Home playground

On the 4th day of the training we started working on a performance about our home and identity and we all agreed that it was one of the most significant and touching days at KuBiZ. It mainly happened because we got to know each other in a more personal way, we were fully involved in this adventure and we shared memories and feelings.

All of this was made possible by our lovely Chang Nai Wen who co-developed the „Berlin Bound” project and who was the facilitator of our HOME experience. „Berlin Bound” was created because the crew of artists figured out that especially in Berlin, many people share the experience of leaving their home in a search for something new and they establish themselves as being members of a foreign culture and society.

All the activities we did throughout the day were focused on our own perspective about migration and they represented our experience towards a new set of rules, adapting to new cultures and ultimately, creating a common ground.

In order to reach all of the above we’ve passed through „Go – stop – say your name – jump” warm up activity where the rules of the game were reversed and it was the first step of building something together. Afterwards, by standing in a circle, everyone introduced themselves by associating their name with a gesture and their idea of home with a feeling. Home functioned as a multitude of sensations connected to a place , a song or a person: „Home is breakfast”, „Home is Balkans”, „Home is where I can be myself”, „Home is where I have nothing to prove”, „Home is yellow flowers in the springtime”, „Home is my cat”, „Home is where I can be comfortable”, „Home is on the way”, „Home is happiness”, etc.

In order to share our essence and individuality we were invited during the preparation phase to bring a piece of home – something cherished or hated: the Moroccan flag, slippers, house keys, biscotti, Palo Santo wood, singing spoon, zatar, childhood toy, a card visit from a wine bar, ID, a hole in a cardigan, etc. After the presentation of the items, we found a safe place where our most valuable belongings connected with other people’s pieces. In this way small groups were connected due to sharing the same idea about home. Through the mind mapping technique we told our stories and we wrote down key words describing our common ground. This was the base of creating participatory performances by each small group. Every group had to put together a theater performance based on their own idea about home by involving the audience to step in and interact with the characters.

Even if we started by creating a scenario, in the end we finished improvising the performance and the great thing about it was that nobody knew the result of the performance, therefore we played with the unexpected itself. For example, one of the groups managed to take us back in our childhood times and succeeded to involve the audience into sharing personal stories. On the stage there were also played a spontaneous party, a train journey and a family dinner. We all reacted like a big family and supported other performances with smiles, cheers, claps, constructive feedback and intervention.

From our point of view, this specific method was very interesting and challenging because we had to use our memories, ideas, feelings and bodies in order to create a whole piece of home. The body was an important instrument of moving energies, a great tool to use when the mind is too heavy to speak.

This whole theatrical puzzle helped us connect, interact and realize that although there are a lot of differences between us, there is a common home that we bring with us wherever we go. With just a small piece of home, friends around and a safe environment you can create something valuable and meaningful.