Play Your Stories of Change: An Experiential Workshop for Changemakers

Play Your Stories of Change: An Experiential Workshop for Changemakers

Many of us are trying, in ways big and small, to make a difference. In our workplaces, organisations, communities, neighbourhoods, collectives or the wider world.

But how often do we stop to share and experience the stories of that work?

These stories are not only about promoting what we do, although sometimes we need to do that too. They can help us reconnect with why we care, recognise moments of change and remember the people and experiences that shape our work.

Some people love sharing these stories. Others dread it.

Either way, I’d love to invite you into an intimate and playful gathering at the beautiful Impact Story Lab / Wonderplay Studio to explore a different way of bringing stories of change to life.

Your story might be your “why”. It might be a moment when you realised you had touched someone’s life. A project that changed something. A small interaction that stayed with you. A mentor or role model who inspired you, or someone you have had the privilege of inspiring. A success, a struggle or something you are still trying to understand.

If you are not ready to share, that is okay too. You can listen, observe and experience the stories of others.

From storytelling to storyplaying

This is not simply storytelling. It is storyplaying, using movement, roles, imagery, objects and instant dramatisation to explore stories through action.

We will gather and share the stories we feel comfortable sharing. Then, drawing on psychodrama and instant dramatisation, I will invite some of those stories into the space and bring them to life.

We might create a sculpture using people and objects. We might bring a moment to life through a short enactment. We might use movement, props, roles or imagery to experience a story from another perspective.

This is not about acting or performing, and you do not need any acting experience.

It is about embodiment, connection and making some of the things we carry inside us a little more visible.

Long before workshops, PowerPoints and impact reports, people gathered, shared stories and enacted their experiences. It was one of the ways we made sense of life, relationships, challenges and change.

Perhaps we are simply remembering some of those practices and bringing them into the complexity of our lives and work today.

Come and share stories, play with them, inspire one another and celebrate the people and work contributing to positive change in the world.

Or simply come along, listen and observe.

The details

Wednesday 30 September 2026
2:00pm to 3:30pm

Impact Story Lab / Wonderplay Studio
Suite 201, Level 2
101–111 William Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010

General admission: $25.

The workshop is part of the Impact Story Lab Open Day, so while you're there, grab some food, explore the space and check out what else is happening throughout the day.

Come with a story, big or small. Or just come curious.

Let's bring our impact stories to life.

About the facilitator

Dimitrios Papalexis is the founder of Soulgen, a facilitator, community development practitioner, youth worker and Certified Psychodrama Practitioner.

For more than 20 years, Dimitrios has worked alongside young people, communities, organisations and changemakers in Australia and internationally, using experiential, strengths-based and participatory approaches to help people connect, tell their stories, discover their strengths and turn ideas into action.

He is particularly interested in what happens when we move beyond simply talking about our experiences and begin to embody, enact and explore them together.