Stuck is the main technique of Social Presencing Theater. It is a process where the participant is moving from sculpture 1 (current reality / stuck) to sculpture 2 (emerging future). We do not know what the movements will be or where they will stop, but we can follow the movement and then reflect on our experience. Surprising insights can arise.
The purpose is to feel deeply into the situation, suspending our problem-solving habit. By paying attention to our “body-knowing” and to the social field, we discover new directions or fresh insights that were not accessible just by thinking.
Principles
Let the body be the guide. Do not plan, act, mime, pretend, manipulate or represent. Simply BE and DO.
Lean into the “stuck” situation. The wisdom is there already. Notice what is emerging – what in Theory U language is sometimes called the “crack”.
Trust the moment-to-moment experience
Process
The activity is especially powerful, when experienced in small groups, as you reflect not only by yourself, but get the impressions of the others. At the same time it is also very interesting to do it individually and reflect about it. We describe here the individual process. You can find all details of the group activities here.
Reflect on a place where you feel stuck, where there is a breakdown or an area of life or work that feels stuck.
Let that feeling of being stuck in this particular situation come into your body as a shape or a gesture.
Embody your feeling of being stuck. Make it concrete and visible in the space.
Then move from Sculpture 1 to Sculpture 2 and allow that shape to move. When the movement comes to an end, stop (sculpture 2).
Memorise the feelings and emotions of the first and second sculpture
Take 1 - 2 minutes to sit and feel into the movement you just experienced
Reflect: What is the difference between the stuck shape and sculpture 2? How are they different? What was the movement from sculpture 1 to sculpture 2? What insights or questions arose?
In the workshop in Tallinn we explored the stuck exercise together. It is a powerful tool to get important insights into a challenge or problem. It is advisable, if you do it for the first time, to be guided by an experienced trainer. The feedback from one of the participants was, that “it was interesting to see how, by changing position, people read our body in different ways (R.C, Psychologist, Italy)
For more background and details of the activity we recommend to go to the website of u-school and watch the video of Arawana Hayashi.
