Loved reading about play and how it relates to art. Vilhauer is distilling Gadamer’s thesis in this chapter of his/her book. Coming from performance, the notion of Play is crucial to not only the process but also the presentation of work with an audience. The work really only becomes successful when the audience joins in the “game”. This involves them divining and understanding what the “game” is, and then being willing to surrender to the “game”.

I imagine that we are also reading this as educators. Indeed there can and should be the notion of play within an educational context. Certainly, my fondest memories of education were of classes and tutors who were able to invite us into an activity so completely that we forgot that we were learning. We were just doing something that engaged us and that we felt connected with. I wonder if this is actually a different level of brain function, when one is fully focussed and committed to an activity. As someone who aspires to being an educator I want to get some of the superpowers that engage and inspire students. For me this would be a combination of confidence, openness and a strong sense of play.