Take That Risk
Posted by Danielle O’Donoghue on 8/15/2008
I’ll admit it. When I learned that the final collaborative workshop of the Young Adult Council’s summer series was with a group called 500 Clown, I expected to learn how to juggle. I’m sure I’m not the first to make the assumption—an easy one to make having never seen one of their shows before—but after a six-hour workshop spanning two days with their representatives, it’s a conclusion I will never jump to again. Clown does not equal “a grotesquely dressed comedy performer in a circus.” Walking in the room, our three leaders (Molly, Paul, and Matt) had on shirts boldly stating, “Life is worth the risk.” It was at this moment I knew I would not be leaving with my own lapel flower that shoots water.
We warmed up with an intense game of FourSquare…yes, THAT FourSquare. No special rules except we had to play to win and fake a horrible death when we got out. After this trip down memory lane…we took another one! Red Light, Green Light can get extremely interesting when played the right way. These games helped get our energy way up and then we got into some exercises to help us work as an ensemble and learn to trust and take risks with our partners.
The second day was similar, but with higher expectations from us. I really noticed a difference in the participants—energy was up and focus was intense. We played our favorite game of “Carry Everyone.” It was a non-verbal exercise where you do exactly as the title states…it’s harder than you’d think. We ended on an extra hard (but fun) focus game called “Koonja, Koonja.” I won’t even attempt to explain the game on paper! I’ll just give you an idea of the nature of the game…some of the key elements were: a hip beat, bunnies, “tokies,” a chanting dance, and Korean gods. You just had to read that, imagine playing it!
Before we parted ways we had a great conversation with our leaders about being yourself and putting yourself out there in everyday life or in terms of auditions and life in the theatre. I think the talk at the end was the best part of the workshop. Don’t get me wrong; we had tons of fun both days, but such an enlightening conversation really set this workshop apart from the others. Our series was designed for teenagers. The majority of us are the age of discovering ourselves and the paths we want to take, so talking to people who have been there and done that about what it’s like was so helpful. A member of the Young Adult Council, Raquel Mendoza, put it perfectly when she said, “I’m going to college soon, so this really helped me understand that it’s okay to be myself and if that’s not what they’re looking for, then okay.” I know now that it’s okay to take that risk; life is worth it.