Inner Child, Can We Play?

Inner child, can we play? An ethnographic narrative enquiry of personal play histories Masters in Drama Therapy Yael Sara Kersh Supervised by Warren Nebe 14 November 2017 Plagiarism Declaration I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this research report is my own original work and that it has not previously, whether in its entirety or in part, been submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand or any other university for the purpose of a degree. I am aware that plagiarism is wrong and I confirm that the required referencing conventions have been applied. Signature Date ii Abstract The research consists of a practical arts-based research component and a research report that surveys the practice. This document serves as the written element of the research and investigates the key theoretical standpoints, methodologies applied and creative outcomes. The research aimed to explore the dynamics of adults and play within Drama Therapy by investigating the relationship between six adult women and their personal play histories. It questioned what play meant to the individual and invited her to share her most memorable playful moments through various forms of expression in a number of individual interview-discussions. Through a practical arts-based research approach, an ethnographic narrative inquiry unfolded about women, play, childhood memory and present adulthood. The research took these shared narratives and presented them back to the six participants through various playful methods. With the use of methodologies such as inter-subjectivity, playful listening, narrative enquiry and Playback Theatre, the research offered a series of representational reflections of the shared stories. The creative outcomes were presented in a storybook representation which used imagery and poetic rhyme to document each narrative, a stop-motion film that used moving image and voice, and an presentation-installation that invited each woman to engage with her playful inner-self reflected back to her. The report is written with these playful elements which attempt to mirror the creative representational outcomes, inviting the reader to access his or her playful self. Thematically, three key factors presented themselves throughout the five-stage research process. These include the emotional experience associated with play, the notion of an inner-child or childhood and play within context. All three elements are discussed in the research report, with the use of the contextual factor symbolised by road signs to represent the intersectionality of play and its relationship to the individual. The research presents a number of key contributing factors to the discussion of adults and play in Drama Therapy. It attempts to explore alternative ways of delving into therapeutic process while respecting individual perspectives and personal narratives. It highlights the fundamental value of play within a drama therapeutic paradigm and how the notion of play and play memories contribute to the adult self. It also affirms the role of arts-based practice as a powerful tool for validation and witnessing of clients. Key Words Play, Drama Therapy, Adult Woman, Inner-Child, Personal Play History, Arts-Based Research iii Dedication For She who lived each day with Play Mommy iv Acknowledgements To my darling husband and best friend, I thank you for holding me, guiding me, understanding me, and most importantly playing with me. I love you. To Daddy and Floss, I thank you for supporting me through it all. Your constant love and care grounded my potential and led me to become the woman I am today. To all my Family and Friends, I thank you for standing by and not running away. To Fiona Ramsay, I thank you for your contribution, enthusiasm and time. It was a privilege having you as a part of this process. To my editor in Chief, Riggle, your brilliance inspires me, I thank you for taking this paper to the next level. To my supervisor and mentor, Warren Nebe, I thank you for challenging me, questioning me, and believing in me. To all six Participants, I thank you for giving, I thank you for your narratives and I thank you for sharing your playful selves. v Contents Process 5 Personal Play History 5 Listening PART 5 Reflection at Play 6 Welcome 1 Methodology 17 Real Play 6 Collective Replay 7 An Introduction 1 Aim 3 8 Where to Start 4 What is Play 8 For the Adult Woman 14 Creative Methods 28 A Stop Motion 29 Bigger Picture 44 A Stop Motion 29 Bigger Picture 44Until Next Time 48 Appendix A Participant Information Sheet 52 Appendix B Participant Consent Form 53 References 49 Appendix C Initial Interviews 54 Appendix D Follow-up Discussions 83 Appendices 52 Until Next Time 48 Appendix E Post-Installation Reflection 98 Appendix F The Story Book 101 Appendix G Installation Voice of Playvi 130 49 References Appendix H Photographs of Installation 132 Appendices 52 Welcome An Introduction As a child, I could sit in front of the mirror for hours pretending to be anything or anyone, chatting to myself and imaginary others. I could stand there discussing all sorts of weird and wonderful things, immersed in the magic of a single moment. I could talk and talk, dance and sing, as if time was still. Engulfed in the stories of my spontaneous play, I could exist in this magical world until the end of day. I remember playing with my dolls, for hours at a time. I remember emptying the linen cupboard and using my findings to build tents. The upside down chairs and objects became the structures of the worlds created. I remember wearing my mother’s clothes, becoming my future self. I remember playing as a child and when I remember, I seem to smile. Here I am attempting to write a paper and the blank page before me seems to be a trigger of future endeavours. My mind tends to fly away to all sorts of other wonderful places, as I make funny noises and talk to myself aloud, playing with the accents my voice can create. When, for a moment, silence settles in, I notice that instead of typed vocabulary, scrap paper is full of doodling. It is easy to make a fool of myself as I thrive on the ability to lighten the seriousness of adulthood. I never pass up the opportunity to dress up or dance; I never pass up the opportunity to create. Whether it is classified as day-dreaming, comedy, art or perhaps even play, my adult-self depends on these moments. Evidently, I am drawn to the notion of play and my relationship to memories of childhood play. I am fascinated by what Stuart Brown (2009) terms play histories, our personal play stories that carry moments of our past, our individual relationships to play and playfulness. I am drawn to this because I consider myself an adult player and often let my playful, childlike-self engage in adult matters. I am drawn to this because I am a Drama Therapist in training and trust in play as a therapeutic language. Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play, agrees with Donald Winnicott and Peter Gray, that play has a strong correlation with health and that for one to be a healthy adult, one must engage in forms of play (Brown, 2008, Gray, 2011, Winnicott, 1971,). My relationship with play is grounded in this idea, as I rely on play to assist me in facing the rigidity of adulthood. I use my playful-self to cope, laugh and somewhat escape, accessing my joyous, silly, spontaneous inner-child, and in so doing, I keep myself healthy. 1 With this in mind, I became curious as to how other adult women relate to their childlike- selves and whether they access their personal play histories. I therefore introduced the theme of play in Drama Therapy to various adults, but noticed that their immediate response was regarding its ideal use as an intervention for children. Although I agree with the use of play in Drama Therapy for children, as children are often eager to play, I am curious as to why adults are tentative regarding play. From my own experience, I assume that it relates to external factors such as the adult need to be taken seriously, learned or forced age- appropriate behaviours, emotional stigmatisation, stress and/or a fear of silliness. Generally speaking, Western society encourages adults to be conscious of their every move, to take control of and responsibility for their actions and in essence, to separate work from play (Tonkin and Whitaker, 2016). The Google work environment defies this separation and validates the importance of an imaginative space that triggers creativity. In an article published in The New York Times, James Stewart explores Google Perks and describes the playful work environment Google provides (Stewart, 2013). Likewise, in her book entitled Jung on Active Imagination, movement therapist and Jungian analyst Joan Chodorow cites Jung (1921): ‘Every good idea and all creative work are the offspring of the imagination, and have their source in what one is pleased to call infantile fantasy. Not the artist alone, but every creative individual whatsoever owes all that is greatest in his life to fantasy. The dynamic principle of fantasy is play, a characteristic also of a child, and as such it appears inconsistent with the principle of serious work. But without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable’ (Jung cited in Chodorow, 1997: 5) Almost a century prior to Google’s establishment, Carl Jung emphasised the importance of fantasy in enabling creativity. He attributed this creativity to childhood play, which in the case of Google, may be one of the key factors contributing to their success.

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