workshop coordinator encouraging participation

The Tea and Coke, Pizza and Scones festival event transformed a picture theatre within the local cinema complex into an interactive live performance with audience participation hosted by Playback Theatre, an idea developed by Jonathan Fox in 1975 in the Mid Hudson Valley of New York.

The event title was intriguing and obviously appealed to the community and was one of the few events that required booking due to limited seating in the theatre space. Secondary school students were invited creating an intergenerational audience. The final numbers disappointed organisers as many confirmed attendees did not come creating an age imbalance and a half full theatre.

Tea and Coke, Pizza and Scones was facilitated by a local theatre group and officially publicised as a transformational event in which older and younger folk explore life, the universe and everything through Playback Theatre. It was to be a journey about how image distorts perceptions and generates myths and a discovery of the commonalities between generations. The audience was ushered to seats in the theatre by Council staff and I observed that the older members sat to one side and younger people to the opposite position.

Attending as observer I began making notes with some preconceived thoughts that this looked like being a missed opportunity. As people began to respond to questions from the facilitator I changed my mind. Playback is a unique

…form of improvised theatre, presented by a team of professional actors and a musician. A performance is led by a conductor, who provides the opportunity for the audience to share their stories and experiences. The actors and musician then re-enact stories, using a variety of improvisational forms. The power of theatre to move and entertain is welded to the immediacy and vitality of group and personal experiences. Playback may be humorous, poignant or exciting all in the same performance. It is a mirror to the experiences of the audience (Melbourne Playback Theatre, 1981).

Initial facilitator questions were designed to loosen up the group, but it was difficult to get people talking so questions were asked with one word answers to melt the stoic atmosphere of the room. The following notes were taken down in response to questions asked.

What words describe living in Glenorchy for you?

Beautiful; Enriched – very lucky to live in Glenorchy, Glenorchy City Council is the bet council in Australia; Confident safe to live where I live, beautiful; Shopping – lots of shops, movies; My mountain – Mt Wellington – from my place I see the mountain; Eating – junk food- Hungry Jacks; Home – fretted from Chigwell when I was away for ten years. Living in a rural area felt isolated when I went home; Golf course in Glenorchy; Organisations in Glenorchy – exciting organisations; Happy community – school – fun meeting new people; Busy, involved; In 1946 thought it was a terrible place; Transport – good – Bus mall central hub of transport; Scarred by groups of people who bump you say things, rude words.

What is the most important thing about being part of a community?

Knowing that no matter for your disability, elderly never need to be alone; Living in Glenorchy is secure. There is something for everybody never need to be lonely always someone there; Most important thing for me is working as a school girl-working in Northgate-important that I have a way of earning money.

Playback actors began to act out the words and create visual interpretations. The stage was darkened and actors all in black; facial expressions and body movements were the only tools used to bring meaning to the words or situations described by the

audience. This minimal approach focused the audience and allowed a level of comfort and ease to develop across the theatre. In seeing personal comments acted out, individual were drawn into the activity as a sense of confidence grew. The audience relaxed. It was a very powerful process to observe.

Figure 14 abridges the themes and stories that evolved; the shared experiences of living in Glenorchy; both the younger and older generations supported wholeheartedly living in Glenorchy; both shared enjoyment at shopping in Northgate. Stories from older people were about what Glenorchy used to be like and how it was much changed. Shared stories of what it is like to be young-fun hanging out with friends. Older people told stories from their youth of meeting up with friends in Glenorchy and the young talked about their current enjoyments of hanging out with friends. The theatre group giving power and meaning to spoken ideas acted these themes.

Figure 14 Tea and coke pizza and scones themes

Individuals told stories about going to the cinema – older people talked about what the cinema used to be like when they were young, catching trams, having a drink at Regina’s milk bar, rolling jaffas down the aisles. Young people told of their experiences of enjoying trips to the cinema with friends or families and how parents had similar jaffa stories. Everyone seemed to have a comment on food in Glenorchy, with the young especially supportive of the fast food available, how it was a

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