Walking in someone else's shoes...

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I often ask people in my role of director and facilitator to try and walk in someone else’s shoes for a while…it’s vital for both actors and indeed anyone who wants to understand the world a little better.  We can so easily get locked into a way of seeing the world which means we miss so much or fail to understand why people behave the way they do resulting in dismissal or condemnation.  I can’t count the amount of times I hear someone say something or read a status/tweet/ and wished that the speaker (or typer) had taken a moment consider things from a different perspective…

Well yesterday I spent the majority of the day walking or rather jumping, turning and at times shuffling in a dance teachers shoes.  I was helping out my colleagues and friends at WYTDC and in so doing I got the chance to spend a very enjoyable Saturday, which was somewhat different to the norm. So many new faces and an entirely different set of creative challenges resulted in a very charming theatre craft dance to, “The Sun Has Got His Hat On,” a modern dance to B’witched and some great work to the classic Nina Simone…  It was thoroughly enjoyable immersing myself in a world which although related is actually entirely different to my own.  At the end of a long day I had laughed, got frustrated, learnt things, realized things, made mistakes and created things…it was a great and interesting day…

Despite all the fun and frolics I have to admit to being very happy to slip on my usual drama practitioner shoes at 5pm to direct the last scene of Mugged.  The second nature way that I run games and rehearsals was a welcome familiarity. 


Looking ahead 24 young people from YTYT will get the chance to walk in the shoes of “Brin and his Everyday Heroes” for the entire week next week but the lovely Georgia will tell you all about that in her blog…

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