We celebrate the new summer season with a workshop on the embodied empathy methods of Playback Theatre.
Saturday, June 14, 2025 9 am – Noon and 1-4 pm
Susquehanna Waldorf School Music Room 15 West Walnut St., Marietta, PA
Join us to learn and practice Playback Theatre, a form of improvisation, storytelling and community building, with the River Crossing Playback Theatre troupe. Led by Chris Fitz, the workshop will progress from warming up and tuning into our improvisational skills to learning “short forms” portraying emotional dynamics and in the afternoon, “long forms” that capture the essence of stories. The workshop will give you tools to be a more fluid creator and listener, learning, playing and getting to know a passionate cast of community-minded improvisers, including a breaks for lunch and snacks.
Learn a community-building improvisational theatre. Discover your own stories. Hone your intuition. Play!
Come for a taste in the morning or join us for the entire day and deepen your experience, skills and connection!
A light sandwich bar lunch and drinks are provided as part of the registration. Feel free to bring your favorite fixings, snacks or snacks.
Registration fee: $30 via PayPal for 9 am – Noon or $50 for all day, payable to “Jubilee Arts”.
Will we see you there?
Email chris@rivercrossingplayback.org or call (717) 571-5285.
In the second half of a Playback Theatre performance, audience participants are invited to share stories arising from the theme and earlier crowd responses. But the complexity and emotional impact of stories told in this phase often present actors a challenge to play back. We know that when we “get” the story (often!), teller and audience respond with deep appreciation. But it’s hard! So this workshop is about “getting” stories more consistently — and unearthing their deeper notes. In the process, we will gain an intimate layered understanding of a rich “story-scape” for ourselves and others, a set of tools that we can apply personally and professionally to be more connected, resilient and effective human beings!
For more information on this exciting new workshop, click here.
River Crossing Playback founder, Chris Fitz with Hayley Ryan in a moment of reckoning of a Playback Theatre story on the theme “Beloved Community”
I’ve been teaching embodied empathy, Playback Theatre and other forms of improvisation for 20 years now, and each year, the work reveals new and exciting ways to facilitate active learning sequences in which we all discover core elements of creativity and human connection. That happened in a fresh way last spring when we broke down and relearned several forms as if they were games. Even our veteran actors were energized by the new take on old material. I’m excited to do more of that in this workshop series.
But this series is an even more exciting learning curve. First, it’s a unique and sustained investigation of the many layers of story in an embodied improvisational format, and I’m excited to see how the different sessions feed each other. And second, we’ll have other troupe members contributing their own expertise, including Carmen Tisnado, a newer River Crossing member who we’re lucky to have after her retirement from Franklin & Marshall College.
This second intro series, Transforming Stories, begins Saturday, October 5, but the deadline is September 30: click here to register now!
Building on the spring series of the core elements of embodied empathy and Playback Theatre short forms, the fall series offers a new set of tools delving into the mysteries of story.
You’ll get to explore your own stories and those of our community of practitioners in a grounding and supportive space. What makes our stories so unique and powerful? How do we get to the heart of them theatrically? How are our stories transformative? All that in five 3-hour sessions that offer an authentic space for being yourself while connecting with other participants.
Feeling the itch to play? Have you shared it — to extend this embodied, beloved community, to use a vision from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Friday, January 21, 2022 is the kick off of River Crossing Playback’s Third Friday Open Practices? Register now!
We’re excited to invite you every month this spring to watch, listen, tell and play with us, developing a community of practice together. All levels of players are welcome as we continue to find meaningful, authentic joy in this work and play, even via Zoom. Here’s when:
Friday January 21, 7-9 pm
Friday, February 18, 7-9 pm
Friday, March 18, 7-9 pm
Friday, April 15, 7-9 pm
Friday, May 20, 7-9 pm
Each session engages our deep listening and improv skills, building a group “practice” of listening, telling and enacting stories through games, warm-up activities and Playback Theatre forms. Curious to join us? Read on…or register now!
“I was honestly surprised. What started out feeling like obligation with a bit of curiosity turned into connection and amazing creative energy. I’m glad I came to this Open Practice.”
Cary Miller
Each evening follows this schedule (approximately):
7:00 pm – Arriving and welcoming each other 7:05 pm – Warming up and centering, physically and mentally 7:30 pm – Welcoming feelings in the room with Playback Theatre forms 8:15 pm – Welcoming stories in the room with Playback Theatre forms 8:45 pm – Reflections and closing
Why this? We offer Open Practice to build our expressive skills, our community connections and our capacity to create beauty and healing. We hope it leads to more transformative theatre throughout South Central Pennsylvania and beyond.
Arrive a few minutes before 7 PM to set up your Zoom connection. A computer and webcam is encouraged since handheld devices limit visibility and playing. Bring your favorite beverage…and loose-fitting clothes. So, see you there?
Register with your name, email and a $5-25 donation below. A Zoom link will follow. Donate $50 or more, and you’ll be registered for all five Third Friday practices! Contact us at rivercrossing@jubileearts.net or (717) 382-8292 with questions.
Carriage House of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York 950 South Duke Street, York, PA (street parking only)
Join us to learn and practice Playback Theatre, a form of improvisation, storytelling and community building, with the River Crossing Playback Theatre troupe. Led by Lenore Bajare Dukes, Cintra Harbold and Chris Fitz, the workshop will progress from warming up and tuning into our improvisational skills to learning “short forms” portraying emotional dynamics and “long forms” that capture the essence of stories. The workshop will give you tools to be a more fluid improviser, learning, playing and getting to know a passionate cast of community-minded improvisers, with even a delicious break for “afternoon tea.”
Learn a community-building improvisational theatre. Discover your own stories. Hone your intuition. Play!
Suggested donation: $25 payable to “Jubilee Arts” by March 14, $35 thereafter.
