Don’t Stop Us Now: A Celebration of Pride and Joy

An Afternoon of Playback Theatre
Sunday, June 15 from 2:00-3:30PM
FUSION | 708
708 1st St NW, ABQ

Tickets are PAY WHAT YOU CAN with a Suggested Price of $35

What makes you feel unstoppable?

We are facing a far-right movement focused on criminalizing queer + trans stories, burying Black stories, locking up immigrant stories, and otherwise silencing the voices of any form of dissent.

In response, we are prepared to defend, honor, and celebrate these stories at all costs.

High Desert Playback listens to your real-life stories and plays them back on the spot using theater, music, spoken word, and ritual.

Our 2024-25 season closes with Don’t Stop Us Now: A Celebration of Pride + Joy. In this Playback Theatre show, we invite you share moments when you:

  • Refused to let yourself (or someone else) be silenced 

  • Understood what it really means to be queer + trans at this time in history

  • Felt absolutely unstoppable!

Let’s come together for a supersonic good time and an extra dose of queer joy!

Tickets

All tickets are "Pay What It's Worth" which you will pay AFTER the show. We believe everyone deserves to experience the transformative power of Playback Theatre! Join us and let your story unfold on stage. Pay what feels right after the show, because YOUR story matters whether you can give $5, our suggested ticket price of $35, $100, or more. Any amount ensures work like this can continue in New Mexico and beyond.

Allison Kenny, Dalilah Naranjo, Danielle Simone, Jessie Lane, Johnny Olesen, Lasha Helena Kirker, Lynn Johnson, Noe Field-Perkins, and Tatiana Isabel Gil

Featuring

FAQs

  • Playback Theatre is a participatory art form, this is true. Folx share moments and stories from their lives and we play it back on the spot. HOWEVER, Playback Theatre is also a consensual art form. You never have to tell a story if you don’t want to. Ever.

    When you’re at a HDP Playback Theatre show, there are 3 ways to participate:

    🥹A WITNESS - You come in. You find your seat. You watch and listen to the stories being told and enacted. Hopefully you will also laugh and cry and allow the stories of the strangers around you to become part of your story too.

    🙋🏽A TELLER FROM YOUR SEAT - At the beginning of the show, we warm you up to Playback Theatre by asking you to share feelings and short stories right from your seat. It’s a low-pressure way to share what’s on your mind in the moment.

    🎤A TELLER ON STAGE - Finally, we will ask for volunteers to join us on stage, sit in what we call “the teller’s chair,” and share a longer story. If you choose to participate in this way, you will be seated next to Allison or Lynn, our co-founders who act as our “Conductors.” Their job is to guide you through it the whole way. Imagine sharing a story over coffee or a glass of wine with a good friend. Except with other folks watching.  

    No matter how you choose to participate in an HDP Playback Theatre show, you are 100% valuable to the experience.

  • We love an intergenerational moment! At the same time, because of the improvisational nature of audience members sharing real-life stories on the spot, we cannot control the content of the stories. So, it’s up to you whether or not you are comfortable with your kids being there for whatever happens. 

    For parents and caregivers of young children, we do ask that, if your young one needs to express their feelings loudly during the show, that you take a moment to step outside so that our focus can be on the tellers and their stories.

    SHORT (300 characters) Because of its improv nature, we cannot control the content of the stories. So, it’s up to you whether or not you are comfortable with your kids being there for whatever happens. If your young ones need a moment to express their feelings loudly, kindly step outside for a moment.

What Folks Are Saying

  • "High Desert Playback is an oasis in the desert! As I travel through the immoral aftermath of colonialism, in a political landscape thirsty for more, HDP brings the community together to inspire and empower. May their message be uplifted and supported for all!"

  • "I had never experienced Playback Theatre before. The High Desert Playback actors had an amazing ability to capture the essence of each person’s story with empathy, humor, compassion, sensitivity and care. In the space of an evening, they created a sense of belonging, safety, community care, and support. I would recommend this experience to any group hoping to build a sense of shared compassion and understanding. The message of together we are stronger and can build the world we want and need was clear. Thank you!"

  • “Thank you!!! I would love to attend any future events of this nature! It left me feeling uplifted and hopeful, which we need desperately at this time in our world.”

  • "An expressive use of empathy as a tool for story-retelling and trauma first aid; I would recommend this workshop to everyone regardless of background."

  • "This is such a fun, intimate, collaborative, & inclusive workshop. It was my first time doing playback and I’m hooked!"

  • "The entire evening was powerful and nourishing. High Desert Playback created a magical space that helped people share without judgement and helped everyone in the room build a deeper understanding of the way racism and oppressive structures impact lives-- and they helped create space to share ways we can push back against those same structures."

  • "Learning Playback has reawakened something in me that has brought so much joy to my life. It’s much greater than just the workshops themselves- it’s reminded me how to play, while being vulnerable. So so grateful!"

  • "High Desert Playback is a needed glimpse into the future we need - where everyone is proudly and unapologetically themselves, and enthusiastic supporters of all the very different varieties of humans around them. Their performances quickly and lovingly embrace and draw in their diverse audiences, and serve to heal our many experiences of trauma as well as remind us of our own and each others' beauty and strength. I went to my first performance simply curious about what this could be, and have become a permanent fan."

  • "Lynn and Allison are kind, supportive and masterful facilitators who hold you sweetly through the process of learning something new. Playback Theatre is infused with joy, humor, and deep heart care."

  • "Engaging in creative play with my peers, just for pleasure's sake, feels deeply nourishing. Especially after three years of limited human to human connection. Allison and Lynn and all the attendees created such a safe place to let loose and have fun!"

  • "These amazing artists will make you believe in possibilities you had lost hope of seeing in your lifetime."