Reflections on "Question! Encounter! Play!" 2023
by Damir Posavec and Xenia Simola
I participated in the Question! Encounter! Play! proyect at the Goetheanum in October 2023.
I came together with my team from the DNS teacher training college in Denmark. All the participants ended up forming a very diverse and unique group.
We spent a week making the impossible happen: designing, producing, rehearsing, and performing a 1-hour long theatre play, with original costumes and music, where everybody plays a part and gets a moment to shine. Through facilitated workshops, we all got to get to know each other and discover our talents which were implemented in our performance, in one way or another. The program helped us overcome our differences and boundaries and many of us formed connections on a very deep level.
For me, this week was a journey of self-discovery, as well as a rejuvenating experience. I got to experience the powerful binding force of having a common vision and working intensively together to achieve it, and was surprised by the sense of community and togetherness that we were able to create in such a short amount of time. The landscape and the architecture of the surroundings were mesmerizing and I wish I had more time to explore them, especially it being the autumn season, I could go nuts on the walnuts which were everywhere.
In retrospect, this was one of the most well-designed summer workshops I’ve attended. I only understood the purpose of some activities after looking back at the week. Each day was like a step to prepare us for the next, which made the whole experience very fluid and natural. I’m hoping to be able to come again next year and see some familiar faces again!
Thank you very much for this experience, Youth Section at the Goetheanum!
Damir
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It’s been a few months since we gathered at Goetheanum to celebrate. What did we celebrate? The plan was to make a theatre play but it was so much more than that. I think we celebrated the beauty of being united in our differences. We celebrated the hope that grew in our hearts from meeting each other. A hope for humanity, for the future. In our school, at DNS, we have a saying: “How can we have a better future if we can not imagine it?”. I think each participant of this project got a spark of what could be this better future. Despite our cultural differences, from 15 countries in and out of Europe, the humanity in us, for once, was united by the difference in our stories.
This was also the theme of our theatre play. Where one character after the other told a story that they thought was better than the others’. Each story was more cunning than the previous one, creating a dark homogeneous and dead people. Saved by the only one who refused to follow the flock. The one who gave the space to each individual to contribute their own way to the collective. This one was symbolic of what happened throughout the week. Perhaps, I can even say that it is the essence of Anthroposophy. Giving each individual the best possible chance for growth in every level of being.
We had the opportunity to share was was in our hearts, the good and the pailful. And even when one couldn’t understand the language the emotion was enough to create a deep sense of compassion. It was a safe space, a play space, a music space, a dance-like-crazy space… at any moment a spontaneous dance party could arise, bringing so much simple joy into the Youth House. We listened to music and sang songs in diverse languages. We ate great food made by the cooking team! We stayed up late sharing our laughter and songs.
I only wish that this project would happen more often everywhere in the world. That these feelings could be more present in the hearts of every human. Thank you “ Frage! Begegne! Spiele! “! Thank you Youth House! Thank you Anthropological Society! Thank you to all the organisers! Thank you to all the participants! It was an honour to meet you all.
Xenia Simola
Student at
The Necessary Teacher Training College (DNS)
Picture by Nicole Asis