OutCasts

The project

OutCasts is an interdisciplinary theatre group that in the spring of 2008 collaborated with Sind-Aalborg by offering an extended course in performative animation to 18 vulnerable students.

The project was able to offer a professional education in drama and puppeteering, and at the same time discuss the neurological, physical and psychological effects of acting with masks, shadows and puppets. The process investigated both puppet and player as tools for emotionally based communication by posing the existential questions that lie within the doll: “What is life?” And: “Who am I – when I meet you?” Actions and reactions were tried out and developed in the secure environment of Sind.

By creating the play “My life”, the students have converted their own extraordinary experiences into an animated form of art which we hope stages and then transcendences all borders made of perceptions and realities.

The thesis

The key in the OutCasts project was to get the students to trust and develop their own emotional vocabulary by using their bodies as performing tools for dramatic expressions – with puppets.

Being different in some fashion, communication offers multiple challenges. By society, one is often labelled “mentally disordered.” As such you are not considered objective in public terms and this can create a feeling of solitude and insecurity.

Then what? The thesis behind the project OutCasts is this:

The doll is a field of possibilities. It constantly provides the (vulnerable) player a protective mirroring of social, verbal or non-verbal communication.

Rooted in creative imagination and interplay, animation strengthens the conscience of the player focusing on all levels of bodily statements and expressions. His own – as well as others´.

The tools

The idea is this: By using an animated object in combination with or instead of ones own appearance, the focus from the audience naturally shifts to the object.

1. The animator is mentally liberated by the doll, the mask or the shadow, because both audience and player consider the object alive – with a mind of its own. In other words: “I didn’t say that, ..it was the doll!”

2. “Performance” is a kind of theatre where the player does not act a part but is using his own body, soul and spirit as natural tools for all scenic expressions. In performance the body, and thereby the thoughts of the player, is always right. This means that the dramatic process is naturally validating the player – as he is. Not trying to force him into something which he is not.

3. “The potential space” is a term from psychology. It names a place with no limits, no rules and no time, and has its origin in the evolution of children. Fantasy is still as real as reality. Everything is possible. Converted into a dramatic tool, this “potential space”, opens minds towards all possibilities during rehearsals or on stage: a safe spot appearing in improvisations.

4. Each class followed a structure. As in most stories it consisted of a beginning, a climax and then – while having felt a kind of catharsis on a good day discovering yet another aspect of the magic possibilities in animation, an end. The students developed a fine ceremony for this: A circle was made, and a handshake was sent around. Then one volunteer stated a slogan for that particular day, and we all repeated it. It could be: “We have a dream”, or: “This is no fucking meditation”. Then we parted – reborn.

The achievements

During the five months the students developed into quite skilled performers. Fears of speaking or acting out in front of others were dramatically reduced and converted into an enthusiasm, trying out all signals the human body, the shadow or the masks were able to provide.

At the same time the group was able to produce three different shows from scratch, - an achievement which would be quite a challenge even for a professional ensemble. Not mentioning the number of productions, nor the players´ vulnerable statuses, the shows were clear artistic statements in all terms of the word. OutCasts concluded:

Performing with animated tools the player is coached in his abilities to send out, read, interpret and react ( appropriately) to all kinds of social behaviour, - from the animator himself as well as signals from others in all interactive situations.

This conclusion is based on observations during the classes and confirmed by the students as well as by their immediate reactions after a show:

-It was a wonderful feeling, doing something I´d never thought I´d be able to do. I got a mental push. I DARED something. I haven´t had such energy in a long time. The feelings of your own value grow in a very positve way... I´m growing.

- The feeling of being A group. I felt safe there, in that circle, at that moment.

- It was a nice feeling, a calm security, - towards everyone (both co-players and audience. Editor) The engagement! We really kind of reached out beyond the stage. The joy afterwards. We really tried it out! We really did it! Great to get it done! Im looking forward to the next show!

The supervisors in OutCasts would like to state that these kind of positive outburst followed each performance. The feeling of personal, artistic and social achievements transcendence all measuring.

The perspectives

Animation could be an effective tool in a new, positive process, evading our usual but sick clinging to prejudices and titles, - a positive process focusing on an equal dialogue. The experiences from OutCasts point towards a more body conscious social psychiatry.

Some of the students in OutCasts had never before experienced the feeling of “being accepted”, “listened to” and being “free to renew themselves – or not.”

It was a rather frightening experience for the supervisors, knowing that this particular group of people, - being vulnerable and often lonesome and insecure, - that these people for the first time had the strength to speak and act out.

In the opinion of OutCasts this clearly states that tools such as puppetry are needed in a process towards giving all minorities more than a theoretical freedom of speech.

OutCasts hopes to inspire all to see, sense and understand the forces in variety.