Writing/Essay/Journal
Jennifer Ilse and Paul Herwig’s movement-based performance company, Off-Leash Area, seeks to remove limitations and open up possibilities. Their works are expressive of their unique voices and marked by a sense of playfulness and whimsy.

Write about a place where you are able to be “off-leash” and be your true self. Is that feeling of freedom of self a result of the place, the people who are there, or a combination of factors?

Activity
In their plays, Jennifer and Paul create specific dream-like worlds that are far from naturalistic or realistic. These worlds have a unique set of laws that dictate how movement happens.

Create your own set of 3 different “movement laws” for your own dream world. For example, for every three steps forward, inhabitants have to take one step to the right. Find a partner or two and explore one another’s dream worlds and take turns inhabiting each, acting according to the laws established. Was the activity fun? Frustrating? What did you learn?