LEADING ON 2026

LEADING ON: PLAYBACK THEATRE – STORIES IN MOTION
Facilitated by Anna Galligan and Dave Kelly
Presented by Youth Theatre Ireland 

Join Anna and Dave for a weekend of connection, spontaneity, and shared storytelling through Playback Theatre.

Playback Theatre is an interactive form of theatre where personal stories and lived experiences are brought to life. Emerging from community storytelling and improvisation practices developed by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas in New York in the 1970s, Playback Theatre invites people to see their stories reflected back through ensemble play, creativity, and spontaneous performance.

Across the weekend, we will work with a range of Playback Theatre short-form and long-form techniques, ensemble exercises, and performance structures that strengthen listening, presence, responsiveness, and ensemble awareness. Along the way, participants will build the core skills that support Playback performance, including spontaneous improvisation, physical and vocal expression, collaboration, and the ability to respond creatively in the moment.

Workshops will combine practical exploration, reflection, and collaborative play, offering approaches that can support facilitation, communication, group engagement, and artistic practice across a variety of settings. Many of the skills and techniques explored across the weekend can be adapted and applied within participants’ own creative, educational, and facilitation work.

Whether you are an experienced facilitator, teacher, artist, youth worker, performer, or simply curious about creative group work, these workshops offer a playful and supportive space to connect, listen, perform, and create together.

Expect a weekend that is creative, reflective, collaborative, and full of possibility – all you need is curiosity and a willingness to step into the moment.

Let's watch

Anna & Dave.

TIMETABLE

A more detailed timetable will be available closer to the event but here is a brief overview:

THURSDAY: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
FRIDAY: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
SATURDAY: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
SUNDAY: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

TICKET PRICING

• Youth Theatre Ireland Member ticket
  1 - Residential = €200
  2 - Non-Residential = €150

• Non Youth Theatre Ireland Member ticket
  1 - Residential = €250
  2 - Non-Residential = €200
  

N.B. If you are a Youth Theatre Ireland Member, please email info@youththeatre.ie for a discount link

- YTI Membership costs €40 per year. For details and benefits follow this link https://www.youththeatre.ie/membership-services/membership/become-a-member - 

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS

Anna

Anna has been a professional arts practitioner for over 35 years, working as an actress, drama facilitator, trainer, theatre director, and performance arts educator. She has designed and delivered theatre‑based training programmes and served as an arts consultant across youth theatre, mental health services, and legal settings.

She spent ten years with Youth Theatre Ireland, where she introduced several long‑term national programmes, including ArtsTrain, Leading On…, and The Young Critics Programme. She then served for 13 years as Director of Participation and Education at Barnstorm Theatre Company, where she also led Kilkenny Youth Theatre. In addition, she has directed Carlow County Youth Theatre.

Anna currently teaches acting skills and theatre studies at Carlow Institute of Further Education and Training, lectures in creativity, drama, and performance across multiple institutions, and delivers youth drama facilitation training with Crooked House Theatre Company in Kildare.

Her interest in Playback Theatre began at the DLI Summer School. She later invited Jonathan Fox, founder of Playback Theatre, to Youth Theatre Ireland’s Inspiring Voices programme, trained with him in New York, and continued her development with Playback UK.

Dave

Dave Kelly is a facilitator, trainer, and Playologist. A former Artistic Director of Dublin Youth Theatre and current National Training Co-ordinator with Youth Theatre Ireland, he specialises in facilitation, improvisation, ensemble work, and participatory learning.

Dave co-ordinates and teaches on Youth Theatre Ireland’s accredited Drama Facilitation Course and is the author of Laying the Foundations. He is passionate about creating engaging, playful, and inclusive spaces where people can connect, collaborate, and grow through shared stories and experiences.