I was so glad that this video of a little girl from Kyrgyzstan went viral couple months ago. Not only because she is the cutest thing in the world with her blue dress and her pink cheeks, but she is showing us something that we all missed in our grown up world. The little girl, Lara, is conducting a choir with so much passion and freedom; a perfect example for creative expression.
So, what is creative expression, or creative experience? And how do we get there? Well, that is the question… Viola Spolin explains it through stepping into our intuition “My vision is a world of accessible intuition” she says and adds;
“The intuitive can only respond in immediacy – right now. It comes bearing its gifts in the moment of spontaneity, the moment when we are freed to relate and act, involving ourselves in the moving, changing world around us.”
And she adds…
“Through spontaneity we’re reformed into ourselves. It creates an explosion that for the moment frees us from handed-down frames of reference, memory choked with old facts and information and undigested theories and techniques of other people’s findings. Spontaneity is the moment of personal freedom when we are faced with a reality and see it, explore it and act accordingly. In this reality the bits and pieces of ourselves function as an organic whole. It is the time of discovery, of experiencing, of creative expression.”
Spolin improvisation is after creating those spontaneous moments over and over again in the acting training. But to me her work is so much more than just an acting technique, it almost teaches us how to be a human being again. It makes us go back to beginning, where we all used to feel like Lara; conduct the chorus, conduct our life like no one was watching!
If your train of thought keeps traveling like mine does and you say; “So what’s wrong with us, what happens when other people are watching?” You need to read “Approval/Disapproval Syndrome” in Spolin’s book “Improvisation For The Theater” 🙂
My thoughts are traveling even further back to the existentialist philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre who, in his play “No Exit” said; “L’Enfer, c’est les autres”;“Hell is other people” Maybe it’s time to produce it in our theatrical matinees in Caffe Vivaldi!
Oh, but before getting more philosophical, here’s Lara conducting a chorus. She’s a delight… Enjoy!
A series of Spolin Improvisation classes will open in May. Let’s look for those moments of creative expression together!
More info: www.spolinist.com/new-york