Playback uses improv to tap into deeper emotions

The play, ‘Dissolve, Resolve, Involve,’ as named by the group’s founder, Roni Ostfield,… The play, ‘Dissolve, Resolve, Involve,’ as named by the group’s founder, Roni Ostfield, intends to be much more than entertainment — it is a call to action.

‘We want to stress that it is important to dissolve things in our lives we aren’t happy with, resolve ways to make it better and involve ourselves in the cause of change,’ said Ostfield, who has directed the group’s performances since 1986.

‘I would say the show evokes [President] Barack Obama’s message of change,’ said Rich Keitel, actor and director for the Playback Theatre. ‘It’s easy to say change, but how can we actually achieve it?’

As the show approaches, the company’s actors are not re-reading scripts or memorizing lines, simply because for Playback Theatre, there are none.

According to Demetria Marsh, an actress with the company, the audience members mold every performance. The actors have no idea what to expect until the show is actually happening.

‘It’s a very personal type of improv,’ said Ostfield. ‘The audience gets to feel a sense of community at these performances that they would not usually feel at a theatrical event.’

Ostfield said that she typically starts out each show by asking for volunteers from the audience to shout out a feeling they are experiencing, or even come up on stage to share a story about their lives.

‘We listen to peoples’ stories and literally play them back in order to let them feel understood. And because the rest of the audience then responds, that person who shared gets to feel like, ‘Oh they understand my story, too,” said Marsh.

Keitel added that he hopes people come away from the Playback Theatre’s show feeling a little more empathetic toward one another.

‘It’s usually after tragedy that people feel this type of connection, then everyone goes back to being nasty. This is a reminder to be sympathetic overall,’ he said.

Though the shows are certainly spontaneous, there is typically a loose structure that each performance follows, according to Marsh.’

‘Usually we start off with some of our shorter forms, like asking people to call out feelings, then we do 15 to 20 seconds of showing that feeling in different ways,’ she said.

‘Sometimes we do things that take a little longer, a couple of minutes. It’s pretty fast-moving because nothing takes more than five minutes. As many as 10 to 30 people might get a chance to share.’

The company’s past performances covered a large variety of topics.

‘We’ve worked with African refugees, prisoners, Holocaust survivors, gang members, etc,’ said Ostfield. ‘It’s about giving people a voice who wouldn’t normally have a voice. It’s about letting people hear the stories they wouldn’t normally hear.

‘With this show, we are going to see what the Pittsburgh community is going through,’ said Keitel.’ ‘We don’t preach — we just take what the audience is giving us.’

But what if the audience is a little shy? According to Ostfield, this is not an issue.

‘I usually can find the right questions for the particular audience. People want to participate, people want to be part of something, and so this is a place that allows them to be.’

Marsh stressed that though the company often deals with very serious issues, shows are typically not somber experiences.’

Keitel agreed, saying that his favorite part of performing with the company is seeing the audience members’ reactions.’

‘There’s usually a huge smile on their face, or tears of joy,’ said Keitel. ‘They’re just so relieved.’