"children's games as performances"

Image via WikipediaBernie DeKoven, the Funsmith, writes:

I had to play it first. And when I did, I realized that the clearly silly game of Duck-Duck-Goose fully satisfied my criteria for a meaningful, kid-produced, kid-acted, kid-directed, theatrical experience. It was highly dramatic. It was something they actually wanted to do, actually could organize and become engaged with. Thus I began work on my “theater” curriculum and my lifelong exploration of the Theater of Games.

I soon discovered I was working within a global theater. Searching for more and more games, I found books of games from all over the world. The Games that are played out in the Theater of Games are in fact a form of literature – not written, maybe, not even oral, perhaps, but “enacted” – and thus handed down, from generation to generation, brother to brother, culture to culture. The literature of games can convey complex relationships, roles and consequences, issues of conflict and heroism.

Ring around the rosie, jump rope, hop scotch, all hearken back to simpler times. In times of trouble, getting back to the basics, re-establishing relationships, building trust and community, living in hope, having some good clean fun, are all something I strive for.

What do you think about this game called life?

What are you doing to deliver a top performance.