Today was pretty intense; we shared stories about being the outsider, discussed conformity vs. unity, and learned a lot of new things about each other. For example, I learned that Stephen has been experimenting with lucid dreaming, Birgitta's siblings told her that she was an adopted mosquito, Hannah identifies herself as an upside-down sheep, Vanessa didn't know that she was black until college, James was a heroic second grader, Hossein stole fruit from an Iranian farmer, and that Kaleena thinks in poetry.
All of those are very silly, isolated snippets of what we did and learned today - we spent five hours rehearsing together - but I think that those snippets are the best way to express the Heyokah experience. Besides, as the cast also talked about today, silliness and comedy are often the best ways to process difficult information. And that is why the clown/fool/outsider character has been such a big part of history, because he or she can use comedy and humor to show society its faults without making society resent the clown or deny the accusations.
So now this makes me think of Heyokah characters that we might have today. Is Jon Stewart a Heyokah? Stephen Colbert? Do we have any Heyokahs? Or do we just push outsiders so far outside that we forget to listen to what they have to say?
Sorry about the scattered nature of this post; I am a bit scattered. I am so exhausted, energized, full of ideas and overwhelmed with this project that it is difficult for me to stay focused tonight.
Tomorrow will be an awesome day.
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