February 2011 DwD featured nonverbal participatory social presence, led by Heidi Madsen (Columbus, Ohio), Elsa Lam (Dzieci Theatre Troupe), and Patricia Kambitsch (Playthink).
Some of the exercises required attentive listening beyond hearing. Dexter Ico captures Four Clowns at Bus Stop, performed here by all participants. The “lead clown” is given a scenario, the others, without peeking, peripherally pick up on the behavior and act the part until they all, somehow, learn together the scenario without it ever having been communicated. This is as funny as it sounds …
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Thanks to all for a truly engaging session. I am very intrigued with the use of non-verbal communication to convey information not otherwise conveyable (if that’s a word).
One of my colleagues, Marsali Federico, aside from being a helluva operations coordinator, is also a drama grad from UofT. She compiled a report for our sessions designer about “Business Theatre”. Lots of great resources about using theatre to break down barriers and enhance communication. Here’s a link to just three of activities from the report that I thought would be great add-ons to our Clowns session.
http://www.forrestandco.com/forrest/images/Sample%20Theatre%20Games%20for%20dwd.pdf
See you all soon. M