Curator of Another's Voice/An opportunity to Listen
Anna Deavere Smith calls herself a “curator of voices.” In this interview process you will become a curator. You can learn a lot about someone by taking on their voice, as well as their stance, mood and position. This can help you feel what they might feel. In doing this you will need to listen respectfully and then perform someone else’s voice honestly and respectfully. The value of this process is that it helps you to listen while attempting to totally suspend judgment. Anna Deavere Smith says that she isn’t worried that our country will fall apart through lack of our ability to judge each other, but rather through lack of our ability to listen. This is an opportunity to listen. In this lesson, “acting” will really be a process for achieving greater listening.
You are asked to interview someone who has survived something. In this age of reality TV, the word survivor is thrown about a lot. I ask you to really consider what it means to have overcome something, an event, a difficult decision, a difficult period… and to have learned from that experience. What does it really mean to be a survivor?
When choosing someone to interview, make sure it is someone who is of interest to you. Carefully decide who this person will be. You will need to spend a considerable amount of time with this person, both during the interview process and after while working on being a curator of their voice. Choose someone who is available both physically and emotionally. If someone lives far from you, this will be a difficult process. If the person isn’t comfortable talking about their experience, they won’t be able to open up to you. Additionally if this is not a significant event in your subject’s life, there won’t be much to talk about and this will change from an interesting exciting assignment to a chore. It seems to me that a story from a person older than yourself would work best. I am not outlawing stories from young people. Choose carefully and respectfully.
Things to do and think about:
You will need something to record your subject’s voice. An audio recorder is best, but anything that will capture their voice will do. Try not to intimidate them with the recording process. It is best if they feel relaxed and comfortable. One thing you can do to relax them is to explain the assignment. Let them know how respectfully you will listen and perform their story.
You will need to come up with interview questions. You might not use them if the conversation is going well, but you should have them just in case.
Some questions you MIGHT use:
Where do you get power?
What makes you feel power?
Would you call yourself a survivor?
Who helps you survive?
Who inspires you?
What gives you strength?
What is a challenge for you?
How has being a survivor shaped the person you are today?
How would you like to be remembered?
Who has been the kindest to you? How?
What are some important lessons you've learned?
There are many more questions that you could ask. Don’t limit yourself. A lack of specificity is the enemy of all art! This should be a thoughtful and interesting process. Challenge yourself and make it interesting for us all. Most of all remember that we are working on listening and bringing these voices together to share positive stories of triumph!