SDT | Services

Social Dialogue Theatre

Social Dialogue Theatre (SDT) is an ongoing service developed by Vitakultúra Association and Attila Donáth: an open forum for dialogue to different stakeholders of the society. We enable them to initiate dialogue trough Playback Theatre and Art, publicly and within a clear frame where all invited can give voice to their point of view. Showing the personal side and creating encounters.

Társadalmi Párbeszéd Színház logo

Adapting to the actual community and case, we offer an open forum for dialogue to different interest groups, stakeholders of the society and enable them to initiate dialogue through Playback Theatre, publicly and within a clear frame where all stakeholders can give voice to there point of view and watch that back in theatre on the spot. Showing the personal sides of an important case of a group of the society and creating encounters.

Purpose with SDT

To offer a new dialogue and a negotiation alternative to stakeholders (individuals and communities) of the society, by letting them listen to each other and enter to dialogue in cases, topics which are precious or crucial for them. We create opportunity to let the change happen in their cooperation. The long term purpose is to start a process which let these actors of the society to continue dialogue regularly and to see (and form!) the way and the efficacy of their cooperation.

Form of SDT

Applied Playback Theater combined with different group processes (smaller groups with different foci and entire group sociometry, to prepare the topic and the participants to share their personal views)

Preparation period: min. 3 months (meetings, formation for project teams, demo for representatives of the different stakeholder groups, team preparation)

Realization: min. 4 -max 8 hrs + 4 hours, one half is the programme part with the invited parties, the other half is about warming up the team as well as giving feed-backs and the closure

Expected results and impacts of SDT

The representatives of the invited stakeholder groups recognize and express their needs, therefore they can create a network through personal connection and gain information directly from the stakeholders.

SDT requesting parties (individuals, groups, communities, volunteer organizations, NGOs, schools, public institutions, local councils, enterprises…etc.) can create a new, more effective culture of cooperation. These cooperative groups can create an advocacy and reconciliation system, a discussion forum by using SDT regularly.

Thus it will result an impact on their relation approaching to each other, deepening their understanding and empathy towards each other.

This may influence the life of our society in Europe and beyond by the launch of this process in smaller or bigger circles with different scope.

Playback Theatre is a powerful way of communication, and one of the most important community based contemporary theatre forms. It can be practiced as a theatre and applied as a method in many contexts. People tell personal stories to see them enacted on the spot. It generates personal & social transformation.

A personal story told and immediately enacted in a spirit of respect, creates an atmosphere of deep listening.

The content is not known beforehand, and basic trust must be established before a teller is willing to come forward, it requires a sophisticated understanding of group process. Thus each performance is by definition a highly collaborative experience.

Playback Theatre is a modern recreation of an oral traditional ceremony. Such events were entertaining for a village or clan community, but the purpose was always something larger–to heal sickness, solve social problems, or remind constituents of ancient wisdom. It exists for more than 40 years now and practiced in more than 60 countries all over the world.

Link to STD Facebook page (Hungarian & English)