Urban Play at Occupy Wall Street and High Line Park

[Guest guest]

Hello Friends and Colleagues.  This is a post from Fred Landers in regards to upcoming Urban Play events. ( I am posting it because he was having computer issues).  However I have participated in the occupy wall street urban play and its fantastic!  Cara Gallo

For over three years, small groups of drama therapists, dance therapists, and an occasional art therapist have been taking play out of the therapy room and into the streets, playing in public places and inviting people we encounter there to play with us.

 What began as an experiment in applying movement and role improvisation skills from Developmental Transformations (DvT) drama therapy to outdoor settings, where is no identified therapist or client, has evolved into a practice in its own right, called Urban Play.

 Playing in parks, at arts festivals, on the street, in large outdoor parties, on a university campus, in the crowd at Obama's Inauguration, and now in the crowd at the Wall Street Occupation, we have discovered that the best way to invite people we meet to play with us is to maintain the energy of the play within our group, while also maintaining an awareness of how our play is being received by those around us.

 In Urban Play, we access an enormous amount of joy as we play freely, not conforming to social norms, and this joy is contagious, inspiring various levels of participation from passersby. Sometimes people join us and we improvise movements and roles together, usually for fairly short periods of time. Often people laugh, talk to us, or take our picture. Sometimes they just watch from a distance.

 Regardless of the way people choose to participate in our play, we have come to understand Urban Play as a form of social activism because it creates a sense of community and helps people access an expanded sense of what is possible.

 Urban Play does not cost anything and we do not identify ourselves in any way (other than in pretend) to the people we meet.

 If, after reading this brief introduction, you are interested in playing with us at a future event, please email me (Fred) atfredlanders@.... The following are two upcoming Urban Playdates. If you are not available on either of these dates, contact me so we can be in communication about others.

 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23RD

 A small group of us will be playing at Occupy Wall Street in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, Oct. 23rd. This will be the fourth time we have played at Liberty Plaza with the Occupiers, and each time has been a great inspiration. Let me (Fred) know right away if you can join us:fredlanders@...

 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29TH

 On the last Saturday in October, a group of us will play on the High Line, a recently-completed park built on the elevated railway platform in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. We have brought Urban Play to the High Line many, many times. It’s an excellent place to play. On Saturday, we will play in the early afternoon, ending no later than 3pm. Be sure to contact me (Fred) if you would like to join us:fredlanders@...

 

Fred Landers-- " There are only two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle; the other as though everything is a miracle " Albert Einstein