Reflection on a Communication Workshop I organised with the actor and theatre director, Alexander J. Gifford, with then Year 3 students on 7th March 2023.
Although the initial task of the workshop was to introduce the students with the Learning Outcome “Communication”, I decided to come from a ‘rear’ angle and focus on different ways of communication – from oral to physical. Alexander is a spiritual seeker, and that is how I got to know him due to common interests, but besides knowing he is an actor and looking at his CV with communication workshops, I was not sure what to expect. I participated in a pleasant surprise – the students who spent their first year online (lockdown) and second year (hybrid), had only year three to experience a healthy student environment, so for me it was an insight to bring as many opportunities that evoke connection. Alexander confidently and quickly opened the space up for movement during introduction, and the quickly established trust helped to proceed with more “demanding” movements such as balancing between two not so familiar peers to test listening to each others bodies and energies. This brought up instant smiles and surely bonding, having gone through a ‘shared physical experience’.
Conclusion: reflecting back to this workshop brought another big milestone in my research which is including embodied practices in my ARP proposal.