social justice and sociological imagination

Social justice and sociological imagination in Playback Theatre

About the workshop

31 August - 1 September 2024, Helsinki | More information

The playback community is focussed more than ever on the topic of social justice. Passionate conversations are happening on- and offline about whether we can make a meaningful contribution to that issue, and if so, how. Some in our community question the ethics of “taking sides” on contentious social and political issues, while others believe that doing so is an ethical obligation. Those differences are pulling at the fabric of what connects us as a community, challenging us to think deeply about playback’s core values.

In this workshop we will think together about the implications of those conversations for our purpose and our practice, and for company life. As we do that we’ll explore the social dimensions of our lives, focussing on the intersection of biography and history in our own stories. Together we’ll experiment with ways to develop our sociological imaginations so that we can bring those dimensions to the stage in safe, appropriate and satisfying ways.

While those are challenging topics, the gift of Playback is that we can approach this work in ways that are supportive, playful, connecting, and nourishing!

About Gerry Orkin

Gerry is an Australian playback practitioner whose involvement with Playback Theatre began in 1985. He was an actor, conductor and co-director of Canberra Playback Theatre over a period of 25 years. More recently he directed a Playback company in Wollongong, New South Wales.

Gerry has a special interest in training conductors, bringing artistry to the stage, and helping companies work with the social dimensions of stories and issues of social justice. He has led workshops in Australia, Singapore, Greece, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, the UK and Portugal.

Gerry is a faculty member and board member of the Australasian School of Playback Theatre and is involved with community building in the region as well as internationally. He has a professional background in social policy and service development, and has worked on issues like homelessness, violence against women and child protection for government and non-government agencies.