Negotiating change and finding our part in the machine

Last week, I didnt' get around to blogging, however, we did have Lauren to take some photo's, so here are a selection of the ones that she took.

The theme was still death, the action was more like a story, rather than the abstract interactions of the previous week.

Phenomena that we came across included sabotaging the story plan in order to avoid the intended killing, which actually make the killing happen sooner.

Also the need to end the death process, to "get it over with", which also sabotaged the initial point, which was to have drawn out, dramatic death scenes.










Anyway, on with today's session, altogether closer in time and easier to remember, however no pictures this time.

Warm up - Sound
Inspired by a music therapy awareness workshop that I went on earlier this week, I started the group with a sound based warm up. In a circle, group members used their body, including their voices, to create sound, eg stamping, clapping, whistling.  They were instructed to change the sound that they were making as often as they wished.  When they felt ready and comfortable to do so, they closed their eyes.  I moved slowly round the circle, In turns putting my hands on one members shoulders.  This person was to stop making a sound, and just listen to the sound that the group was making.

Questions I wondered about included:
What was it like creating the sound?
What was it like being made to stop contributing to the sound?
What was it like listening to the group sound without being part of it?
How was it joining back in again once the person had stopped?

Some people enjoyed listening to the sound the group made, however, others felt that they wanted to get back in again and weren't so keen on just listening.  The eyes being closed helped to focus on the sound and be involved, however two group members didn't like having their eyes closed.  One of these found it easier to stare fixedly at one spot on the floor.

As time went on group members became more comfortable with making the sounds and contributing to the total sound, we got some quite adventurous rhythms, and I also noticed that some people were very physically involved in the sound that they were making.  These may have been more relaxed.

There was talk of a "trancelike" feeling, of being part of the group sound, and when listening to it as a witness.

Internal and external changes, fitting in, accomodating, negotiating and initiating change.

The group became a machine, each with a different interacting part.

Once the action of the machine had a smooth and interactive flow to it, I said "stop".  Based on the position each person was in, they had to decide on how they would change their move when i said "start" again.  Everyone of course, had decided on a change but then they had to accomodate the changes made by others, so a period of initiation, negotiation, and accomodation had to take place, in order for the machine to become functional again.

Changes that we made included:

Making the parts of the machine closer together and further apart
Making the parts of the machine have contact with each other
Introducing sound (some people did this automatically, for others it was more difficult)
During the stillness part of the exercise  deciding upon a "primary other" to interact with when the machine started moving again (of course this also would conflict with the "primary other" that other group members had decided upon)

The transition was quite a challenging period for the group, and lots of variation was witnessed in terms of how different people negotiated the changes imposed, and fitted in with the machine.  At times one person would seem to be separate to the rest of the machine.  Some would take on a liaison role, linking different elements of the machine together.  Sometimes, there would appear to be two or three different machines rather than one.  At times the complete machine was quite a spectacle to witness, smoothly operating, with differently functioning and interactive parts, all having negotiated the change period without exchanging a word.

At different times I took group members out of the machine so that they could witness from the outside, the functioning, changing, negotiating and refunctioning elements of the machine processes.

I would like to explore this further in different ways:

Have a biological machine (inspired by the interactive functions of the living cell), which has random elements to its activities.

Have people change their function one at a time, so that the machine has to restructure itself in response to someone changing what they do, or even leaving altogether, and maybe rejoining at a later time.

Ending ritual:

We did a group story for the ending ritual.  With eyes closed we composed an adventurous journey with heroes, lost maidens and fierce and friendly monsters.

As a closing thought I note that Everything that we have done today, and for the last few weeks, has been about building group cohesion and the sense of complicite.  A good thing as we have lost and gained a few members, so the shape of the group is very different.

I would like to do some more work on slow movement and body awareness, in the near future, and then maybe come January to start working once again on bouffons.