BWW Blog: Jess Pillmore - Play and Identity

Week One: behind-the-scenes with Creatively Independent's month-long artist residency playing with mindfulness, physical theatre, and creative ownership in Jacksonville, FL.

Here we are: settled in, fridge filled, local library visited and our children have books for days... Wonder twin power activate! Shape of a question mark! Form of a trickster!

Our first week in Jacksonville consists of two clients-middle school and university-for five days exploring ensemble devising, physical theatre, and ferocious play. Mornings started with middle school students desperate to jump to the last page-the goal assigned by the authority-to achieve and then move on. Afternoons comprised of a mix of middle schoolers rehearsing a play, but still unsure how to actively play in it. Evenings filled with university students eager to play and explore, but tentative to voice their observations and point of view.

It's a national issue-from apathy to anemic choices-not isolated to these two schools. Teachers and students are experiencing a growing malaise created in large part to a lack of play and mindfulness. When that natural playground (literal and metaphorical) is limited or disrespected, opportunities to form one's identity and preferences through experience are limited and disrespected.

It's not a binary issue of playful or serious. There's a wide spectrum of ways people cope with a lack of play. During the process, the morning classes-where students had no choice on whether to be there or not-showed a general apathy, and even resentment to play and voice a point of view. The afternoon rehearsals-where students didn't choose the season, but did choose whether to participate-were out of control with hardly any thought towards others or consequences. The evening devising residency (who chose to be there and what to create while there) were willing but hesitant for fear that playing wasn't professional.

Two sides of the same coin

How these participants reacted to playing revealed how they felt about their level of freedom to be themselves. Because, as Shakespeare penned, "The play's the thing in which to catch the conscience of the king." Will was more spot on than he may have realized, because play and identity are two sides of the same coin, not just in storytelling but in human development.

"A child's intrinsic motivation is driven by play, which really begins to shape who and what they are. Thus, when play is not given a fair shake, the individual loses something very important." - Dr. Stuart Brown, founder National Institute for Play

As our company and family tour the U.S., that loss is apparent. It is the loss of internally defined identity and purpose. It is the loss of curiosity and inquiry. It is the loss of point of view.

When we throw out play, we throw out identity.

But, what once was lost can be found, and like this heart-touching moment in Hook, Chris and I are ever-willing to observe, poke, and play in order to help people find their original joy to create again.

Because these students didn't start out this way, apathetic and lethargic. Rarely any child starts this way. Just give a child a cardboard box and watch divergent thinking at its best. But add a few years of being told the "right" way to use a box and punished for playing with scissors and that child will either stop taking risks or swing towards extreme risks out of rebellion. Internal curiosity about the world will be replaced with achieving tasks the authority assigns with expectations and acceptable outcomes. Got it. Check mark. Next.

The university students may no longer be held back by the system, but they had learned to hold themselves back with fear of risk-taking and truly being seen. Atrophied muscles in personal curiosity and unexercised stamina were holding back the artistic freedom they desired. For them, the residency focused on long-form play and ensemble devising to build internal trust in their artistic skills and instincts.

Often we bring our own children, Griffin and Skye, into residencies, not only to join in the fun, but to show that challenging education is not age-restricted. Leadership is based on connecting to community, a clear identity, and a purpose. You can be that at any age. Master teachers in play, these little guys are like flowers pushing through the concrete. Their curiosity and joy will not be denied sunlight, and the classroom's resistance cracks with giggles and smiles.

One crack is all that's needed to start the breakdown of self-protection in the guise of "couldn't care less". By the end of our week, the university students' whispers of identity and intention became playful rallying cries. Middle schoolers lingered in the unknown with eyebrows raised and growing smiles, some for a moment, some for the entire class. These are successes to build upon, to create new work, to develop a point of view!

See you, next week for new residencies in creative ownership inside Shakespeare, honesty in teaching, and class time/play time... it's one and the same. Have questions about the work or life on the road? Tweet me and I'll play with them here.