Healing York Playback Launched (Summary)

The Healing York Playback project was launched out of the need for Yorkers to tell their stories around the hurt and healing of racism and violence in the city -- and have those stories be heard. After months of planning, publicity and recruiting, a sampler workshop was organized on Saturday, September 22, 2007. Nine people were in attendance at the William Penn Performing Arts Institute with folks from a range of ages and ethnic backgrounds. After five intensive hours of playing, acting and stories, the workshop was enthusiastically endorsed by participants as a strong beginning toward a Playback ensemble that could serve the greater York community.

Playback Theatre is an interactive form of improvisation in which audience members share responses and stories that get played back on the spot. Its workshops and performances are often equal parts beauty and healing, usually with a range of community stories that recognize pains and celebrate joys.

The first Sampler Workshop of the project incited four women and two men to commit their energies to learning and sharing this special form of theatre with the York community. The ensemble will continue training through early spring 2008, at which time it plans to launch a series of public performances in venues across the city. As of October, the troupe is seeking a dedicated musician and will continue to host occasional workshops for interested new actors.

Run in collaboration with the William Penn Performing Arts Institute and Yorktowne Dance Theatre, the Healing York Playback project is supported in part by a project grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information and developments of this exciting project, go to: http://healingyork.jubileearts.net or call Chris Fitz at (717) 318-7315.