The Hero and the Villain

 In the story, the greatest hero rarely slays the villain. 

Monsters, sure, henchmen, yeah, but the arch-villain, the main object, hardly ever goes over the edge. Or if they do perish, it's usually their own fault. 

What was the goal? When the hero first set out, it was probably to slay the villain. But things change. The hero acquires skills and friends and knowledge along the path, gaining a broader perspective. When they face the villain the hero has realized that there are other goals beyond this one. 

When we consider our own goals, what happens if we think about the larger mission? What if the mission isn't simply to reach an objective, but to be immersed in the journey? What if the goal is a learning path that meanders and eddies and takes a little more time? 

Instead of goals, we seek an adventure path. How might this change what we consider the outcome? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Agreement?

Image
Agreement is not the same as agreeing.  Agreement is a state of being that is separate from point of view. Agreement is a way to adjust your mindset in order to be accessible, flexible, and civil as a participant in any discussion, classroom, public office, or any meeting of more than one person.  Agreeing to disagree is a form of passive aggressive stonewalling that has nothing to do with a state of agreement.  This is going to be a many faceted and often visited topic for the next few weeks as I work out how to express ideas and assumptions about agreement.
Read more

Oh oh oh for the love of a ukulele

Image
It took me three years to sit down and really learn ukulele. And it wasn't easy. Not because uke is hard to learn or play, but because I mostly played guitar and learning the new chord progressions for songs I already knew, well, that was difficult. Because the songs I knew on guitar didn't live in my head next door to the words, they lived in my hand. And using the ukulele chords was like using a different set of streets to get to my friend's house. And ukulele is soooooo small. It's a clown car of strings tied to wood, and for grown-up hands a soprano ukulele is a crowded little driver's seat with no head-room. It was precisely because it was small and could fit into my backpack next to my camera that I even packed the thing as I was flying from Connecticut to Florida for a weeklong playwright residency, which is fun, but can be lonely when you are not in rehearsal and in a strange city.  And this residency ended up being extra stressful and lonely for me when I d...
Read more

Public Spaces are Performative Opportunities

Image
 One of the big questions on playmakers minds is where is a space?  Theater is space dependent, and requires a live viewing and performance component. Many small theater events take place in small, borrowed spaces. Theater craft is often about borrowing.  When large venues and other public use spaces are constructed, we need to advocate for consideration of the community theater space. How the public space might function as a performance option can be part of the planning. As we reopen our public gathering areas, how can organized performance be a component of the process? 
Read more