Thursday, June 26, 2008

"The Group is Always Right" and "Filling a Skeleton with your Soul"

Someone once told me... (oh to start a blog with this, cliche but needed).

Someone once told me as President of Kababayan you have to see your self not just as a leader, but rather a leader of leaders. This means that I should never see myself as getting the last word, or that my passions, thoughts and ideas are above those on my board, but that they are equally as important and should be ready to be compromised as much as my own. 

Today our exercise for group work had to do with this concept, and had to do with listening. We, were instructed to have our groups move as a whole, with certain rules and limitations that we as performers in the space we were in had no choice but to abide by (I could explain this further but it would be besides the point of this entry so I won't). Listening to the whole is a beautiful thing, because once you have reached a point of togetherness you feel as if you are a part of something greater.

It is easy to focus on yourself as an individual, but to be able to FEEL yourself engulfed something bigger its indescribable. And it didn't need any words to feel that connection to the whole, all it took was stillness and breath. 

At first my group seemed to be individuals who just could not and would not allow for complete listening. There was impatience, some could not wait for the whole to move, but wanted to initiate movement and be the leader. Some were reluctant to follow, or waited for a cue from another individual to lead them.

Michele pointed this out, he knew, but we knew too. He said that even if you make the choice to move and the entire group stays, even if your impulse may have felt right, if the whole of the group does not move, then the GROUP is becomes right. The group, the whole, is always right.

This is something to apply to our work in Kaba. Our Board can only work if the whole moves together. We don't have to have the same intentions, the same passions, but if we choose to make an action we must move together with ALL of the intentions in mind. 

Michele also said that it doesn't matter how long an action takes, if an action takes time, if it is cared for, then it will be more interesting it will draw you deeper.

We presented our dreams today, I don't know if I mentioned that we were doing that, we had to perform a dream, something that sleep had brought to us. And well I chose the dream I spoke of in my earlier blog, the dream of all of you. 

Your dreams, your soul are untouchable. I really am a complicated person. I need to start looking at the skeleton of things. We build the skeleton, we know the action and we must fill in the "drama." The soul.  

The response was good and it was gratifying to feel the room sharing that moment with me, sharing my dream. Michele appreciated my heart laid out on the table. I wish I could have had you all there to see it, its better than me just telling it. After class a couple of students gave their appreciation for my sharing, I can't explain to you guys how much doing this piece meant to me. 

I'm starting to see why I love theatre so much. It really is a window into someone's soul. Theatre is a reflection of life!

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