CU Playback Theatre

Everybody has a story: from life journey, to unusual event, to heroic tale. Whatever your story, bring it to our Playback Theater performance and see it transformed into introspective, thought-provoking art, on stage and in the moment. Come to listen, engage, and connect!

Since 2019, the talented performers of the University of Colorado's Playback Theatre Ensemble have helped audiences across Colorado share their stories and boost a sense of commonality and shared belonging. At a Playback performance, audience members voluntarily share stories from their lives, which trained actors and musicians re-enact on the spot through improvised forms of music, sound, and movement. The result is an evening of art, insight, connection, and community.

Playback Theatre has been practiced around the world for nearly 50 years, frequently in conflict zones, due to its proven capacity to bring audiences together. Through the communal sharing of stories – enlivened by the empathy-building power of live theatre – the truth and complexity of our individual lives are unearthed, shared, and honored. Real life is transformed into art – with the capacity to transform real life.

This event is made possible by the University of Colorado Outreach Awards Committee.

What is Playback?

Playback Theatre is a non-scripted, interactive theatre form in which audience members share true stories or experiences from their lives and see them “played back” by an ensemble of trained actors in ways that encourage insight across chasms of difference.

Like a cross between a town hall meeting and an improvisational performance, one actor from the ensemble (“the conductor”) engages the audience in a collective conversation, asking questions that address the specific concerns of those gathered. The audience’s responses are played back on the spot in non-confrontational ways that build bridges, strengthen social bonds, and lift civic spirit.

CU's Playback Ensemble

CU’s Playback Ensemble, made up of faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students from several departments, performs for a wide array of campus and community events. The Ensemble also runs the Critical Conversations Project, which uses Playback Theatre to facilitate conversations in areas of rural Colorado that are experiencing rapid and destabilizing social, economic, or environmental change.

Throughout 2022-23, the troupe is proud to partner with the Renee Crown Wellness Institute, offering workshops and performances in support of boosting youth voices and promoting productive conversations across difference.