London, 20th of October 2026

👋 Greetings, dear readers.

It’s the 42nd entry of this year’s season of the newsletter, but I doubt I can offer the answer to life, the universe and everything else. Anyway, how have you been? I’ve been not too bad.

Since it’s spooky season, I’d like to ask, fellow performer, how are you coping with your fears? We live in a grim world, and we don’t have the tools to face all the threats that are coming left and right, specially right. There’s no wooden stakes, silver bullets, ancient spells nor proton packs to capture and vanish the scary things. I’m going to use this week to vent about these fears.🎃

As performing artists we face a particular series of legitimate fears. We dread many things that can keep us from engaging in our craft.

The most immediate challenge is funding. The arts always get the scraps from council budgets, making everyone fight over them. Of course, if you are reading this, you are an improviser or a Playback Theatre practitioner, which means there is a high chance your income comes from another job. Don’t get me wrong, you are also an artist, I’m not going to undermine your craft nor your commitment; I’m just working with statistics here, and sometimes I envy you.

However, if you, like me, rely on performing or teaching someone else how to do it as your sole source of income, you spend a lot of time sitting in front of your laptop, looking for opportunities, reaching out to others (a terrifying thing to do, especially if you are autistic). Quite possibly, you're doing this in a coffee shop, supporting the specialty coffee industry. At least, that’s what I do. ☕

One of the scariest things about Playback Theatre is the lack of awareness around it, something that’s certainly not the case with improv. People sign up for improv classes because there are countless opportunities to see improv; the more they see it, the more inclined they feel to join a course or a workshop. Playback Theatre appears not to be there yet.

Even in London, one of the biggest cities in the world, you rarely see enough Playback Theatre. Why? Performance venues cost money, and if people don’t know about Playback, they won’t go to a Playback performance. It’s genuinely scary to put on a show while risking low attendance. But then again, if we don’t perform regularly, how are we going to break this ouroboros?

Sometimes, I think PT is the theatre for social change with the worst PR in history. Way more people knows about Theatre of the Oppressed.

Changing to the other lane of conversation, one of the scariest things about improv is pushing boundaries or redefining the art form. Many improv professionals rely heavily on a model based on comedy and making people laugh. The fear of being the weirdo in a jungle of weirdos is very real. Sadly, I’ve seen many opportunities lost at recent festivals in order to cater to the masses instead of exploring higher-quality (or at least more interesting) iterations of the art form.

And here comes another unhealthy fear within the improv world: the fear of challenging the status quo, calling people out, and asking for accountability from those with power or a platform. The risk of being gaslit or ostracised can hold us back if we are eager to have a presence in the community.

Do these fears resonate with you? Here’s to break them together and focus on a more brave and inspiring practice.

🫶 Stay hydrated, love to you all. 🦇

🎙️ The podcast bit

Yulia Terentieva is a Ukrainian living in Berlin. A psychologist by training, a long-time Montessori educator, and a Playback Theatre actor, conductor, and trainer. She is the co-founder of GRUND, the first Ukrainian Playback Theatre company in Berlin, and the international Platforma LINII.

I had a great time with Yulia chatting about what it means to be an immigrant, the importance of community, playback theatre, education, and enjoying nature and books, including some geeky stuff.

This week’s episode is a bit peculiar for reasons I explain at the beggining of it. I hope you enjoy it regardless.

It’s searchable on your favourite streaming platform, but you can also find links to all of them on the Playing Back an Improvised Life hub site.

📆 What is coming up

• 🇬🇧 25th of October - True Heart Theatre Open Rehearsal (London, UK). We are hosting another open rehearsal addressed to those who want to get in touch with Playback Theater. Register here to attend.

• 🇬🇧 13th of November - Acaprov at Shoreditch Balls (London, UK). With Halloween left behind, but on a Friday the 13th, the monthly Acaprov musical will be ready to serve thrills. Secure your tickets. 🎼

• 🇬🇧 20, 21, 22, 28 and 29th of November - Playback Theatre Core Training (London, UK). Are you finally considering getting into Playback Theatre? Join True Heart Theatre’s Level 1 core training to learn the basics of Playback and put them to the test with a showcase! Info and registration here.

📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert

👻 Spooky Season Edition 👻

This week you don’t get a dessert, you get a feast. I completely overwhelmed with all the amount of horror series we are getting these last weeks. In a good way, of course. I have them all lined up yet don’t have the time to watch them.

As an aficionado of the Friday the 13th franchise, I started watching Crystal Lake, the prequel series focused on Pamela Voorhees and her coping with the loss of her son, Jason, to the lake that gives the show its name. So far I’m enjoying it, and Linda Cardellini, as usual, is great.

Mike Flanagan consistently delivers miniseries acclaimed by both audiences and critics. Titles such as The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher were widely praised and huge hits for Netflix. Flanagan now jumps ship to Prime Video to offer his take on Stephen King’s Carrie, a story that, up until now, only Brian De Palma could do justice to when bringing it to life. Mike Flanagan’s Carrie is already receiving high praise, and I can’t wait to watch it.

Also in my queue is the new live-action anthology series adapting several short stories by cult horror author Junji Ito. I’ve already written in this newsletter about how big a fan I am of the Japanese manga artist, so I'm crossing my fingers that these adaptations do justice to his work.

Among all these fresh releases, we also got a new season (the thirteenth) of American Horror Story. Ryan Murphy’s anthology series started out as one of the best horror experiences on TV. After the disastrous last couple of seasons, Murphy goes back to the origins, offering a sequel to Coven, one of his most revered entries. Will it deliver? Let’s hope!