The Play of the Game of Love
On the 17th October 2014 at the start of the Conductrr conference, we played the Game of Love.
All attendees had been invited to play and 9 came forward. More would have joined had we not started so early in the morning. I believe that to be the case as it was a struggle for me to get there in time and the conference ran into the evening making it a very long day.
The attendees all signed a release form and arrived at the venue.
The full game is meant to last a day, and I had only taken 40 minutes to run the experience before the conference proper began. A friend had suggested that this would be a great pre-conference game to warm people to each other so that it seemed like a good thing to do. Also the organiser had asked me to speak about the process of making the Game, and I'd prefer to demonstrate it.
I had tried to get the essence of the Game of Love and run it at the conference. They key points were the (1) unburdening of the participants at the start, (2) the creation of a sacred space (3) the disorientation of the participants (to put them into a more open state of mind). (4) The idea of incarnations. (5) The history of the place and (6) the touching game (physical contact between the participants).
1. Unburdening of the participants.
This was done by locking the player’s belongings in a room.
2. The creation of the sacred space.
We made sure the room was sealed and had calm (jazz) music on entry. There was also a slideshow of London faces with simple overlain text which told people that they were entering the game and it was a place where normal rules do not apply. I really considered many ways to do this. I greeted participants with a namaskar type gesture and handed them a sheet of paper with the words ‘be still and know’ on it. However, in the rush of performance, the papers and the greeting did not have the effect of ushering people into the sacred space. So the fall back simple solution - simply flash up the text on a screen using a projector and show it to people, worked.
3. The disorientation of the participants.
This was done very well, using blindfolds and calm Sufi chanting. As sufism has entranced states as a medium of religious experience, relying on this kind of music to block out the background noise and also encourage the feeling of difference worked. I made the connection with our first incarnations, how we wander through this life not understanding who we were and the others were. Participants walked through an emptied room colliding with walls and each other. My helper and I steered them away from harm with a gentle hand on the shoulder.
This was fascinating to watch. While I would not have any spectators to this (as it would inhibit the participants), I could observe people first of all moving very tentatively through the space then settle into distinct patterns of behaviour which suggested their underlying mentality.
One couple kept finding and bumping into each other. They soon would reassure each other with a gentle squeeze of the hand once they had done it again. One moved restlessly through the space, making as much noise as possible (although talking was not allowed). This person did not seem to meet anyone in the room - as if he was out of sync. Another bumped into some people but then came to rest against a wall and stood there.
This was played out over 10 minutes. In hindsight it should have gone longer, for even those that were standing still were undergoing a transformation. It was clearly difficult for all the participants who were clearly very creative and used to responding to verbal and written stimuli to respond to this situation where they had no control, but I think had we progressed for another 5 minutes, they would have all ended up in a completely different mental space.
4. The second incarnation.
Ending the wandering game, the helper and I arranged them into a half circle and asked them to remove their blindfolds and open the papers they had been given when they entered the space. They did so and were clearly in the right frame of mind to continue - that is - separated from their external selves.
5. The history of the place.
Drawing from my experience of writing scenarios but hemmed in by the amount of time I had to create this experience. I came up with some ideas in a short period of time. The game was played in Norton Folgate, an ancient area of London that was semi-independent. The players were the 'ancients' of Norton Folgate, given names from the period and given jobs of those who would rule in that name.
There was only time for the briefest of introductions to these people and the setting but I followed it up with the closest (non-alcoholic drink) I could find to weak beer.
Half the participants drank it and half did not. Those that did would have had the taste of beer in their mouths as their forebearers would have at this time in the morning.
It would have stayed with them during the next phase has hopefully, starting from the idea of clearing their baggage from when they come, given them someone else's baggage when playing the next game. It was also a convenient way for people to hide behind the 'other identity' if they felt uncomfortable with the touching game.
The group were arranged when blindfolded into a half circle and with their partners and then told to remove their blindfolds. When they did so they heard the names of the ancients and turned towards their partners. They were clearly altered by the experience of sensory deprivation.
The touching game was played, but in contrast to the last time I played it, the participants seemed to be in a much more mellow mood. Within 5 minutes everyone was holding hands. Some were even dancing while they were holding hands. Instead of the expected silence that I had encouraged in the previous version of the games, people started talking about themselves and really opening up to each other. It was against my idea of what would happen in the game but I couldn't bare to stop them talking.
I let them continue for a while and then gave them the final words - and called an end to the magical time.
After the game everyone was talking about how much they enjoyed the experience. The participants mentioned how they found that being blindfolded and walking around made them feel vulnerable, and that it was interesting that despite not being able to see- they were all drawn to one another. (Even though that involved bumping into each other.)
One of the ladies that took part also said that she liked how when she bumped into people they would naturally hold each others hands and give a reassuring squeeze.I overheard other participants mention the same thing.
Another lady mentioned that she found it 'cool' that everyone were strangers but they had all shared some kind of connection during the game- whereas in real life, striking up a conversation with a total stranger would be a weird and difficult thing to do.
Further reflections on the game
*Similarities of practice
When describing the game to others they talked about how similar it was to warm up exercises done by actors.
The game has been born of observational practices of many forms of interaction (religious, cultural, neurological/physical and game behaviour) so it is likely that anyone will find in it something familiar.
What also strikes me is how simple and mundane the observations are. Almost that most people would know them without being able to understand why they are effective. I follow the maxim that great art is not when you can add no more but when you can take no more away.
Context in which to hang the practise becomes more important than the imposition of the acts. By themselves they are difficult to get people to do, but using the idea of a game draws people to them. Perhaps this is why games have been invited to encourage people to do and think things that they would otherwise find difficult to do/justify in their everyday life?
Although the parts of the game are simple, I sought to provide enough setting to make them meaningful. If one did not pick up on this, the game would have seemed overly simplistic. Certainly, not understanding the context would not create any difficulties in playing the game.
Also, being didactic in terms of the context (Sikh philosophy, reincarnation and emotional connection) could have been overbearing and put people off participating altogether.
*Selection of participants
The ideal solution would be to have a selection procedure for those who would like to play. I'd previously observed that some people are more open to contact with strangers that others. As the game is calibrated for the typical English person (who is not), they are likely to get less from it than others.
This could be remedied with a note in the sign up or special roles for these people in facilitating the game. This is something that could be developed further.
*The game as a political act
My objective was to get the games players to pass on and copy ideas inspired by the game. This started happening a year ago and a few of the participants who played it at the conference said they would be using some of it in their work and sharing it with others. So the fulfillment of the game as a teaching tool and source of inspiration was achieved. Even the act of talking about the development of the game has inspired others to start thinking about the impact of their own cultural output. It has started many interesting conversations!
There were tens of people involved in the creation of the game. From those I observed and discussed their practise with. To those who directly contributed stories and ideas about the game from their own area of expertise. In the end, I had to tailor this game to the space I was in, and while I had developed other scenarios, they were not used here because they had been written for a different space and also the amount of time I had to run the game had been shortened.
What I had built up from the development of these ideas is the skill in learning how to adapt and create new scenarios. I have long mentioned that anything you do, again and again, over time you become better at.
So if anyone who had been involved with the development of the game would like to understand where their contribution sat in relation to what was developed, I'd be happy to discuss it with them.
Those that would most benefit from playing would not want to play. Those that would be most excited about playing would get the least from it.
There is a combination of fear and sexual titillation when it comes to thinking about interacting with strangers. There weren't many people I discussed the game with who did not leap to the idea this was about creating a space for inappropriate touching and unwanted sexual attention.
Other fears such as people not realising it was a game and becoming stalkers suggested that that interaction with strangers is mainly considered in the context of unwanted attention or other negative reactions.
There was also concern that games that did not leave you feeling happy would be problematic. This was quite strange as there are many games that make one feel angry, upset and frustrated but this seemed to be okay as long as it was marketed as a positive experience. Where the emotional outcome was ambiguous I asked to have a councillor on stand by or have tea and coffee.
I used to teach and have something of a teachers tendency to end the game like a class; where the pupils file out of the class and the teacher remains in the room to tidy up. I'm not a teacher in the game and I should have brought the group out to have tea and coffee and talk about their experiences. I created a separation between myself and the participants which didn't need to be there.
The game has potential at events where you'd like to increase the quality of the participation of the invitees. It encourages people to be more open, more grounded and connected to the space in which they are in.
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