Petro and Christian at the Applied Improv Network conference in Paris 2018
Petro Janse van Vuuren and Christian F. Freisleben have been working together since 2015. Based on a steadily deepening friendship they explore possibilities how to use methods and the mindset of Applied Improvisation also in Online-Rooms. Petro invited Christian to her flying pig-sessions. “When pigs fly” is a figure of speech that says something is completely impossible, even unthinkable. For example: “Can people really change for good?” “Yes, when pigs fly.” For Petro and Christian a flying pig is the moment of insight that brings shift and transformation in our clients, students, participants…
As academic at Drama for Life, University of the Witwatersrand school of Arts, Petro contributed her research, findings and experiences with Strategic Narrative Embodiment SNE). This is an Applied Theatre methodology that has been developed for application in leadership and organisation development contexts (you can find more background information here).
Christian added his know-how as a teacher and trainer using Applied Improvisation, as a expert on the didactics of higher education and blended learning e. g. out of his work at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten.
Petro and Christian offered various Online-Workshops with participants from all over the world and evolved a process combining Applied Improv, SNE and the embodiment of the flying pig. 2015 was also the year in which Christian started with the work on his doctoral thesis on using Applied Improvisation in the field of higher education online and offline. Petro and Christian realised during the year 2016, that they have embarked on a journey of action research. They started to look more closely at their didactic designs, recordings of various sessions and of reflections of participants in order to critically evolve their processes and record their discoveries.
Findings of this journey can be found online here http://www.playingmantis.net/applied-improvisation-exercises/. Together they wrote a paper and presented it online at the 9th International Drama in Education Research Institute (IDIERI, 2 – 9 July 2018, Auckland New Zealand). In addition they facilitated a 90 minute workshop at the conference using a live-unline tool (see this review). This paper , now including findings from this experience will be published within this year.
Join us in Paris!
Here is the ZOOM Link to join online;
if you are not participant of the conference and want to join please send an application to Petro at the latest till 23th of August
Note: the session will be recorded an used as data material for the ongoing research.