Writing Exercise: “Exquisite Corpse”
Inspired by the Surrealists’ pastime le cadavre exquis, this writing game can unlock a willingness to improvise in the unknown.
The basic idea: a group of people write a collective story, but each author contributes without knowing what the others have written.
How to play:
When this game is played in person, each author writes a sentence (or a few sentences) on a piece of paper, then folds the paper so that all or some part of what they wrote is obscurred. The next author then contributes to the story using only the part of the sentence that is visible below the fold. **Don’t unfold the paper until the end.** Continue that process (writing, folding, etc.) until every person has contributed, then unfold the entire piece of paper and read your creation.
The Lab turned this into a digital game so that we could connect via email with our international creative community. For the digital “exquisite corpse” Teddy Rodger, our Communications and Global Connectivity Manager, organized the exchanges, but essentially the game was the same. The first participant sent Teddy their writing, and she sent only the final four words to the next author, who sent back their contribution. Teddy sent the final four words to the next author, and so on.
Here is our final product, written by Co-Directors Derek Goldman and Cynthia Schneider, Managing Director Jojo Ruf, and Lab Fellow Devika Ranjan:
The rain fell hard, for the third week in a row. They had prayed for rain, after all; but who knew it would come like this. “After all my work, how could it possibly arrive with brown and purple spots!?” she screamed. She knew she should have kept it together, but just thinking about the hours and hours she had toiled over designing that dress from scratch made her blood boil, and the carelessness with which the elves had turned her design into an ugly piece of trash was depressing. That being said, life went on — as much as it could. She tried not to complain as she waded through the mud, each step weighed down by the suction on her rain boots. It slowed her down, but also steadied her. She needed both.The staff supported her right side and the braces ensured that her legs did not wobble. She hoped no one could see them under her dress. “What on earth are they doing there,” she asked. “A bizarre place for them to wind up.” The toys slowly marched across the room, one by one. They were a formidable army — that is, until they unwound.
Try this game with your friends! Share your final creation in the comments.
The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics (The Lab) harnesses the power of performance to humanize global politics. We create and present innovative high quality work from around the world that is at the intersection of politics and performance. The Lab’s signature approach raises voices rarely heard in Washington, DC through compelling, authentic narratives, and engages policymakers, as well as artists, students, and wider audiences in forums that cast critical issues in a new light. The Lab uses technology and live encounters to create a global community of artists, activists and policy makers, fostering new understandings and innovative collaborations. We are committed to relationship building beyond the lifespan of individual projects. We create substantive dynamic partnerships with individuals and with a diverse range of cultural and policy organizations. We are passionate about helping to train the next generation of innovators to use their artistry and voices to shape new understandings and to humanize others in pursuit of a better, more just world. More information: http://globallab.georgetown.edu.
