December 11 We had a couple of new participants today, so we spent some time welcoming them, introducing ourselves and talking about the group. We then played a favorite game that has to do with listening. One of the participants repeatedly cut the others off and was frustrated when we called her attention to it. I began a discussion of why this skill of waiting till the end of someone else’s line is important on stage, when she interrupted me. Never mind on stage, she said, this is a problem she has in her life. She says she has trouble truly listening to people, that she interrupts them frequently, and it gets her in trouble. “We need to play that game more. I need to get better at that,” she said.
We then worked the same scene we explored last time, since the women liked that so many of them could be on stage at the same time during it. Even one of our newest participants took part, which we all applauded.
These two participants assured us that they are very eager to be involved and very dedicated. I hope that more of the women who were recently added to the group join us next time, but if not, we are very happy with the two who were here today.
December 14
We began today playing two games that are new to the group. One was a game in which the goal was to constantly “top” the energy of the person who spoke before each participant, and the other was a quick thinking game. We then began to work a new scene (Act II Scene ii), and to explore the way in which Caliban moves, but at that point the session was ended due to something else going on at the facility. We will continue with this scene next time.