Monday, 27 March 2017

How Training with Sheila Donio Deepened our Love of Playback



Playback newcomers and veterans joined international trainer Sheila Donio, February 18-21 at the Gas Station Arts Centre to explore, revisit, refine and deepen Playback Theatre forms.  

Participants included Red Threads of Peace troupe members as well as educators, actors, social activists, and therapists from diverse Winnipeg communities: Newcomer and refugee, theatre and school system.  


Veteran troupe members found themselves “falling in love” all over again with the classic playback forms and the depth of storytelling they offer. Newcomers wondered where playback had been all their lives and enthusiastically embraced the new learning.  

Sheila's guidance cultivated a sense of belonging and safety within the group that magnified our capacity to build confidence and artistically express. For Red Threads, it not only solidified our troupe, but created a renewed energy and excitement to our work, which has been evident in the discoveries we've made during our playdates/performances since the training!

A huge THANK YOU to The Winnipeg Foundation, the Montreal International Conference Committee and the Gas Station Arts Centre for making this international-level training accessible to us. And of course, we express our immense gratitude to Sheila for sharing her gifts, experience and knowledge. 

At the end of our workshops, we often close by asking each participant to summarize their experience in one word and it was no surprise that the response from all participants was “EXCELLENT!”