24 January 2009

funny kids

Sherrie Johnson asked me, "what funny things have the kids said?" and I felt weird, like the project were about asking people to check out the funny kids who say crazy things. I understood what she was interested in - I'm interested in it too - but, pausing to think for a second, the project, for me, is about the quality of our life experience when an attempt is made to bring children into the mix as equals - not that we're ever going to be successful. And that, yes, kids are uniquely equipped to say funny things, but, most importantly, what does it mean for us nonkids, to accept those funny things as a norm. In Australia we got on some people's nerves because the kids squirmed around and whispered during some performances - well, what did you expect, they're kids! Learning how to incorporate the presence of fidgety children saying funny things, even when we're doing the serious stuff - like dramatic acting - is, to me, an interesting thing to attempt.