While a workshop on play might seem counterintuitive in our current sociopolitical times, perhaps now, more than ever, we need to stay grounded in our capacities for joy. This session offers an opportunity to explore play as a pathway into embodied contemplative practice. Through games and exercises drawn from Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed repertoire, we will explore the ways that playfulness might inspire our sense of connection with self and community, how shared laughter might create healing communal space, and how joy might serve as a powerful act of resistance. This play-full workshop will offer us an opportunity to deepen our sense of care—for self and others, to re-remember our own resilience, and to recharge our contemplative batteries for the work ahead. The activities we will engage will be gentle, invitational, and designed to be accessible for all abilities and levels of experience.
