Going into the Unknown, Together: Improvisation Theatre and...
Transcript of Going into the Unknown, Together: Improvisation Theatre and...
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Going into the Unknown, Together:
Improvisation Theatre and Science
Uri Alon
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Going into the unknown together
• Demonstration of improvisation theatre
• Principles from improvisation theatre and their relevance to science
• Scientific study of human behavior using theatre - the mirror game
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Saying
YES AND
is a basic principle of improvisation
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The Inner Critic censors our actions so
we don’t appear crazy, obscene or
unoriginal
Limb 2008
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Saying
YES AND
bypasses the inner critic opening the way to original
joint creation
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A good scientific conversation has a playful stage of opening and a critical
stage of closing
Saying YES AND generates new ideas
Then analysis and criticism narrows down
‘brainstorming’
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Textbook schema of doing research is a straight path
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A more realistic schema starts from A towards B
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Experiments don’t work, until you are stuck in the cloud
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You see something new in the materials and find answer C
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The cloud stands at the boundary between the known and the unknown
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Going into the unknown – an element
of a classic narrative form called the
Hero's Journey
Propp, Campbell
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Togetherness is a state of high performance, flow
and a sense of joint creativity with no leader
Relevant concepts: group creativity, group flow,
communitas (Victor Turner), being in the ‘zone’
“an opening to which all present contribute” (Peter Brook)
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The mirror game is a theatre exercise
aimed at getting actors into
togetherness
“The theatrical event is fundamentally a mirroring” (Richard Schechner, Environmental Theater)
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We simplified the mirror game to one
dimension
Instruction: “imitate each other, create synchronized and interesting motions, and enjoy
playing together”
Device: sliders are 55 cm long, sampling at 50Hz, spatial accuracy ~1mm
10 cm
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We compared turns with a leader to turns
with no designated leader
Red or Blue Light indicates who leads
Both lights indicate no designated leader or follower
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Players create complex motion
together
time (seconds) all examples from no-leader rounds
po
siti
on
(m
m)
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time (seconds)
spee
d (
mm
/se
con
d)
all examples from no-leader rounds
They show changes in frequency and
amplitude, as well as abrupt stops
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Together is Better With no designated leader experts reach higher velocities
and better accuracy
speed (mm/sec)
erro
r b
etw
een
pla
yers
area of high speed and low error
leader-follower
no-leader
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Leader makes smooth motions – a
confident line sp
eed
- ‘confident line’
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Follower oscillates around leader
with 2-3Hz frequency sp
eed
follower- shaky line jitters at 2-3 HZ
- ‘confident line’
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Without a designated leader,
players enter a state where both
move as leaders,
without the 2-3Hz oscillation of a
follower
spee
d
100ms
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Players seem to agree on future
motion
Players synchronized better than human reaction time (100 ms)
spee
d
100ms
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Expert improvisers can create complex
motion together
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A model of mirrored controllers suggests players inner
predictors agree, whereas their inner critics cancel out
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Use of a theater exercise to form an
experimental paradigm for Togetherness
Togetherness
Joint improvisation
Mirror Game
One dimensional mirror game
Precise data on motion
Modeling Noy, Dekel, Alon, PNAS 2011
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Next step: heart rate and
breathing during mirror game
Lior Noy, Yulia Golland, IDC
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The theatre lab at Weizmann aims to use theatre concepts and exercises
to form experimental paradigms
to study basic principles of human
behavior and interactions
Support: the Braginsky center for science and humanities
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Summary – How to go into the unknown together
Say YES AND! Joy, spontaneity and play are good for science Play the mirror game with your loved ones
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Fellow Travelers into the Unknown
•Lior Noy •Yulia Golland •Rinat Feniger-Shaal •Yuvalal Liron •Galia Moran
•Kartoshkes Playback Theatre ensemble
•The Braginksy center for the interface between science and humanities, •Headed by Itamar Procaccia
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Going into the unknown – an element
of a classic narrative form called the
Hero's Journey
Propp, Campbell
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ללכת אל הלא ידוע
"הענן"
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ללכת ביחד אל הלא ידוע
")הארץ", אורי אלון" / לתפוס לוויתן בזנב("
לרעיון' !כן'
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קשרים בין פלייבק ומדעי הטבע
פלייבק מדעי הטבע
חקירה מדעית של הפלייבק
עקרונות משותפים
מדענים שהם גם
אנשי פלייבק
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Fellow Travelers into the Unknown
•Lior Noy •Yulia Golland •Rinat Feniger-Shaal •Yuvalal Liron •Galia Moran
•Kartoshkes Playback Theatre ensemble
•Braginksy center for the interface between science and humanities at the Weizmann •Institute
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In playback theatre, actors and musicians
listen to a story told on stage and improvise
a scene on the spot an audience member tells a real story
actors listen deeply
actors play-back: improvise a reflection of the story using text, movement and sound, trying to bring about the ‘heart of the story’.