What are the rules for how we comport ourselves, communicate, & interact?
When do we come into contact with those rules?
Who sets them?
How are they enforced?
What are the costs of defection?
How can standards of behavior be remade?
“Consent” often flags a crisis & therefore a possibility.
Protocols can be ambiguous, disregarded, resisted & they can also be played with.
Our Lab is devoted to this last area of experimentation.
For over 18 months of intense, often grueling, & utterly transformative collaboration with each other, many of you, & especially with our students, we have discovered this simple principle:
That Consent Takes Practice.
We need chances to try things out – socially, interpersonally – situations that are low-stakes & guided – that involve our bodies in a shared space.
It takes practice to say yes, no, & everything in-between.
It takes practice to remain yourself when being with others.
We learned that this practice – of staying perceptive, active, & connected – is the essence of what it feels like to belong.
It is also the essence of the arts.
Consent Lab 