Other-ness: Day 1

Today we began what I am sure will be a long conversation about being "the other" or "the outsider."  What does it mean?  What does it feel like?  Is it always a good thing?  Always a bad thing?  Who decides whether or not someone is an outsider?

We explored this concept through an exercise that Birgitta fondly calls "The Puzzle People Game."  The cast breaks into groups of two people: Person A and Person B.  The game starts with Person A making a shape with his or her body.  Person B then looks at that shape, and adds him or herself to it, making sure to fill as much of the negative space as possible.  Person A then breaks away from Person B, looks at Person B's position, and fills in the negative space.  Eventually, the partners become so good at anticipating each others' moves, both are able to move simultaneously, filling in negative space at all times.

"The People Puzzle Game" quickly evolved into a group exercise; more than two people were working together to fill in the negative space, and a majority of the group had become an amorphous blob.  Bill then stopped the exercise and gave the people who were not part of the blob the objective to become part of the blob.  However, he also told the people inside of the blob that they did not want anyone to join their blob.  And the outsider experiment began.

Through the course of the experiment, just about every person was knocked out of the "main blob," but this "outsider-ness" affected every person in a different way: Birgitta got angry and started her own group, Stephen was sad but determined, and Vanessa fought her way into the center of the blob.

We may use this exercise in our performance, so don't miss the chance to see an 8-person blob-fighting match!

Check in tomorrow to read about what happens when The Heyokah Project cast learns to clown around!