XXIV - Are you a gatekeeper or a keymaster?
Unveiling the double-edged practice of gatekeeping in improv and Playback Theatre while embracing autumn's charm.
Greetings, dear readers. It is official, autumm (or fall) layed its mantle over us. Rather than January, I really get a new beginnings vibe this time of the year. It magically feels busy and uneventful at the same time. Just like the week I’m leaving behind, with many meetings, rehearsals and gigs.
This week I bring a long topic, so better get to it.
🧠🪑 The Improv and Playback Theatre bit
As a facilitator myself, I can understand how, whoever takes this role, invests so much effort (at least most of us) in designing workshops, putting together exercises leading to a precise objective. Others, even put together interesting formats.
I’ve attended dozens of workshops and, let’s be honest, after the few first ones, the novelty wears off. With slight variations and interesting takes, most of workshops are the same, just shifting the focus on a specific topic. It’s all about the facilitator and their particular inputs.
Every now and then, in the world of improv and playback, I stumble with people that feels too protective of their work and they get mad when they stumble with ideas too similar or exactly like theirs. There are even schools that enter into this toxic behaviour. But the thing is, theres not too much room for originality in this, I can count with one hand how many people I met with genuinelly original practice of these art forms. And no, sorry Americans, you didn’t invent improvised theatre nor improvised comedy.
It's a natural part of human nature to feel resentment and concern, especially when someone takes advantage of others' goodwill. A person might claim another's exercises and takes as their own, or even compile them into a book for profit without giving proper credit. (It’s been done) Even when the intention is to help others, a better, more ethical approach is always possible.
Personally, I always share and credit whenever I run a workshop. Mostly because I didn’t invent anything! They can have my version of the exercises, but they cannot steal my charm. 😀
I going to make a distinction here on gatekeeping in improv and gatekeeping in Playback Theatre.
In improv, the concept of gatekeeping makes no sense. The art form and its knowledge should be a free-flowing exchange. While it's true that access to improv venues, like theater slots or festivals, can sometimes seem like an exclusive club inhabited by the same few, that's a separate issue from the philosophy of improv itself.
Gatekeeping in Playback Theatre is a little bit more nuanced. I’d rather call it chaperoning. Although I really think the basics should be shared equally, there’s a reason for a needed supervision of Playback Theatre, and that is simply its hability to be harmful in the wrong hands. When doing playback with stories about trauma, your actions can have bad consequences. Not only for the person opening their heart with their story, but for Playback Theatre itself, giving a bad name to it.
There is bad playback in the wild, and there’s even bad teaching on it as well. By bad I mean not mindful. We should keep an eye on and call out bad practice. That’s why it’s important to work with people that, accredited or not, hold dearly the values of Playback Theatre.
Another way of gatekeeping revolves around accessibility. You don’t normally attend workshops and courses for free, they cost money, hence it is a privilege. I’m not saying people should work for free (I certainly don’t) but it’s worth mentioning that it is a privilege and we should work towards granting opportunities to those who usually don’t have it. I know many improv and Playback Theatre workshops and events that offer bursary places, and that’s good as long it keeps a good system for reviewing applications to avoid those places to be hoarded by people who don’t really need them (they exist, I’ve seen them).
It’s not easy and sounds naive, but if we care about the art form, let’s make it enjoyable and accessible for as many people as possible.
🗣️ Shout-out!
I’m bringing back this section to shed a light into one of the persons that embraces the sharing phylosophy brilliantly. That’s Brian James O’Connell (A.K.A. BOC).
Not only he is an admirable improviser, facilitator, actor, director and coach, but he is constantly openly sharing improv knowledge to everyone. He created an ongoing book called All Improv filled with links to different useful resources. He curated a YouTube playlist with close to two thousand improv related videos. He is a treasure, I really recommend listening his interview at Improvly Speaking by Dayna Gowan.
🎭 The Theatre bit
I revisited Blasted by the late Sarah Kane and still shocks me like the first time. I never had the chance to see it performed on a stage but I just keep asking myself “Are they going to do THAT on stage?”.
Set in a dystopian scenario, the play portrays the relationship between a self-destructive, middle-aged man and a young girl. Explicit and unfiltered, the work presents a raw and occasionally disgusting look at the worst of the human condition… with a poetic undertone. It is thought that Kane infused her works with her personal demons, and Blasted is no exception. Like her other plays, it reflects the internal turmoil that led her to opt out from this world.
Have you seen Blasted on stage? I'm very curious about the production and would love to hear your thoughts on it. If you're unfamiliar with Sarah Kane's work, it's definitely worth a read… just brace yourself.
📆 What is coming up
2nd to 5th of October - European Playback Theatre Gathering (Salamanca, Spain). My country is hosting this international event filled with workshops and performances. See you there? Come check it out.
10th of October - Acaprov Spooky Special (London, UK). A Halloween Spooky Special a cappella musical! I’m going to miss it but you shouldn’t. Buy tickets.
14th of November - Acaprov (London, UK). Another month, another a cappella musical. Buy tickets.
📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert (Spooky Season 👻)
Autumm is officially spooky season and the world catches up with me, since I leave on perpetual spooky season due my love for horror.
The recent announcement of Resident Evil Re9uiem, reminded me that I still had the eight entry of the series, Resident Evil Village, lying on my Steam backlog.
It took me a while to start this game because I needed to be in the right mood, disposed to be scared, even on casual mode. I'm very glad I did it, though. The game is as visually stunning as it is creepy, with memorable sections that gave me the shivers (I'm looking at you, House Beneviento). After beating it, I thought its predecessor was slightly better, but over all I enjoyed the experience.
✨ That’s all folks ✨
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Ferran Luengo