Once in not Enough for PVCC

Throbbing pain, overflowing soap bubbles, a cuddled infant, a sling for an injured shoulder. These were some of the scenes portrayed by the talented troupe of 16 actors of Once is not Enough to a full house in the Maxwell Black Box Theatre Friday, April 3.

As the actors introduced themselves in pairs to the audience, interacting with each other through dance moves, they captured the immediate trust of those who would share their life stories with them. Throughout the evening, the troupe mentored by Brad Stoller, PVCC’s Coordinator of Theatre Productions, spontaneously acted on his every cue, moving stage props, using different dance moves such as ballet to act out an army scene and scarfs to represent many of the scenes.

Stoller questioned the story tellers from the “Tell Us Chair” positioned on the side of the stage, asking about the people who were part of the story and key points. He then asked them to choose actors from the troupe to play the part of each person in the story, who remarkably brought out the emotions that each storyteller wanted to express.

A woman, named Leslie, shared her experience as an 8-year-old Girl Scout at camp. She said she did not have a lot of friends. She remembered eating s’mores and singing songs. She told of making a friend with another girl who was nice to her and who had a lot of friends. Leslie said there were strict rules about bedtime — that they had to have a flashlight and a buddy to go to the outhouse during the night. She said she woke up that night but was too embarrassed to tell anyone; so she went out by herself and forgot her flashlight. Then, she got lost in the woods and spent a cold, fearful night in an abandoned tent. When she awoke in the morning, she found her way back to camp, but no one even noticed she  had been gone. To play her part, Leslie chose a surprising actor from the troupe — a stout, football-player type young man who remarkably acted out all the feelings of an 8-year-old girl.

The enchanting part of the story unfolded when Stoller said, “You get three wishes at the end of the story. How would you have liked it to turn out?” He explained that this is where deep healing occurs from what could have been. Leslie’s three choices were played out perfectly to everyone’s delight.

Following the performance, it was obvious that the audience and the performers enjoyed the evening from the smiles on everyone’s faces. A Charlottesville resident said she had never been to improv, but loved it and marveled how the troupe was ready to do anything.

Darlene Sacco, an actor from the troupe, said, “I have performed in theatre before, but this was my first time doing improv and I love it.” Stoller shared how much he enjoyed working with the cast, “. . . and how generous they were with each other in the process of sharing their own stories and taking on this challenge to perform totally improvisational for the school.”

Playback theatre is a healing form of art performed in more than 75 countries around the world. It is based on finding the heart of a story through music, movement, fabric, and voice. It is performed in venues such as prisons, nursing homes, differently-abled communities and other public settings.