Playback Theater's "Rant and Rave" Provides Entertaining Relief for St. Louis Audiences
by Grayling Holmes / Photos courtesy of Playback Theater
On Saturday, June 1st, St. Louis gets to “Rant and Rave” and get some much-needed entertaining relief by coming to and participating in what’s been called an entertaining cross between “What’s My Line” and group therapy.
Playback Theatre is a highly specialized form of improvisation that honors the feelings and stories of the audience. Founded in 1975 by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas, it is now practiced on six continents.
Joan Lipkin, the founder of Playback Now! St Louis, the only Playback company in St Louis, is a certified conductor in this neck of the woods.
“People can actively participate and share what’s on their minds or also just watch. Either way, it’s engaging and also often funny,” she said.
Based on the success of a program they did last year, Playback Now! Is offering a program on Saturday June 1 called “Rant and Rave”. They are asking what is bugging people but also what they feel good about.
“We had a wonderful time at rehearsal last week,” Lipkin said. “Some of us are tired of cicadas so one of our improvs was about that! No theme is too small or too big,” she said. “You feel what you feel and we do our best to honor that.”
Sometimes, the company makes living sculptures out of the subject matter or creates songs on the spot and most scenes are underscored by live accompaniment.
The cast for this performance includes Amity Haugk, Jonathan Garland, Jonathan Yeakey, Joan Lipkin, Karen Schubert, Theresa Masters, and musician Paul Cereghino.
Lipkin said the program is deliberately short so that people can drop by for this theatrical refresher and still enjoy their evening.
“This is our gift to the community. It is a stressful time and our many experiences doing Playback tell us that people usually leave with a smile on their face and feeling better.”
Playback Now! St Louis has performed at Webster University, Boeing, Monsanto, the Grand Center Theatre Crawl, Diversity Awareness Partnership, Missouri History Museum and many other venues.
The performance on Saturday June 1 will take place from 3-4:30 pm at the beautiful air conditioned space The Chapel at 6238 Alexander Dr, St. Louis, MO 63105. The doors will open at 2:30. No reservations are required. Tickets are pay what you will with check or cash.