This follows on from the tube, which was more stuff about freedom.
There’s another interesting thing that clicked in my head because of the Open Space Technology at D&D4.
The four guidelines are effectively stating what will happen anyway. All they do is take away any fear or guilt about the natural progression of things, but that is perhaps the most important thing to do.
When someone connects with a story, in whatever art form, they open themselves up to it: we walk into the theatre, sit down in front of the TV, open the book, listen to the story and allow ourselves to look inside.
… inside the story, and inside ourselves, because a story with which we make an emotional connection acts like a mirror. It creates a safe space within which to see emotions. It’s like having company for your emotions. As I blogged a while back:
For the audience, good writing is all about three things: confession, connection, catharsis.
I wrote a post on this today, for the forum of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU. I'll cross-post it here because I explained it much better in that post than I did in this one.
Basically it goes like this: emotions are 'confessed' into the space by the characters. If they recognise that 'confession', the audience connects with that emotion. By joining the character's journey through that emotion, the audience finds some catharsis for that emotion within themselves.
I think that the “what happened next?” device inside us kicks the door open so we can let the emotions out. However it works, that’s what it does: it shows us a mirror image of us. They say that misery loves company, but so does love, so does anger, so does joy. That’s why it’s better to see something thrilling with someone else. To share a loving moment. To shout at someone who shouts back!
Here's more on Connection, Confession and Catharsis, and it leads into what I think art is, which is what I've been trying to discover all along.
Also, this thing about sharing leads onto having the need for freedom.
