MAPP project
Provocations
“It is the longing for happiness that is potentially radical, while the morality of sacrifice is an age-old weapon of rulers.”
(Ellen Willis in Judith Levine, 2015)
In the first session of the project, I pitched a theme to the students, based on some of my research around clowning, play, joy and feminism. The theme was radical joy- the idea that seeking out and prioritising joy and pleasure is a radical act when placed in the context of late-stage capitalism; a system designed to sell us dissatisfaction and misery. We tried a range of provocations to begin to explore this idea:
(Ellen Willis in Judith Levine, 2015)
In the first session of the project, I pitched a theme to the students, based on some of my research around clowning, play, joy and feminism. The theme was radical joy- the idea that seeking out and prioritising joy and pleasure is a radical act when placed in the context of late-stage capitalism; a system designed to sell us dissatisfaction and misery. We tried a range of provocations to begin to explore this idea:
- Games designed to highlight connection, pleasure and enjoyment
- The ‘find the game game’ to introduce open-ended play and responsiveness
- 4 brainstorm sheets on ‘radical joy’, ‘what gives us joy’, ‘anger’ and ‘what fucks us off’.
- Recreating visual images of something that makes us angry
- The ‘dance like everybody’s watching’ game to explore moving with joy
Students' mind maps on anger...
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... and radical joy
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Moment 1:
We played a 45-minute round of the find the game game, which produced some particularly surreal stings of associated actions. There were hints of themes we’d discussed earlier in the session, arising from the brainstorming the students had done on joy and anger. Our favourite thread, as identified in the discussion afterwards, went like this:
We played a 45-minute round of the find the game game, which produced some particularly surreal stings of associated actions. There were hints of themes we’d discussed earlier in the session, arising from the brainstorming the students had done on joy and anger. Our favourite thread, as identified in the discussion afterwards, went like this:
Hulk fight- gorilla fight- pirate sword fight- Bjork’s sword is too big, they fall over- Kitty hands out tiny swords- Eve swallows everyone’s tiny pirate swords, then vomits them back out.
Journal extract from group discussion: 26/10/22
Journal extract from group discussion: 26/10/22
Another, quieter moment in the game also stuck with me. We had found our way to a corner of the studio and were sitting on the floor in a small circle. We started to show each other weird tricks we could do with various body parts- some simple, like rolling your tongue, some more extreme, like dislocating a shoulder. This somehow evolved into a non-verbal sharing of phobias and allergies; important information for keeping everyone safe and secure in a devising process. The fact that people volunteered the information playfully and without pre-planning made it feel less pressured, more informal and gently intimate. We were confiding in each other, rather than having to explain or justify our boundaries or needs.
They surprised me today! Great commitment… huge vulnerability and deep thinking
Who was I? Woman - Comrade! - Older sister
Journal extract : 26/10/22
Who was I? Woman - Comrade! - Older sister
Journal extract : 26/10/22
Moment 2:
We played the dance like everyone’s watching game; it’s a relatively new provocation for me, and this was the first time I had tried it with performers who are not contemporary-dance trained. The way each student chose to move was very individual- one person sat cross-legged throughout, gently swaying- but all four lip-synced to the music.
I have written before about the potential of dancing as a source of joy, of ‘bubbling with pleasure’ (Seyler and Haggard, 2013, p. 55) but perhaps here we were exploring the combined pleasure of moving and sharing a favourite piece of music. Lip syncing is a private pleasure, indulged in teenage bedrooms everywhere, but also a highly performative act when done in the context of a drag show, for instance. Thick and Tight (Hay-Gordon and Perry, 2023) and Frankie Thompson (Thompson and Ello, 2022), both of whom straddle dance and clown, use lip sync extensively. What is it, I wonder, about borrowing someone else’s voice, or about moving your lips and face in a highly controlled way, that appeals to us when we explore the comic potential of our bodies?
We played the dance like everyone’s watching game; it’s a relatively new provocation for me, and this was the first time I had tried it with performers who are not contemporary-dance trained. The way each student chose to move was very individual- one person sat cross-legged throughout, gently swaying- but all four lip-synced to the music.
I have written before about the potential of dancing as a source of joy, of ‘bubbling with pleasure’ (Seyler and Haggard, 2013, p. 55) but perhaps here we were exploring the combined pleasure of moving and sharing a favourite piece of music. Lip syncing is a private pleasure, indulged in teenage bedrooms everywhere, but also a highly performative act when done in the context of a drag show, for instance. Thick and Tight (Hay-Gordon and Perry, 2023) and Frankie Thompson (Thompson and Ello, 2022), both of whom straddle dance and clown, use lip sync extensively. What is it, I wonder, about borrowing someone else’s voice, or about moving your lips and face in a highly controlled way, that appeals to us when we explore the comic potential of our bodies?
Our early roll reflections were on the themes of play, or letting go, of new ideas about comedy and being funny.
Personal post-its expressed the joy of acknowledging our imperfections and our individual weirdness, and not taking ourselves so seriously.
Personal post-its expressed the joy of acknowledging our imperfections and our individual weirdness, and not taking ourselves so seriously.
Art is goofy
Laughter is joyful
Journal extracts from group discussion: 18/07/22
Laughter is joyful
Journal extracts from group discussion: 18/07/22
Bibliography
Hay-Gordon, D. and Perry, E. (2023) ‘Thick & Tight- Tits and Teeth: A retrospective of a dazzling career’. Shoreditch Town Hall, 25 January.
Levine, J. (2015) ‘The Passion of Ellen Willis “She didn’t believe in God. But she believed. Optimism was her faith.”’, Boston Review, 8 September. Available at: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/judith-levine-ellen-willis/ (Accessed: 19 October 2022).
Seyler, A. and Haggard, S. (2013) The Craft of Comedy. 21st Century Edition. Edited by R. Barton. London, New York: Routledge. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/dmu/reader.action?docID=1128307&ppg=3.
Thompson, F. and Ello, L. (2022) ‘Frankie Thompson: CAttS’. Soho Theatre, London, 23 November.
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