Newsletter - January 2021

Hello dear Global Play Brigade,

I’ve been upset and deeply concerned about the troubling events taking place in our world. Too many to discuss here, but I’m sure we all have great worries, sadness and anger as we continue in the midst of ongoing pain of the global pandemic.

I keep having this dream (the nights I’m actually able to sleep) that the Global Play Brigade managed to get a bunch of world leaders of all stripes onto a stage together for a workshop to create an improvised play, riffing off of some titles like:

• We Have No Idea What to Do
  or
• Alice in Wonderland: The 21st Century
  or
• Time to Step Aside
• 
  

Or they’re all sitting around in a circle playing Yes, And, or I Am a Tree – or my favorite: “We Made a Mistake!”

THAT could change everything, in my opinion. THAT would be interesting. THAT could shake things up and create space for new kinds of conversations and possibilities.

With play, we both disrupt and challenge the status quo while simultaneously creating something new together; creating a space where people can perform something other than their typical roles and scripts. Play is the catalyst for new possibilities.

It’s a dream, I know. No world leader would sign up for that workshop.

But we at the Global Play Brigade have signed up. YOU have signed up. You’ve all helped build the infrastructure, create the impetus, even been part of the myriad workshops. Since our launch in 2020, you’ve all made it possible for more than 3,500 strangers, from different walks of life, from 50 countries, to connect and create. This year, we’ll continue to work – and to Play it Forward to Change Our World.

Happy New Year, GPB. Let’s keep it up in 2021.

Love,
Cathy Salit
Performance activist, GPB Chief Organizer