Final Class at U de Caldas

The work over the past three days has really been excellent. The depth of the work has dramatically increased in every group I've been working with. For the sake of confidentiality I won't discuss specific pieces from workshops, but I'm very happy with it.

It was hard to say goodbye to the Artes Escenicas Universidad de Caldas students today. They are a really great group and I'll certainly miss working with them. I wanted to get a picture of the students, and gorgeous space we've been working in, but I forgot my camera, and actually we ended up in a different space just for the last day. Hopefully I'll get some of the pictures with the students via e-mail. But really, yesterday, work emerging from images of self transition, and "The Song of the Mermaid," for the few who know the Boal exercise, and today, following an exercise NTI alums would remember crossing a room to a partner maintaining eye contact (I'm not sure it's actual origin), the longer scenes created were also strong, although there were a number of new students today, my mistake for saying this was okay, which shifted the group dynamics. Their work was fine, but it is always better to work with the same group consistently. One student, Ronal, wrote a very sweet speech for our closing, bursting with optimism for the power of art, and the students who have been there all week really seem to have connected to the work. I was touched by the degree of their investment and appreciation.

The group at Teatro Fundadores somehow manages to double every session. They are also a great group to work with, a very different dynamic than the University students. A mix of young and old and in between, they are very dedicated and focused in their work, and many seem like clearly practiced performers. "The Song of the Mermaid" brought out some really distinct work with them as well. What struck me most working with them in a similar workshop structure right after U de Caldas in the morning, was the amount of overlap in the symbolic vocabulary and the types of conflicts, but with quite different ways of expressing similar themes. I'll continue working with this group next week.

I've only had one session so far with Fundacion Contacto, a group of clowns that volunteer performing in hospitals led by a therapist in the community. Another group mixed in ages, who are very enthusiastic and willing to go where I push them. And all it took was that little push, and they really went for it; deep and down and visceral. It was really excellent.

And so what of me? Who am I now that I wasn't before? It's been two weeks, one in Medellin and one in Manizales, and there are moments, whether teaching or simply walking, when I become aware of myself in the role I'm in. It's almost as though I'm leading these sessions, and then realize for a moment I'm leading them. I almost forget most of the time that I'm taking charge of all these sessions, that I'm the one guiding and controlling these groups. It just seems natural. But it's quite different. Searching for words in Spanish, reading from my Spanish script, I'm in a different zone. A different mind, that when I'm speaking in English again I return to, and I'm able to reflect on my other self for a moment. Or my same self? Just trying to express a feeling. Maybe as I sink deeper into this place, into what I'm doing here, I'll have that awareness of doing while doing, which I'm reaching for, that maximum awareness, but I still have far to go.

Did I mention I'm climbing a volcano tomorrow? A guided full day trek. But for now, out with the students for cervesas!