Greetings, dear readers. The cold wave that currently wraps around Europe makes us crave the indoor comfort of hot beverages and blankets over our legs. I hope this finds you warm and cozy.

As I’ve been reading many plays over the last few months, and since I’m considering reprising a habit long forgotten due to the convenience of unscripted art forms, I found myself checking my writing notes from years ago. I brought many notebooks from València, one of which I am quite fond of because I bought it in Japan almost a decade ago. Godzilla is on the cover, confronting The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Inside, I stumbled upon a word as powerful as those iconic entries of Japanese culture—a word that I’ve been neglecting, not in its meaning, but in its etymology. The word is anagnorisis.

Anagnorisis is a narrative device used in plays, movies, and other forms of storytelling to depict a moment of critical realization or discovery. Basically, what we know as plot twists.

What does it have to do with improv? It depends, of course, on the purpose. While in short-form it can be used as a comedic device, in long-form it can be a powerful propeller for the narrative, raising the stakes for our characters. When done well, it can also act as a “monkey wrench” to fix a scene where the story is stuck and no longer moving forward.

What does it have to do with Playback Theatre? Of course, we cannot fabricate a realization that hasn’t been shared by the teller. Sometimes, the stories themselves are about realizations that impacted the teller's life. Actors should treat these as a gift, an opportunity to explore different ways of portraying discovery, while always taking care of the teller’s emotional well being.

So, while in improv anagnorisis can prove to be a valuable narrative choice, Playback Theatre offers the possibility of exploring its true weight on stage.

Isn’t anagnorisis woderful? And it’s so pleasant to say the word out loud.

🎭 The Theatre bit

If you know me, you’d know that theater in education is one of the fields where I work extensively; that is why, every now and then, I like to check out pieces written for those audiences. The last play I read was Princeses, Cavallers i Dracs: El dia que deixàrem de ser xiquets (Princesses, Knights and Dragons: The day we stopped being children), a metaphorical title for a play co-authored by Valencian playwrights Guadalupe Sáez and Jerónimo Cornelles.

The play delves into the dynamics of a group of teenagers (and an adult) in detention following an incident. I know, that sounds like the premise of The Breakfast Club, however, it serves as an excellent vehicle to raise awareness of the many different challenges contemporary teenagers face while navigating societal and parental expectations.

Although it is a play where teenagers can feel represented, there are moments when the language used feels cringey, especially knowing it was written by an adult. Don’t get me wrong, I think the play is well written and the dramaturgical approach is appealing. However, it would be beneficial to let teenagers tell their own stories.

📆 What is coming up

• 🇬🇧 31st of January - Playback Theatre taster workshops (London, UK). We will be running a couple of Playback Theatre taster workshops throughout the last Saturday of January, running two different groups, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Book morning workshop. Book afternoon workshop.

• 🇬🇧 13th of February - Acaprov (London, UK). Right at the door of Valentine’s Day 💞 we’ll offer a new a cappella musical at Shoreditch Balls. Get your tickets.

• 🇩🇪 14th-15th of March - Playback Theatre Level 2 Intensive (Berlin, Germany). I’m going the capital of Germany to offering a two days intensive. Looking forward to it. If you are around check it out.

• 🇩🇪 21th-22nd of March - Playback Theatre Level 2 Intensive (Hamburg, Germany). And also, I’ll wave the Winter goodbye while offering the same intensive in Hamburg.

📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert

These holidays, like many other people, we caught up on some TV shows. As a musical theatre enthusiast, I was recommended Galavant, a musical comedy set in medieval times, filled with clichés galore. We watched the whole thing.

The one in charge of the music was non other than Alan Menken, the man in responsible for the score and songs of many of the films that shaped the golden renaissance of Disney during the 90s, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.

It’s very digestible, and the 18 episodes (each 22 minutes long and spread across two seasons) went by rapidly. Sadly, the niche nature of the show didn’t bring in a high enough number of viewers to justify a renewal for a third season.

Very recommendable.