Books published by Tusitala

Zoomy Zoomy is a collection of dynamic, well-tested, and easy-to-follow theatre games, warm-ups, and exercises for leaders working with groups of all ages, including theatre teachers, directors, classroom teachers, and group facilitators. Author Hannah Fox has collected and, in many cases, invented these activities over years of facilitating groups and performing. She also shares her wisdom as an experienced group leader about how to use the exercises-when and why to select them, how to introduce them, and how to lead them.Hannah Fox is an associate professor of dance and theatre at Manhattanville College. She is artistic director of Big Apple Playback Theatre based in New York City. Hannah teaches dance, theatre, and improv workshops internationally.

In a Playback Theatre performance, audience members tell true stories about their lives and a team of actors improvises theatre pieces on the spot. First developed in 1975 in upstate New York, Playback Theatre is now practiced around the world, in theatres, schools, refugee camps, prisons, governmental departments-wherever people have stories to tell. Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre, written by Playback's cofounder Jo Salas, is the basic text used by new and seasoned Playback practitioners, trainers, and university teachers. The photo-illustrated book describes the origins, practice and philosophy of Playback Theatre. Entertaining and thoughtful, Improvising Real Life is illustrated with dozens of real-life stories told in performances and workshops. It has been translated into German, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Portuguese, Russian, Hebrew, and Korean (forthcoming). The 20th Anniversary edition includes a foreword by Roberto Gutiérrez Varea from Theatre Without Borders and co-founder of the Performing Arts and Social Justice Program at the University of San Francisco, as well as an afterword by the author with comments on Playback's current development.

The best and most important writings of J.L. Moreno, the founder of psychodrama, are collected in this concise and accessible volume. This unique collection explores Moreno's thoughts in developing psychodrama and sociometry, with his strong emphasis on spontaneity and creativity. Both basic and advanced concepts and techniques of psychodramatic treatment are also discussed. The reader will find extensive examples from Moreno's own cases containing verbatim transcripts that illustrate the give-and-take between Moreno, his patients, and the audience observers. Jonathan Fox introduces this collection with a brief overview of Moreno's life and ideas and places this seminal figure in the context of his time and in the field of psychotherapy. The editor's notes throughout underscore significant aspects of the selections for the practitioner. Autobiographical fragments, a chronology of Moreno's life, and a selected list of his publications are also included.Jonathan Fox, M.A., is the founder of Playback Theatre and the director of the Centre for Playback Theatre. A Fellow of the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, he is a certified Trainer, Educator and Practitioner in psychodrama (T.E.P.). He is the author of Acts of Service: Spontaneity, Commitment, Tradition in the Nonscripted Theatre. "It is not the usual book on psychiatry, psychotherapy, or psychopathology. It is a book about living, and the massive contribution of a true master."-from the Foreword by Carl A. Whitaker, MD

Author Jo Salas, a music therapist and cofounder of Playback Theatre, created a drama and music program at a residential treatment center in upstate New York for children 5 to 13 years old who had been diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed. Do My Story, Sing My Song tells the stories of the children she worked with, many of whom were the survivors of extreme neglect and violence. Despite their traumas and their resulting depression, volatility, and even psychosis, the children at St. Mary's were full of creativity. They longed to express themselves, to play, to love, and, remarkably, to contribute to the wellbeing of their peers.In one-on-one music therapy sessions, group singing, Playback Theatre performances with staff members enacting children's stories, and therapy groups where the children acted stories for each other, the author encountered the resilience and artistry of these young people. Although reflecting on the background and theory of creative arts therapies, Do My Story, Sing My Song More is in the realm of narrative rather than formal case studies, offering stories where children's voices are clearly and unforgettably heard.Jo Salas, MA, holds a master's degree in music therapy from New York University. She is the cofounder of Playback Theatre, an original form of interactive story-based theatre now practiced in 65 countries. Her book Improvising Real Life: Personal Story in Playback Theatre is now in nine translations. Her TEDx talk "Everyone Has a Story" is available online.