Traipsing in Art (9 people, 22 lines)
I love improv and I love co-creation. So I started playing story games online with friends on Facebook. Each game is played by whoever wants to contribute. The aim is to create a story that only comes into existence by line by line, by different people, without any pre-determination of how the story would go or should or would end. Zero planning, zero discussions behind the scenes.
The story that follows was my 5th attempt. I only considered it as “finished” since no one else has added any new lines in several weeks.
The art gallery was opening soon. From my vantage point through the crack in the false ceiling, I have been observing the owner pacing up and down with a sort of nervous energy.
Suddenly, I need to pee.
I eased myself across the paper-thin ceiling panels. I couldn’t hold on any longer. I didn’t even have time to check where the owner was below me — when the dam breaks, it breaks.
“Game over!” I screamed.
The owner looked up, petrified, as a bundle of organic matter tumbled down, scattering in an instant in all possible directions.
“Not the art!” I thought. “Oh, but it’s installation, so let the artwork flourish,” said I. “A little bit of Rocket Raccoon organic matter will highlight the technicolor, multi-sensory experience of these installation artworks.”
I was feeling smug at my momentary one-sided induction into artisthood, but the owner firmly disagreed with a reaction I would never forget. His whole body metamorphosed, literally. First came the horns on his head.
I know those horns… it’s not a him… it’s a her… it’s Maleficent… I am in love. My heart palpitated in a way it has never done before, not even when my childhood sweetheart handed me her ice-cream cone when I was bawling my eyes out after having accidentally dropped mine.
Abracadabra, now I am in trouble and I love it! My love of playing with the duality of dark and light was finally being tested as the Mistress of All Evil ascended towards me. She stared at me with those dark smoldering eyes and then, with a smirk, snapped her fingers.
Like a movie played in rewind mode, I stared in horror as all the scattered organic matter gathered themselves into one unit and flew back where it came from just moments ago.
It was a moment detangled from the rest — disembodied, and existing neither in the past, present, nor future. The moment was over and then my technicolor organic past caught up to my present bowels and the future is unclear.
I woke up dazed… where was I… I realized I blacked out am I’m struggling to figure out where I am as it all looks so familiar yet strange.
Story: 9 people, 22 lines.
This game was played + story co-created one line at a time by Lihong Chew, Wayne Cheong, Kris Childress, Bobby Liu, Joe Nguyen, Lc Nemo, Muriel Boutin-Becuwe, Timothy Kua, and myself. Original co-creation thread here.
