Lesson numero un

The first lesson reminded me of a primary school sports day because we did a lot of running around and games that I used to play when I was still in primary school. These games were the following:

• The Wheelbarrow Race: this is a very simple game where you need at least 4/6 people. You split into pairs and one person is the wheelbarrow and the other holds the wheelbarrow's back legs so that the wheelbarrow has to move with their hands. You start at one end of the room and the first pair to get to the other end of the room wins. 
• Bulldog: a terrifying game that got banned in primary schools because some children had bad reflexes and hurt themselves. This is where everyone is at one end of the room and one person is in the middle. Everyone has to try and get to the other side without being caught by the bulldog (middle person). If you are caught, then you join the bulldog and try to catch as many people as you can when everyone runs across to join your bulldog clan. This is very thrilling until you're among the last few people and there is a band of bulldogs, then you feel like crying.
• Stuck In The Mud: another very simple game. this is like "It" but when you've been touched by it then you stay still with your arms out and someone who isn't it has to run under them and then you're free. The teacher can randomly select who is it.
• Relay Race: This is again quite simple. you're in a group of six but there are three people on one end of the room and three on the other. There are several other teams who are exactly like this.This is complicated to explain but basically: the threes have to cross the room one by one and they have to cross in odd ways like on all fours or walking backwards. One person from one side goes to the other side and when they get there, a person from that side goes to the other side. If I've confused you, take a break and think about it.
• The Impossible Task: this was where you picked a task that was impossible, like becoming invisible or  opening the windows (the windows in the room seemed to be forever closed) and spent 10 minutes trying to do this task that is already clearly impossible to do within the space. My task was to try and touch the ceiling and due to my height, it is impossible. I did succeed at first but it didn't count because I was stood on 6 chairs. So I tried doing run-ups, climbing up the walls and jumping but they didn't work and I pretty much gave up within the first 4 minutes of the exercise because in my head I knew it was impossible, so why bother? Anyway  we were meant to be putting in our all and really trying like we could actually do this task and everyone was trying and putting in so much effort, but I was still slightly frustrated. I carried on trying but it was more of a half-hearted-run-and-jump-with-my-arms-flapping-around kind of thing. So the point of this exercise was to discover and experiment with our limits and boundaries. those being our mental boundaries and how our body and mind work together.

Lastly, we had a small chat about something Artaud believed. He believed that society had suppressed our animalistic side and if we didn't have all of these norms and rules to conform to, we would be more open with the fact that we all have a really deep and dark mind deep down. We had a chat about what we thought about this and everyone agreed. In fact, we all spoke about the dark thoughts we have daily for example thinking about jumping down stairs. You don't actually do it, but you think "What if i did though? How would it feel?"