Being All That We Are

I said that I would describe the upcoming drama game activity which is part of my In the Moment series of activities offered at Sutton Village's Sunshine Center. I intend to do that now.

This activity invites particpants to explore the potential roles that they might wish to play, selves that they might wish to become, or personality traits that they have deemed unsuitable, yet which still call to them on some level. We are always much more than we are manifesting through our bodies in any given moment. We are everything that we have ever been, everything that we might have been, everything that we have rejected in ourselves or in others.

Now this is serious business, this Being Who We Are in the World, but sometimes giving ourselves the opportunity to play with these roles and personalities is a very good idea. For one thing, it allows us to become more conscious of our choices - what we have taken into ourselves and become, and what we have discarded. For another thing, it helps us immeasurably to realize the essentially fluid and ever-changing nature of our personalities. We are always capable of change - throughout our lives. No matter how old we are, or how 'locked in' we seem to be, we can remake ourselves. For we are only the sum total of what we have chosen to be.

So this activity invites us to play with roles and personality traits - putting them on and taking them off again the way we would try on jackets or hats.

It is called 'Trunk Theatre' and this is how it works.

Ideally, there is a large trunk, or box, in a corner of the room containing items such as scarves, hats, umbrellas and other simple props to help us to assume characters that we create in our imagination.

There is a clearly visible line running across the room on the floor. This line divides the room into two parts. On one side of the line is the audience - those who are not currently acting out a part of their own creation. On the other side of the line are the players - those who have stepped across the line to become someone or something that is an exploration of their own potentials.

These are the rules. They are very simple.
1) You may step across the line to become a player at any time.
2) As a player, you must interact in keeping with your character with the other players who are there.
3) You may step across the line to stop being a player at any time.

The scene is not necessarily set. That is to say, the players may set the scene themselves. One may declare that the train is running very late. So, we are in a train station. Another may say that the service at this restaurant is slow today. We are in a restaurant. The scene can shift suddenly and unpredictably. Absurdities can become apparent. A sense of humour and the ability to move flexibly into new scenes and realities is almost always necessary. Needless to say, this activity stretches our comfort zones into broader outlines than those we normally surround ourselves with. (Such fun!)

The idea is to play. Play with being this self or that self. Play with other people's beings. Play with conventions and 'normal' behaviours. Play with the outrageous and the forbidden. Play with your own sense of your limits.

The space is, of necessity, a safe one. All is allowed and accepted here. All participants are always honoured. Everyone is expected to participate as a player at some point in the activity, for we are all players in this game of life. None of us get to be only spectators. That would be too boring anyway, wouldn't it?

I'll see you on Sunday, if you choose to come along. If you live too far away to join us, why not consider doing something similar in your neck of the woods?