To Play is the Thing

Have you played today?  How do you play?  Who do you call if you want to play with someone else? 

Plato is quoted as saying,
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

I was playing in the yard with my niece, age 5.  We were imagining a special  zoo-like place, taking turns to populate it with amazing animals.  I began to describe to her a large giraffe. I outlined it in the air and spoke to it.  My niece was deeply attuned to the creation of this animal.  Craning my neck as if to see the eyes of the tall creature, I grabbed an imaginary rope, looped like reins around it’s neck,  and began leading it toward the little girl.  She literally jumped back as we approached, to move out of the way of the invisible giraffe.  She looked startled for a minute, then looked at me and smiled, a little embarrassed at herself for having this slight lapse of reality.  But I was moved by her willingness to suspend disbelief so easily.  It is a vivid picture in my mind of the power of the imagination that we are all capable of in the presence of a storyteller.


When young children are brought to me for therapy,  I often describe myself as “the Play Doctor.”  This seems to immediately establish some basic safety and expectations for the child in the situation, although I do give a more concrete description of what we will do, as well. 

The premise of play therapy is that children work on their emotional experiences through the familiar process of play with toys, found objects or raw materials, games, art or “ let's pretend” role play.  This play, particularly in the context of the accepting, focused attention of a therapist, allows not only the expression of perception and experience, but offers possibility of integration and healing. The child plays out what she knows, what she feels, what hse wishes, what she needs. 

But the science of play, though still evolving, goes far beyond play therapy.

Play is a natural, vital mode of learning for children---most of us accept that, at least to some degree.  But as a culture we tend to limit the “freedom to play” to very young children.   As children enter school, daydreaming is generally discouraged, although social play and role playing may continue to be supported for a while.  But in a few short years playing is likely to get confined to organized games, which may or may not be actual play.  Recess goes away and soon we stop talking about play in schools at all.   When we indulge in play as adults, it becomes a guilty pleasure, something not serious enough to put into our busy days, too frivolous to admit to.

But there are several researchers encouraging us to see that play is fundamental to human development, and not confined to childhood.  Play theorist Dr. Brian Sutton Smith has written,
"The opposite of play is not work, it is depression."

So if play isn’t just for children,  how do adults play?

 Well, have you ever made up a game with friends over dinner?
Have you ever fantasized about an invention that would change your life? Just when is that housekeeping robot going to arrive, anyway, and those flying cars?
Did you ever sit at your desk and build something out of the paperclips or other objects on your desk?
Or play Frisbee with your dog?
 
All these are forms of human play, at any age.


The National Institute for Play in Carmel, California was founded by Dr. Stuart Brown, a psychiatrist who became deeply interested in  play as a research subject.   Dr. Brown  has discovered much about the importance of play in successful people, as well as negative consequences for people who are deprived of play.

Dr. Brown and  other researchers  have identified 7 patterns of play seen in people of all ages.  These are

1. Attunement Play:
2. Body Play and Movement
3. Object Play 
4.  Social Play 
5. Imaginative and Pretend Play 
6.  Storytelling- Narrative Play
7.  Transformative-Integrative and Creative Play

 Recognizing and naming these patterns has opened up new possibilities not just for encouraging play in children, but in ourselves and our workplaces.  The powerful connections between play and innovation, flexibility, adaptability, resilience and creativity are being more and more clearly established. I invite you to visit the website of the National Institute for Play to find out more.

And did you know about the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester NY? Or the National Toy Hall of Fame?

It’s okay to play. 

And one great way to do that is in the willing suspension of disbelief that a playwright invites us to indulge.

Live theater is compelling in its immediacy. Every performance is different from every other, every audience dynamic is individual.  Have you ever tried your hand at acting, or any activity where you “played a role” and tried to connect with audience, experienced that energy exchange?  Or have you ever imagined yourself acting differently in certain situations, with your boss, your spouse, your friends?  How many “hats” do you wear in your life, how many different roles do you play every day? 

We are all actors at some level, responsive to “scripts” and stage, i.e. context and relationship. Imaginative role play helps us learn and adapt to our social world from our earliest ages. It makes us better inventors, designers, writers.   Some of us find passionate vocation and creative expression in the process of bringing a playwright’s story to life, so that the rest of us can expand our experience through engaging that story. As serious as acting is, at some level there remains the joy of play.

Julia Brothers, our guest on January 13 had some great things to say about the acting life.

About Julia Brothers:

Julia Brothers is an actress currently living in the San Francisco area, working in live theatre and specializing in new plays.  Her passion is to work with playwrights and directors on new projects, helping to bring the play and the character to life.  Julia found her creative path when she was very young, coming from a family that encouraged theatrical aspirations. Her parents met in the theatre, doing summer stock in New Jersey.  Her father grew up in the old Metropolitan Opera house, and his mother, Julia’s grandmother, was an actress who also taught. Julia’s grandfather took the acting class and fell in love with the instructor.  Julia has worked in live theatre all her life, majored in theatre in college, working in New York City, LA and now San Francisco.  Julia was also a stand up comic for seven years in New York City, sang in a country western band, and was a company member of a modern dance company that toured the northeast.  She has received numerous awards, and was named Bay Area  Theatre MVP by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006.  She writes, "Self expression, integrity, curiosity and kindness are things I strive for in my life, my art and my relationships.  I work and make my living doing theatre, which is my first love."


Julia is now rehearsing for a new play at the Aurora Theater in Berkeley. The play, titled The First Grade, is by Joel Drake Johnson and will open January 22 and run through March 7.  To find out more, go to the theater website www.auroratheatre.org.

Comments

[Kids play tips]

Very usefull play for children... Thanks for sharing..
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