The Digital Media Performance assignment is an overwhelming assignment at first glance. Actually, it’s overwhelming at glances one through ten. After that, you start to look at it in more bite-sized chunks and it seems a little more doable. What is so intimidating about this project is how many layers of media must go into it; text, audio, visual, key texts, and movement must all come together to create a consistent theme and a meaningful performance. Oh--and it has to be in a group of about five people. And all five people have vastly different ideas, passions, experiences, interpretations, and opinions about what this piece is, what it’s about, how it should look, and how to get it there. And then you, as a people-pleaser and peacemaker, stress about making sure everyone’s voices are heard and that everyone is on the same page moving forward. So, yes, it is an overwhelming assignment.
The good part about this project having so many components is that there are so many elements to explore and ways to present your message. In our class, we started with stories. I was already a firm believer in the power of storytelling, but I appreciated what I learned about building a project and group on the foundation of stories. Starting with stories built a community. We became personal with each other, because these were stories from our individual lives. There was no face to put up because these stories were real. Sharing these narratives allowed us to see other perspectives than our own. We found common themes and shared experiences in unexpected connections that focused the theme for our project.
Our project experimented with verbatim theater and interviews. This continued to use the power of storytelling and learning from the perspectives of others. I was reminded that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make creative projects and performances. Storytelling is a powerful tool, so why not use it? Using stories and experiences from other people reminded me that there are stories everywhere, that we can learn from each other, that people’s individual lives and perspectives are so valuable, and that we have more in common with each other than we might think. Once our group had a theme and questions for our interviews, the experiences people shared fit perfectly with our theme and the message we were trying to share. That was evidence to me that what we were discussing was relevant and relatable.
I did my best to contribute all I could to this project. I came to class on time and ready to work. I came ready to share my thoughts and ideas but also ready to listen and compromise to create this performance as a team. I shared stories with our group; stories that were personal, real, important to me, and relevant to our work. I listened as others told their stories and discussed the common themes we found within the narratives. When we decided to interview people using the questions we created together, I interviewed my mom and transcribed the sections I wanted to use. Once we had the script mostly solidified, I was assigned a section to curate. I compiled, rearranged, and edited the segment to fit the needs of our performance.
A modified version of this project would be fantastic in a future classroom. I would start by figuring out what my specific goals and objectives are for the assignment; am I wanting them to focus on the media aspects? Do I need to create a semester-long media-focused component to lead up to this assignment? How long should the final performance be? How big are the groups going to be? What is the value of larger or smaller groups, or doing this individually? Depending on how many groups we have, how much time will it take to see everyone’s projects? Is the focus on storytelling and interviews? Are we exploring verbatim theater specifically or learning how to use interviews as scaffolding? How early on do themes need to be solidified? What if multiple groups have the same theme and method of approaching it? How do I make sure the students are headed towards my intended outcomes instead of getting caught up in all the layers or the time constraints?
The assignment would needs to be specific enough to give focus and direction, but open-ended enough for students to explore what they are interested in and what will best support their project. I would set up the assignment to narrow down their themes earlier so they can build off that foundation. I would make sure my instructions are clear about what layers of media need to be included and give some examples. I would make sure that the purpose of the project, addressing an important theme or topic for their group or community (or whatever I choose), is not forgotten in the extensive list of required elements.
