Be Ready To Play
At one of my ‘steady paycheque’ jobs I held, I had the privilege of working side by side with a nursery school. They rented a portion of the building I worked in so every day I had a front row seat to their program.
I got to see the various forms of goodbyes by parents - some literally running to their cars before their child realized that they were gone, some physically unable to let go of their child. I got to listen to the daily ‘what month is it’ song and the daily weather report (it’s cloudy! It’s sunny!)
But my favourite thing to watch was the children at play time. As you can imagine, there were all kinds of play stations set up by the amazing staff. There was the standard ‘house’ scenario with a play kitchen and of course an area that had various types of building blocks. There were also sensory tables that changed week to week - sometimes sand, sometimes water, sometimes shredded paper. But of course the true magic was the children themselves as they found new ways to expand on what was provided. They would put on Disney princess dresses and pretend to be aliens fighting stars that had come to life. A little girl would play restaurant and bring various toys to her customers and present them as meals.
And in all the time I had the opportunity to watch these sweet souls play, I never once saw one of them say no to playing.
When a child asked another child ‘would you like to play robots with me? Zoo with me? Colouring with me? Monsters with me?’
The answer was always yes.
I once hosted a masterclass taught by the amazing Thom Allison (I love you Thom!) and during the class he said: “It isn’t helpful or productive to arrive at a rehearsal locked up and closed off. It isn’t the Director’s job to find the code to unlocking you. It is the Artist’s job to show up open and ready to play.”
Play. Play!!
So many times I’ve been disappointed by Artists unwilling to try things in rehearsal or at a festival I was adjudicating. The joy is in the play! Try new things, see where it leads!
Hahaha oh man - we artists get SO wrapped up in our fears and technique and worries about being good enough that play ends up being the LAST thing on our minds!
And yet, adding that element of play is often the difference between great and superb.
So how can you add more ‘play’ to your practise?
Chances are you know the answer to that question but just haven’t given yourself the luxury of the time to do it.
Well, I’m here to encourage you to give yourself the gift of that time to play. Not only will it be fun but I’m willing to bet that you’ll discover something within it that will take your art to the next level.
Need suggestions of how to add play to your artistic practise? Drop me a line and let’s brainstorm together.
I’m Marion Abbott and I endeavour to include play in my work as an artist.