The Dysfunctional Group
The shadow boxes were someting else. I had mixed feelings from the start: first I thought it would be really cool to try to do something with three other people from just a few raw materials. Then I realized that it was not quite as cool as I'd originally thought, because it was proving to be quite difficult! We were, as we have come to be known, the "dysfunctional group:" Katharine, Eric, Nicole and I. I really liked talking with them as we first did in groups, getting to know each other's view of the "flow" concept, I felt that we had some really good things to talk about. However, once we started the shadow box theater, it didn't seem to go so smoothly. Each of us had kind of a preconceived notion of what our box would look like, who would be in charge, and what our roles would be - even perhaps what the storyline, or our three events would be. On the surface it may have appeared that we were being respectful and working together, but I had the underlying feeling that we all felt as I did; bored, trapped within what someone else wanted (or didn't want), and generally mutinous. We made some progress, but weren't really getting into it as a group. It seems ironic now, because we had just been discussing the flow concept and not allowing ego to get in the way of the group flow and greater good and everything, yet as we worked, we seemed to be contradicting just that. We volunteered to give a preliminary outline of what our show might be, and I think that was a factor that helped us to work together a bit better. We were put on the spot, which often seems to produce some kind of momentum, whether the outcome is helpful or not. We hadn't really rehearsed, and we all kind of crowded to get our characters a chance behind the screen, but it did help us to flow a little bit and interact under a little pressure and get an idea of what it would really be like. This week, we worked together much better. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that we admitted last week that we had not worked well together. (The first step is admitting one has a problem!) We decided collectively what we would work on and try to accomplish, and we seemed much more friendly and willing to collaborate, which is great, considering that's what this seminar is all about. I actually had a fun time, and even when we performed I felt that I didn't know what to expect because we did it a little differently every time. We added some cool transitions that I don't think we would have had before, either, that we were more willing to incorporate because we were actually collaborating a little more efficiently.