Centre for Playback Theatre

Name

Centre for Playback Theatre

Legal name

Centre for Playback Theatre

Website

https://playbackcentre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Applied Theatre Training and Education

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN)

Keywords

• Playback theatre training
• Applied theatre education
• Theatre practitioner certification
• Improvisational theatre courses
• Story-based performance training

Headquarters

HQ city

Poughkeepsie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Training and Course Fees: Revenue from Leadership courses, advanced training programs, and certification fees for Accredited Trainers.
2. Donations and Scholarships: As a nonprofit 501(C)3 corporation, the CPT accepts charitable donations to support scholarship programs for training.
3. Affiliate School Coordination: Administrative services and support provided to the network of Affiliated Schools of Playback Theatre.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Centre for Playback Theatre delivers international training, certification, and accreditation in Playback Theatre — an improvisational performance practice where personal stories from audience members are spontaneously enacted by trained conductors, actors, and musicians. Its offerings span tiered training (Core, Selected Topics, Practitioner, and Leadership courses), governance of a 16-school global Affiliate network operating in local languages, and an Accreditation Program that certifies individual practitioners as authorized Playback Theatre Trainers.

Product overview

The Centre for Playback Theatre offers a unified training and certification ecosystem centered on Playback Theatre education. The core offerings consist of the annual Leadership Course (held in different countries each year), the Affiliated Schools network (16 schools worldwide offering training in local languages), and the Accreditation Program for PT Trainers. Supporting modules include Core Training and Selected Topics courses, resources and research library, and special events such as the 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2025 featuring global performances, peer supervision sessions, and listening hour programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leadership Course Annual international training program that travels to a different country each year, representing the culmination of multi-level coursework and practice in Playback Theatre. Graduates have gone on to lead Playback Theatre in countries including Brazil, Canada, England, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and the US. Next planned for summer 2027, with a Leadership 2026 course in Italy.
• Accreditation Program for Playback Theatre Trainers Certification program for individual practitioners who have completed Leadership training and have extensive teaching experience, qualifying them as Accredited Trainers of Playback Theatre.
• Core Training and Selected Topics Courses Beginner-level training courses offered through Affiliate Schools, including Core Training and assorted Selected Topics, many leading to Practitioner Level certification.
• Affiliated Schools of Playback Theatre Network Network of 16 training institutions worldwide offering Playback Theatre training in local languages and operating under standards set by the Centre, including schools in Bulgaria, Latvia, Russia, Spain & Portugal, South Africa, Hungary, Greece, USA (NY), Canada, Singapore, and additional regions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Training provided in over 16 countries through Affiliate Schools network

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Listening Hour Community Culture CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Co-hosted special gatherings to celebrate both 50 years of Playback Theatre and 5 years of Listening Hour. Contributors included Beáta Somogyi, Fe Day, Karin Gisler, Lena Kalashnykova, Josefine Krumm, Soline Daccache, and Wendela Kloosterman. The event wove listening and storytelling together under one sky.
• Japanese School of Playback TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998Japanese School of Playback Theatre was opened on April 1, 1998, with Jonathan Fox as the founder. It offers Level 1 to Leadership training with classes accommodated to suit Japanese lifestyles. The course content has the same value and authority as the Centre for Playback Theatre, USA. Both are not-for-profit schools established to hand down Playback Theatre to future generations.
• International Playback Theatre Network (IPTN)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990IPTN was formed in 1990 with Jo Salas as secretary and Jonathan Fox as first editor. It is a membership network supporting the development of Playback Theatre worldwide through facilitating connections and shared learning. IPTN organizes international conferences every 4 years and publishes a yearly IPTN Journal. The CPT has a long-standing collegial relationship with IPTN and partnered for the Zoom Interview Series 'The First Generation Speaks' during the 50th anniversary celebration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• The Gaiety School of Acting: Irish conservatory-style drama training institution with a similar mission of preserving and transmitting a defined acting methodology; comparable to CPT's mission to pass down Playback Theatre methodology to future generations.

Direct peers

• Atlantic Theater Company / Atlantic Acting School: New York-based theatre company with an affiliated acting school offering structured drama training and certification; directly comparable to CPT in being a New York-anchored theatre training institution with a defined pedagogy.
• Russian Central Playback Theatre School: An Affiliated School of CPT, co-founded by CPT board co-chair Igor Lyubitov, delivering full Playback Theatre training pathway in Russia with equivalent curriculum standards.
• Stella Adler Studio of Acting: Renowned New York drama school offering multi-level acting training and certification, comparable to CPT's tiered training model from beginner through professional level.
• International Playback Theatre Network (IPTN): The membership network that supports the global development of Playback Theatre; CPT's closest ecosystem partner and the only other institution operating at the international level for this exact discipline.
• Japanese School of Playback Theatre: Founded in 1998 by Jonathan Fox; offers Level 1 through Leadership training with equivalent curriculum authority to CPT, operating as a parallel but independent 'not-for-profit school' in the same Playback Theatre tradition.
• Applied Theatre India Foundation: India-based applied theatre training organization where CPT board member Radhika Jain serves as faculty; comparable in its focus on theatre as a social/educational practice rather than commercial performance.
• Drama for Life (University of the Witwatersrand): South African applied theatre education and research entity listed among CPT's Affiliated Schools; comparable in combining academic theatre training with community/social impact programming.

Broad incumbents

• The Second City Training Centre: Largest and most established improv theatre training institution globally; comparable to CPT in delivering structured improvisation training and certification, but at much greater scale and with a comedy performance focus.
• The Groundlings: Long-running improv theatre and training center in Los Angeles; comparable to CPT as a structured improv training and certification institution, though oriented toward sketch comedy performance.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/centreforplaybacktheatre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-playback-theatre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for Playback Theatre