I have settled on my project idea, and am now in the midst of research and building an experience.
I have chosen to focus on Afro-American and Afro-Cuban folktales, and to use characters and motifs within these stories to help guide two people on a choose-your-own-adventure through the city. The idea of the piece is to take pieces of folk tales from both countries, so that the two people on the adventure can build their own narrative together. Once the piece is made, I will step out of the picture, and let the two people having the experience have full creative control of their own folktale.
The adventure will have a beginning, middle and end. The beginning will be composed of a greeting, and steps towards becoming comfortable with each other, the middle will be composed of exercises in which trust is a key component, and the ending will be a closing, and a view for the future. Ideally, by the end of the experience, the two will become friends, and the last task will be to send each other a letter in the coming months. I have thought about the language barrier, and I the tasks that I am planning will be such that language will not be the most important way of connecting.
As of now, the pair, ideally one person from each country, will be given a certain number of envelopes (say 6) at the beginning of their journey.
They start by opening number 1. Number one is titled "The Greeting" and is the story of how one man walked up to the sun, got too close, was scorched, and became the first black man. Another man walked too close to the cold moon and turned white. The two people will have the task of stepping back from one another, and slowly walking together, with the knowledge of their life experience behind them, and when they meet in the center to greet one another. After they're completed the task, the paper will say a clue at the bottom, for example, "if your hearts pull you towards the sea, open envelope #4," OR, "feeling free like the wind? open envelope #2." The pair will decide together what they want, and together they will open the next envelope and go to their next destination. The tasks will be written in Spanish and English, so that those participating can do so even if they don't speak the same language.
Throughout this experience, I want to challenge the participants, but also guide them along so that they can have a safe and wholesome experience. The feeling should be that of a childhood adventure.
Themes that I so far intend to explore (more to come):
TRUST
GIVING
PROSPERITY
REGRET
HONOR
CONSEQUENCE
FEAR
GREED
Each task will be guided by a character or theme, for instance, the Stag is loyal, so he might guide the two through the task revolving around Honor.
I still have a bit of work, research and solidifying to do. I need to think of what the pair will do when going from point A to point B. I'm hoping that the tasks they do throughout the experience will help them grow and learn about each other so that by the end, through creating a narrative together, they have formed a strong friendship that will be able to last after the experience is over.
I also don't know how the city is going to be laid out, so I'm not sure where to send them yet. For now, I am going to focus on what tasks the two can do, and the themes revolving around those tasks.
I am excited for where this project is going.
I have chosen to focus on Afro-American and Afro-Cuban folktales, and to use characters and motifs within these stories to help guide two people on a choose-your-own-adventure through the city. The idea of the piece is to take pieces of folk tales from both countries, so that the two people on the adventure can build their own narrative together. Once the piece is made, I will step out of the picture, and let the two people having the experience have full creative control of their own folktale.
The adventure will have a beginning, middle and end. The beginning will be composed of a greeting, and steps towards becoming comfortable with each other, the middle will be composed of exercises in which trust is a key component, and the ending will be a closing, and a view for the future. Ideally, by the end of the experience, the two will become friends, and the last task will be to send each other a letter in the coming months. I have thought about the language barrier, and I the tasks that I am planning will be such that language will not be the most important way of connecting.
As of now, the pair, ideally one person from each country, will be given a certain number of envelopes (say 6) at the beginning of their journey.
They start by opening number 1. Number one is titled "The Greeting" and is the story of how one man walked up to the sun, got too close, was scorched, and became the first black man. Another man walked too close to the cold moon and turned white. The two people will have the task of stepping back from one another, and slowly walking together, with the knowledge of their life experience behind them, and when they meet in the center to greet one another. After they're completed the task, the paper will say a clue at the bottom, for example, "if your hearts pull you towards the sea, open envelope #4," OR, "feeling free like the wind? open envelope #2." The pair will decide together what they want, and together they will open the next envelope and go to their next destination. The tasks will be written in Spanish and English, so that those participating can do so even if they don't speak the same language.
Throughout this experience, I want to challenge the participants, but also guide them along so that they can have a safe and wholesome experience. The feeling should be that of a childhood adventure.
Themes that I so far intend to explore (more to come):
TRUST
GIVING
PROSPERITY
REGRET
HONOR
CONSEQUENCE
FEAR
GREED
Each task will be guided by a character or theme, for instance, the Stag is loyal, so he might guide the two through the task revolving around Honor.
I still have a bit of work, research and solidifying to do. I need to think of what the pair will do when going from point A to point B. I'm hoping that the tasks they do throughout the experience will help them grow and learn about each other so that by the end, through creating a narrative together, they have formed a strong friendship that will be able to last after the experience is over.
I also don't know how the city is going to be laid out, so I'm not sure where to send them yet. For now, I am going to focus on what tasks the two can do, and the themes revolving around those tasks.
I am excited for where this project is going.
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