Australian Government funded initiative under the Building Entrepreneurship in Small Business program. Several company members are taking leading roles in helping the company develop new operational and management strategies. This is an exciting process in forging the company’s future direction.