HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — There is a theater troupe in Tampa that’s making the audience the star of the show, and it’s called Living Mirror Playback Theater.
“Our goal is to give people a chance to tell their story when they wouldn’t normally get to, and then they get to see it acted out on stage, which is particularly emotionally moving for people,” said artistic director Sandy Seeger.
The acting troupe rehearses out of an office in Tampa and then ventures out into the community, volunteering their time to perform a couple of times a month.
“We try to go to places where we don’t expect theater to show up,” said Seeger.
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The troupe will go everywhere from wedding receptions to schools to senior centers. They have no idea what’s going to transpire once they get there.
“The actors only have the period of time that they hear the story to prepare before they go on, so it’s very spontaneous,” said Seeger.
Unlike traditional improv, the stories can vary from funny to sad.
“We’ve had people who are in tears laughing, and we’ve had people who are in tears from just being very profoundly moved,” said actor Erin Mcivor.
Erin Mcivor says acting with Living Mirror is more than a hobby; it’s a portal into people’s lives.
“It’s given me a venue to talk to people that I never would have talked to before and go places I never would have been,” said Mcivor.
For more information, go to facebook.com/livingmirrorplaybacktheater/.
