In Company today everyone was asked to bring in a fantasy, “almost too dangerous to share.” When the assignment was made the room turned quite quiet. I could feel them begin to raise their hands to ask, “What do you mean by fantasy?” or “What do you mean by dangerous?” or finally, “What do you mean by “almost?” But I have them trained well. Just before they were going to raise their hand in unison, you could sense that they know my response, “What do you think it means?” They have hated this since I began this frustration the first days of class and now they rather accept it as the default answer for most things that happen in the class.
They came to day and shared such an interesting variety of things. Some talked on and on about a fantasy that had numerous parts and involved seeing, hearing, smelling, and even tasting. The entire class almost could smell those hot french fries from Wendy’s. Some spoke of their fantasy in just a handful of words. Some wanted to travel back in time to a fantasy that was denied them. Some jutted into the future to grasp things that hadn’t even taken root.
There were some common elements in all that they shared. Their bodies came alive. The words made them wiggle and stretch, distort faces and energize breathing. They went from the dull breathing created by hours of academic class and they fairly flew with this exercise. I noticed that the majority began each fantasy with an apology for even having a fantasy. I found that sad – that even these certainly PG fantasies had to come pre-wrapped with shame. Come on young people – stand up for those fantasies. “Fantasy Pride.”
In conclusion, I brought the class to a discussion as to the purpose of fantasy – how as artists, and certainly theatre artists, we peddle fears and fantasies every day. The fears and fantasies of people become our bread and butter. I also noted that just the anticipation of telling the story was jump starting their body. Fantasy presented risk – and risk is the name of the game. One student in particular pointed out how wonderful scenes would be if we could include some of this fantasy energy and get inside of the fantasies of the characters we present. I like this student! He is smart.
6 comments on “Almost Too Dangerous”
Wow, that’s a powerful exercise!! It’s much better than trying to portray yourself as an ice cream cone or the color green, because it really taps into the life energy contained in the thoughts we think, and the feelings created by the thoughts.
It is kind of a shame they apologized for having fantasies. I hope, that as time goes on, they realize that everyone has them! There’s nothing bad about fantasies. In fact, they could also be called creative imagination. And without it, none of the buildings, cars, hospitals, movie theaters, or anything else could have been built!
🙂
You sound like an amazing teacher.
Really.
Speaking for myself here, the ONLY time I enjoyed being in school was when I was encouraged to use my imagination and express myself creatively.
Fantasies are what bring new possibilities to life. This wonderful quote “what is now proved was once only imagined” by William Blake is a perfect example of this.
I love how you described that you were able to smell the french fries because – this is what it means to physically experience something that isn’t “real”.
But it was real. It’s all real.
The storytellers, artists, musicians, and playwrights allow the world to expand. How boring life would be if we did nothing more than interact with what’s already here?
Yet, what’s here, as Mr. Blake pointed out, was imagined once.
We all know how we react to our inner conversations – especially the heated ones. We experience physical symptoms (like anxiety) over this sort of thing.
It’s no different when we daydream about new and innovative ideas and possible realities. It’s just a matter of redirecting our attention span.
I think this is a fantastic exercise…and I wish I could have been in your class. Your students are lucky to have you.
Oh lordy… this should be easy assignment for your students. Think about it you ask your children to bring in something that’s almost too dangerous, fantasy with today’s Internet this should be easy for studentsto do. But I actually have a question for you. You say The fears and fantasies of people become our bread and butter. what exactly does that mean? I’m curious
When you say the fears and fantasy of people become our bread and butter do you mean the way we make a living? Do you mean the bread and butter as which we eat? How we take care of our families? Do you mean the bread and butter..Meaning the things we indulge in every day? Do you mean the fears and fantasies become the things that overwhelming and consume us daily? I’m just curious by that particular sentence “the fears and fantasies become a bread and butter” let me know please.
Great work. You made the class think outside the box for the day, as well as break down a boundary they might have had regarding fantasy or danger in the same sentence.
Sounds like you’re doing an awesome job!
I can remember being about 12 and going to a movie and crying during the movie. And then I thought, “What am I doing? I don’t even cry about my real life!”
For some reason, there is something very freeing about the theater. You can get lost in the dark room, and feel emotions that you’re really not allowed to feel anywhere else. And I think the entire production company is always aware that we feel through the characters, we learn life lessons through the characters, we cathart through the characters, and we find hope through the characters.
Sometimes you really can’t be too authentic in life because there are threats and you have to be on the defensive. So you keep your fantasies, hopes, and dreams locked up. And it really helps going to the theater. It’s often better than therapy!