{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"\u2018Play is seen as frivolous, a waste of time, something only done in leisure time,\u2019 explains Anthea Moys, performance artist and play facilitator. \u2018And so, although we all naturally know how to play, over time, as adults, we forget.\u2019","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/6564/play_.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAnthea, however, knows how to play. She\u2019s spent 80 minutes being chased by 22 thick-built men. She ducked and dived as they tackled, in a game of rugby in which she played the position of the ball. Anthea describes herself as tone-deaf \u2013 \u2018I cannot sing to save my life\u2019 \u2013 nevertheless, she got on stage in front of an audience of hundreds to sing a solo, in Xhosa: a language she doesn\u2019t speak.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnthea investigates ideas of failure in relation to play. Why not play a game you may lose? Why not try something potentially humiliating? Why not forget about failure, if the fear of failure stops you from taking part?\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter spending time as artist-in-residence at the \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://learningthroughplay.com/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022LEGO Foundation homepage\u0022\u003ELEGO Foundation\u003C/a\u003E, she began a PhD that looks into changing the rules of games to explore different ways of playing together. Alongside teaching, research and making art, she runs play workshops, and calls herself a \u2018play facilitator\u2019, a job title she made up because that\u2019s the job she wanted.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is play? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlay\u2019s hard to define because we find it in so many wildly different things. Some find play in movement, others in keeping still; some in the spotlight, some in an audience.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBe it through dance, exploring, storytelling, daydreaming, making things, climbing things, playing an instrument or (virtually) socialising with friends, play is ultimately determined by the feeling something evokes rather than the activity itself, making it more of a state of mind than an activity.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dr Stuart Brown, who\u2019s spent his career studying play, there are some common properties to play which help us understand what it is, even though we all inherently know when we\u2019re doing it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s the thing that gives you joy. While doing it you lose all self-consciousness and sense of time, entering a state of focus, absorption and pure enjoyment, the thing psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi calls \u2018flow\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlay is also voluntary. When you\u2019re doing it, you want to continue doing it and, rather than doing it to attain or achieve something, you do it for its own sake. Which is why some people think of it as a waste of time.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe benefits of play\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough it\u2019s apparently purposeless, it\u2019s hard to deny the benefits of play.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExtensive research collated at the LEGO Foundation has found that the joy we feel while playing \u2018invokes a state of positive affect that enables many higher cognitive functions\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdvances in neuroscience also show learning to be more emotional than previously thought, and because we\u2019re actively engaged through play, it demands our attention and response, making learning through play highly effective.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs young minds develop, play stimulates neural connections in the prefrontal cortex of our brain, helping to wire up the brain\u2019s executive control centre, which helps us to regulate emotions and problem solve. Play helps us develop our fine and gross motor skills and, according to neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp, it builds pro-social brains \u2018that know how to interact with others in positive ways\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur play drive may not be as strong as we get older, because the brain isn\u2019t developing as rapidly, but neural connections continue to be made throughout life. Dr Brown says \u2018play promotes the creation of new connections that didn\u2019t exist before, new connections between neurons and between disparate brain centres\u2026 The genius of play is that, in playing, we create imaginative new cognitive combinations. And in creating those novel combinations, we find what works.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith no shortage of reasons in the world to be serious, Anthea\u2019s under no illusions that play will save the day.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut she shows how play offers ways to unlearn destructive ways of thinking and being in the world, to reimagine alternative possibilities, to create something new.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy don\u2019t grown ups play?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith exams to pass and then food to put on the table, play is put aside in the thick of growing up. And so, over time, play becomes less natural to us. Anthea says that in her play workshops, adults often \u2018feel shy to be silly or speak out or sing a funny song in gibberish \u2013 that\u2019s unsafe territory for them because they haven\u2019t done it in so long.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018No one has given them time or space to do that, they may have been ridiculed as a child, or a teacher in the past told them not to do that because it\u2019s a waste of time and it\u2019s silly and they must grow up and take life seriously.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In order to play, you need to feel safe,\u2019 Anthea explains, \u2018not only in the physical space but safe in the space of mind.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnjoy the process (and let go of the goal) \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018When we\u2019re children, we play to keep on playing,\u2019 says Anthea. \u2018We\u2019re in the sandpit and there are rules being made up and the game keeps progressing and sometimes there\u2019s winning and losing, but it\u2019s more about playing to keep on playing. Then as we get older it\u2019s more about playing to win. But play is most generative when it\u2019s done for its own purpose.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u00A0\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhoever she\u2019s working with, Anthea asks players \u2018to change the rules of the game for a particular amount of time, to accept another kind of game that isn\u2019t about winning. When they say \u201Cyes\u201D to that, they\u2019re arguably opening themselves up to many more possibilities of being in the world and relating to one another.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow to play right now\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor Anthea, art and play are intricately linked. She describes artists \u2018playing with paint on the canvas, playing with the material, until something emerges through the process. Which could also be said for scientists or anyone playing with materials in order to see what emerges from the practice of play, and process of experimentation.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a performance artist, Anthea works with sport and games. \u2018Sport is like my paint and the rules of the game are like the materials I play with, to create new kinds of games and ways of relating to one another,\u2019 she says.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlay\u2019s not meant to be something else to add to your ever-increasing to-do list.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019ve got children or young people at home, why not take five minutes to let go and play with them as they get creative? There are also plenty of online resources right now, from drawing to dancing, so take the plunge and get involved. While many team sports aren\u2019t accessible right now, there\u2019s no reason you can\u2019t play with the rules of a board game, or a simple game of catch.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESurprisingly, play\u2019s not all fun and games. Anthea says that \u2018serious play\u2019 is what she\u2019s learnt from her friends over the years. \u2018It\u2019s how to say \u201Cyes\u201D, how to be open-minded, how to be kind instead of right, how to let other ways of being in the world emerge. It\u2019s about adopting a playful approach\u2019.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are plenty of ways to try \u2018serious play\u2019 in the everyday. Why not relax the rules and try something new at dinnertime, or commit to being extra open minded (and working with other people\u2019s ideas) in your next meeting? You could even let go and let someone else make the decisions \u2013\u00A0let children take the lead on your outfit for the day (or even your hairstyle) while we\u2019re all spending most of our time at home.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhatever you decide to try, the playful shift takes imagination; you have to take a risk to imagine another way of being in the world. \u2018We\u2019re not saying the world isn\u2019t serious,\u2019 Anthea adds, \u2018the world is very serious and there are many reasons why we need to be serious about the world, but we can also approach it differently, with a playful lens \u2013 you know?\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELearning from young people\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChildren and young people are the experts when it comes to play. To learn from them, you need to:\u003Cstrong\u003E\u00A0\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EReally practise.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EAsk lots of questions. One of the best questions is: Can you tell me anything more about that? People often just say one thing, and they want to get it right or wrong. Try to create spaces where people can keep on talking and moving through things.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EHave fun. Start by setting a good example and not always taking life too seriously.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EStep into a sense of wonder and curiosity.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPractise play (virtually) with other volunteers. Why not try using an online platform to get a playgroup together so you can play and talk?\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"09 May 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48504,"nodeName":"Why play\u2019s good for grown ups too","title":"Why play\u2019s good for grown ups too","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/6564/play_.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd0c9b0780","caption":"Play","type":"jpg","size":718290,"width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Why play\u2019s good for grown ups too","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODUwNCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/may/why-play-s-good-for-grown-ups-too/"}