Through the session you will be gently introduced to the idea of expressing yourself through play, providing a safe space in which to let go of self imposed restrictions and to express yourself through your voice, body and imagination.
I will teach you how to switch off the circuits that are going to block your creativity and switch on the circuits that are going to open them up. I create an informal, fun atmosphere which will put you at your ease and free you of the internal pressures that normally inhibit you from expressing yourself.
It is very common for people to feel anxious the first time they come, which is completely understandable. I will do some warming up exercises with you to release some of the tensions, enable you to let go of inhibitions, and get you out of your head.
You will be encouraged to participate in your own way and at your own pace. You will also learn tools of how to express your emotions creatively which will make expressing feelings fun, particularly the ones that we as humans generally find unacceptable e.g. anger, resentment, fear, depression, sadness. It is very likely too that through this you will feel a sense of connection with other people in the group.
It was a very liberating experience. I felt very safe and willing to take a chance: I was quite scared at first because I’m not used to letting go of inhibitions. But it was great for me to use my body – something I just don’t usually do. J.H., London. |
The next stage is Exploration.
We will be working through story using myths and fairytales of universal significance. Fairytales are the building blocks of emotional development in children and are still important for adults. Fairytales and myths indeed will enable you to enter a rich and expressive emotional world in an adult way, exploring the issues and concerns that are most prominent in your life.
You will have the opportunity to choose which character in the myth you would like to work with, usually the one that you resonate with most at the time. This will give you permission to express yourself in very different ways than you do in your normal life. I will introduce this to you gradually so seamlessly that you hardly notice it is happening.
Working through character is very different from role play which has a
tendency to restrict us. A character is three dimensional and is closer to the human personality, which gives a free rein for you to interpret him/her in any way you would like.
You will be working in a group so there will be an opportunity to collaborate with others and this is where the magic begins to happen.
When it comes to expressing the story, it is extraordinary what people achieve. There is a box of dressing up clothes so you will have an opportunity to dress up which makes transforming yourself into the character much easier. It is often the darker characters that permit the expression of feelings that are most freeing and healing. (See Healing Through Poison )
A supportive group atmosphere quickly emerges through group co-creativity, enabling you to connect with others in a powerful way. Fun and laughter are a very important part of the whole experience.
It never ceases to amaze me how people with very little drama experience can produce spellbinding, complex and fascinating pieces of expression. And with this comes an extraordinary feeling of achievement.
“The fun of it!! Working with eternally relevant myths, dressing up, letting go of self-imposed restrictions, rediscovering the exhuberance of being a child at play without judgment or restriction. It was all very liberating and funny and poignant. And at times, richly profound and illuminating.”
C.V. (Presenter) London |
At the end there is an opportunity to reflect on the experiences and to relate it to your everyday life.
You will have the opportunity to reflect on your own experience but also on the significance to you of what you have seen others express. Others may see qualities and attributes in you that you are unable to see.
What seems quite innocuous and fun at the time, begins to take on deep significance.
In reflecting on the character you played, you may recognise roles you habitually play in life, or discover the ability to play a new role. This will enable you to claim your power, put you in the driving seat of your life, bid farewell to the victim or old roles that no longer serve you.
The healing may be felt there and then, or it may be appear in the days or weeks afterwards. You may be able to drop a particular mode of behaviour which has been destructive and kept you stuck, and claim the more healthy parts of yourself (See Paul's account in The Power of Personal Ritual).
Integration
The final part of the process is the “bit in-between”. It is the time in-between sessions or after a workshop. It could happen in your dreams.
You may experience a dramatic shift, surprising insights, revelations or a synchronous event.
In fact it's not so surprising. As you will have been working through story, using the language of the unconscious this enables change and healing to happen “underground”. It's a bit like what happens under the earth in spring. What seems like a barren landscape suddenly bursts into life. You are unable to see the germination process and the growth going on under-neath, as far as you're concerned it's all grim and depressing.
The time in-between is a bit like this. Nothing seems to have happened until you wake up one morning and the depression has lifted, or you feel differently about the situation that had felt insurmountable or you find yourself behaving in a completely new way (See the personal story Emerging into the World).
See Vi's story for an account of someone who had an extrodinary opportunity to claim back her power in an unexpected way in the weeks after a workshop.
Working with myths from cultures all over the world, some of which are many thousands of years old is particularly powerful as we are tapping into archetypes and ancient energies. Some might call this the collective unconsciousness, often there is a sense of a higher power or something bigger than us being brought into play, connecting us with humanity throughout time. Whether you believe in this or not, it doesn't matter – the process still works.
See the articles Marrying Theatre through Personal Transformation and Freeing the Firebird for more detail on how this process works
Or read any books written by Joseph Campbell, Robert A. Johnson or Carol Pearson (particularly Awakening the Hero's Within).
“I feel I have with me the living experiences of so many of the workshops. I feel I have stored them underground in some deep well within me. I am keenly aware I am now drawing on those wells as and when I need to.”
M.K. (Project Manager) |
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Still hovering? I completely understand, the hardest thing is to get started, to take the first step. See if the story of the Myth of Sisyphus has any relevance to you.
