The Individual Collective
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been facilitating a series of acting exercises for a group of over 130 theatre artists over Zoom in JWS Online.
I set up an exercise. The actors mute themselves and get to work. I can see them all, some working in stillness, some running round the room, some seated in a chair, some looking out the window, some speaking, some singing, and ALL fully committing to the exercise. 3 minutes later, the group comes back together to discuss their experiences with the work and share their learnings. It is electric.
What we are doing feels completely unusual and full of possibility. It is like being part of an ensemble and being a soloist at the same time.
With an understanding that 130 other artists are working with the same idea in the same moment, people feel strangely connected to each other even though they are completely separated and engrossed in their own unique exploration. Each artist has the same exact instructions to work with but entirely different content. They are a collective, and no two experiences are the same.
The Individual Collective.
Our current circumstance has also created an individual collective experience. We are all working with the same exercise: distance yourself from others, find a way to cope, rethink your relationship to time, care for your loved ones, tend to your work, keep yourself healthy, imagine your future, create stability. And every one of us is experiencing this in our own individual way. We are working with different content, a different set of given circumstances, different objectives, different obstacles. We are bound together by the collective idea of “find our way through this”, but no two ways will be the same.
This collective doesn’t feel quite as electric. In fact, at times it feels lonely, confusing, and anything but inspiring.
What might be missing from this individual collective experience (and what may be the most important contributor to the success of the JWS Online exercises) is the opportunity to share our learnings with people who are genuinely interested. Sure, many of us are taking to social media to publicly declare our aha moments, obstacles, etc., but I am talking about something deeper and richer. A REAL conversation that takes place in real time with real people who want to connect, learn, and grow.
Now is the time to reach out to that friend, that family member, that colleague, and extend an offer of truly human connection. Now is the time to practice empathy. We all have something to share, and we all have something to learn. That is the power of the individual collective.