Talking Together
a card game, a training and an after dark conversation
Talking Together is an engaging conversation about current issues, inspired by a performance, but the talk is not limited to the performance itself. Talking Together is both a salon and a training camp, as well as a follow-up discussion. For anyone who is thinking about what the world is like
choreographer/art curator Sonja Augart and curator Inge Koks from Stiftung Publieke Werken (Foundation of Public Works) have already worked with different formats and experiments for follow-up discussions during their long career in the cultural sector. Among others, during the annual Berlin Dance Days. The aim of Talking Together is to bring people in contact with each other and to allow them to exchange ideas and opinions in a simple way.
The Format
In a cafe-like ambience, small groups, with a maximum of six people, sit together with a drink in hand. At first, it seems uncomfortable to sit next to strangers. We introduce ourselves and the game begins!
On the table is a stack of cards just waiting to be turned over. One of us takes the first card and asks the question on the card to another group member. They answer (or not!) and have a few minutes to do so. When the gong sounds or the hourglass has passed, the replier takes the next card.
There is no moderator in Talking Together. The participants in the conversation decide what is at stake based on the questions on the cards. We talk about the topics of the performance and how they affect our lives. The card series makes us aware of how we see things, but also how we say things, how we listen and what we listen to. We "learn" how exactly communication works, but in the meantime we are in lively conversation with each other. The initially unpleasant situation quickly turns into a conversation in which we leave the superficiality behind us and go deeper. Everyone participates equally, which means all opinions and experiences are equally valuable.
Talking Together is for everyone who is interested in unknowns, in other opinions, or who just wants to talk about the performance (and life itself) after the performance!