22 May 2009
sandpits and playmakers
I’d been planning on waiting till I next attended a sandpit session before writing a post about them, but sadly fate keeps guiding me back to the Midlands when they’re taking place. However today’s website launch/ announcement by social fun making gurus the Playmakers provided the perfect opportunity to write one up now.
The Playmakers is a three way venture between the team behind the Hide and Seek festival and sandpit sessions, Nesta and Think Public with the goal of creating a new game, a documentary of the games progress and another film about ‘play’.
I took part in the 2nd ‘playtest’ of the game being developed whilst at the ICA sandpit in May. It involved 3 teams bounding about St James park in very flattering brightly coloured sports bibs whilst carrying face masks and a jazzily decorated flip camera mounted on a tripod. Looking suitably insane we then had to perform various timed ‘religious rituals’a different locations. It was a lot of fun, but as you’d expect from a work in progress it was also a little confusing at times.
So if like me you’re happy to adorn sports bibs and get a little sweaty, but unlike me are in London on June 3rd then I highly recommend you head along to the 12th Sandpit session at the Soho theatre (see hide & seek site for full details) for a chance to be be take part in the games 4th highly scientific playtest in the guise of ‘Soho Spy Squad’.
