Chaos/Juggling curve ball..question

Thu Mar 30 03:35:28 PST 2006

Marty -- this is just a great response. It is so rich that I hardly know
where to begin. In fact it is too rich for my early morning mind -- which is
more sleepy than vacant! But I will return!

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com 
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com 
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Marty
Boroson
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 11:28 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Chaos/Juggling curve ball..question

Hi Phelim

First of all, I want to say how thrilled I am that you are on this list.
Having seen "70 Hill Lane" and "Shockheaded Peter", and other Improbable
pieces, I believe that you are one of the most wonderful and pioneering and
important theatre artists on the planet.  (I've been meaning to say that for
a while.)

On the subject of juggling...

At first glance, the juggler is like a very "successful" corporate exec or
administrator.  The rest of us just sit there and say "wow" as we see him or
her so successful at controlling a lot of complex factors and competing
directions. But that person is certainly not letting go of control.  That
person is making massive control look easy, and we are thrilled because we
know how hard it is.

But I assume that the juggler is actually in a flow state, which involves a
high level of challenge as well as ease.  It's about being happy on the
edge.  Like any performer, this juggler must be very relaxed and trusting
within the context of his very highly developed skill.  Who knows?  Maybe he
would say that, in order to perform, he has to get out of the way
completely, and open space for the spirit of juggling to speak through him.

It's often said that OST involves letting go of control, but I believe that
that is somewhat disingenous.  In OST, we are letting go of control with the
help of very subtle and finely honed structure.  (There's a T on that OS!)
What I like most about OST is this structure which makes letting go of
control so wonderful and productive.  Without structure we would have, well,
just nothing.  (We certainly wouldn't have this wonderful list-serv.)

If we were all to just "let go" without appropriate social structure or ego
structure, I think there would just be a kind of psychotic formlessness.
However if we can let go within (and supported by) an appropriate social
structure and ego structure, there is transcendence.  (OST, in my opinion,
is the minimum possible structure for the best possible result.)

>From a performance point of view ... I believe that there are different
kinds of performance. Or maybe a continuum. On the one hand there is the
technical skill variety -- from certain olympic sports to juggling, which
occasionally includes some kind of corny music or lighting effect to make it
look more like an
art.  On the other hand, there is acting, which is more in the lineage of
shamanism, and thus involves a great deal of spiritual and emotional
openness and vulnerability, as you suggest. Maybe the real juggling act is
between skill on the one hand and art on the other.  Or between structure on
one hand and freedom on the other.

I am also struck by the fact that this juggler is certainly creating and
holding tension and suspense, which is the essence of theatre, or at least
entertainment.  [I believe that "entertainment" actually means "to hold
between".]  Surely there is art in that.  Creating a space that can hold a
certain level of tension and suspense also seems to me to be at the heart of
OST.  "Walking the circle" doesn't just focus the energy, it builds the
energy.  When the space is opened and everybody starts posting issues, there
is a burst of freedom that surely is commensurate with the amount of tension
(and conflict) the group had been holding previously.  More tension leads to
more freedom.

Phelim, when you say:

>On the other hand great performances make you think:  “I could do that
 too!”  and you want to jump onstage yourself.

...  I assume that you are speaking as an actor!  When I was involved in
theatre as a writer/producer and saw a great performance, I would think:  "I
want that person in my play!"   But most of the time, when I am seeing a
great performance, I hope that I don't think at all--I am just immersed in
the world being created for me.

I love what you said about vulnerability and an actor's relationship to the
unpredictable.   To me, the closest analogy in Open Space is "not knowing".
But I don' t believe that "not knowing" is simple humility however.  Most
OST facilitators, I imagine, have learned to "not know" the hard way.  Just
as most actors have worked hard to become so vulnerable. Most OST
facilitators, I imagine, have spent a good portion of their lives trying
very hard to know, and given up. When Harrison speaks about having an open,
clear and vacant mind, I imagine that he speaks from a lot of experience.
:)

I have spent many years trying to juggle a thousand balls:  it seems to be
my nature to try. But then sometimes I fall down and drop the balls, and I
am suddenly in awe of the complexity of the created universe, and am unable
to fathom ever coming to grips with it, and am amazed that I tried, and
amused that I tried, and I realize that I never really was in control, and
that in spite of having fallen down and given up, I still exist and
everything's still okay, and this is because I was really only ever just one
of the balls being juggled.  This, to my mind, is "not knowing".

But back to juggling!  This juggler--who calls himself Chris Bliss--is
certainly playing his part in reminding me how wonderful the world is.  He
is certainly bringing his enthusiasm to the theatre of life.  And he does
make me want to take out my balls and see if I can keep them in the air for
more than 30 seconds.  I confess to a fondness for juggling because I just
love the weirdness of the circus, and am a clown at heart.

Fondly,

Marty Boroson

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