The International School of Yangon students interact with the audience at TEDxYangon 2017 to playback their stories in an improvisation setting.

The International School of Yangon (ISY) has had Playback Theatre troupes since its introduction in 2010 by their Performing Arts coordinator, Adam Fraser. Having been president and ensemble member of ‘Sydney Playback Theater’, Adam has witnessed first-hand the cathartic nature of this theatre form.

Playback theatre is a unique form of theatre allowing audience members to share stories from their own lives which are then transformed into a performance. Where in traditional theatre, the audience look at performers on stage, Playback Theatre’s objective is for the audience to see themselves on stage. The stories’ ‘Teller’ receives a new perspective that has the potential to be therapeutic, moving, affirming, healing or even empowering.

The ISY student performers’ training has had two major focal points: listening to the emotional content of personal stories and performing this with conviction.
Performers: Adam Fraser, Boeun Kim, Ella Joicey, Lucca Chortsen, Aiden Cvengros, Zoe Van Lare

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx