Playback for Change (PFC) was formed in the fall of 2002, under the leadership of Jessie Cocks, Pamela Freeman and Sarah Halley. PFC grew out of a desire to form a multiracial and intergenerational company made up of social activists/actors who are committed to doing the work necessary to hear and respectfully honor all stories, so that the teller chair is truly accessible to all tellers. We are particularly interested in issues of race and class.
In our two years as a troupe, in addition to performing monthly open shows, we created a three part race series: one was held in April 2003, for White People only, a second for People of Color only in November of 2003, and the third, for People of Color and White People working together in January of 2004. All the shows went well, and we had a good turnout for such a new project.
In July of 2004, after much soul searching we disbanded the company. We felt we had moved too quickly and needed to create a tighter infrastructure to support the demand for work that was beginning to develop. This included changing the leadership to two Co-directors. Currently, we are in the process of restructuring the company so we can audition new actors. We are offering workshops on race, class, and rank, and performing periodically.
