Hello,
This is Brigid wishing to share with you an enjoyable, safe and useful starter exercise, for any new group or workshop.
The subject or reason why you are together in that room a that time is not important: this exercise is just a friendly way to ‘arrive,’ to be present, and to realize that we all experience basic Fears and Joys when with a new group of people, exploring a new area of knowledge and action.
No More Standard Introduction
I used to start with the usual introduction: ‘Let’s go round the group and each person say their name, why they are here, and what they hope for from this work.’ Then one day I was rather rushed and nervous and left this bit out, going straight onto the Chart of Fears and Joys, which I will explain to you below. I was surprised by the response of the group: they all said how much they disliked having to say their names etc. and how relieved they felt not having to do that.
Recently, at another workshop, one girl said that she had almost cancelled her booking because of hating to do that introduction!
Meet the Chart of Fears and Joys
We now go directly to the Chart as soon as the session begins. You need:
- Several sheets of A1 size plain paper. One sheet of paper between 3 or 4 people is best.
- Lots of colour pens.
- Space to write. If there are not enough tables, people can work on the floor.
- The leader and any other ‘staff’ need to do the exercise too, joining the small groups.
First, we write down all our fears: what is scary about doing the workshop, what worries us outside the workshop. Such as: money, future prospects, safety in the streets, letting down parents who have paid for the course, losing friends, my dog dying, parents, grandparents dying, me dying, being ill, being late, being the stupid one, everyone being better than me, having made the wrong decision with this course, being too fat/thin/unattractive/untalented…. the list goes on……
Give time for this; after about 2 minutes there is a natural stop with most people; encourage them to continue, to cover the page with writing.
The secret is to just keep the pen moving over the paper, doodling/scribbling when you are stuck for words, to overcome that little ‘block.’
Then each person reads out their words to the whole group. And when we find that someone has written the same thing as we have written, we put a tick ( or check) against it, so that by the time the final small group has their turn to read out what they have written, it is a much shorter list.
As soon as the Fears list is done, provide the groups with a new sheet of paper and ask them to write their Joys and Hopes: what they want from this course and what their dreams are. You are allowed to write about Oscars, fame, money, applause, recognition, big frocks, popularity, friends, having kids, a beautiful house, tons of money, a theatre of your own, and (more possibly) earning living by acting, doing your best work, fulfilling your potential, being happy / successful, making people happy, owning land, freedom of opportunity, helping people in need, benefiting society, bringing justice and peace…..
These 2 Charts will probably take around 30 to 40 minutes to complete.
People feel safer, happier, more connected to themselves and each other, wanting to continue and explore life through theatre.
At the end of the course, give the Charts back to the group and let them read their words again. Most people want to photograph their writing to keep it; it is precious to them and to all of us who have heard them. It is a privilege to hear these deep and heartfelt feelings; it starts the day with truth and courage.
Here are some Charts that we did recently with actors in Madrid, so the writing is in Spanish. We worked together for a week, starting with Charts on the first day, and ending with an open sharing of work; we explained our process to the audience of friends and fellow actors; they were interested to see the charts, which we spread on the floor.
I will be writing soon about the other work we did there.
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