Join & Connect

I think I was born to be a networker. It’s my main raison d'être. I have other skills of course, but somehow because of my interests and the way I am with people over many years, I'm in touch with many different kinds of people. 

A lot of that has been through Playback Theatre. It’s a global movement of a kind of special improvisational theatre that invites real stories from the audience and then performs them back with artistry. I've been involved for 26 years now.

I practiced with two groups, London Playback Theatre and True Heart Theatre in London, but I'm also teaching and mentoring groups all over the world. I just spent three weeks in Taipei assisting a leadership programme with Jonathan Fox, the founder of Playback.

You can use these performances in powerful situations to work with people with trauma or the elderly. I held one for my mother's memorial six weeks after she died so  we could remember her through stories. I've done at least three weddings now with them.

My first encounter with Hub Dot was going to Making the World a Better Place last year where I got the hang of the Dots. I thought, “Wow, it's so similar to what we do at Playback.” They're both about inviting people to tell something important that's true for them and that's part of their lives. 

Then I encountered Anna Ghiotti from Italy. It was Hub Dot's third anniversary I didn't know any of the 300 plus people attending. We discovered we shared a deep interest in people's personal stories. She was looking to record them as a project. 

I immediately put her in contact with my friend Marilena Aimo from Playback Theatre Alanair. About three weeks later Marilena thanks me saying, “Did you know Anna’s come to see our performances, we've done a performance for her and now she's practicing with one of the community groups?” I'm just thrilled to bits. I'm delighted that she has joy for this way of working with stories. 

In this day and age, we need to find ways of storytelling especially as our connections erode. A lot of that is through the internet and how children are spending most of their social time looking at a phone. There are benefits and much learning can happen that way, but actually being with other people on a one-to-one physical connection is eroding more and more. 

Playback Theatre and Hub Dot are ways for people to meet each other and really engage in a meaningful way. We're on the same track.

These are the things that are essential: connecting and listening. 

What connections have you struck up at our events? Reach out to Veronica and Anna on the Piazza to talk travel, creativity and Playback.