PRESENCING  INSTITUTE  TOOLKIT   SOCIAL  PRESENCING  THEATER:  STUCK  EXERCISE  

SOCIAL PRESENCING THEATER: STUCK EXERCISE

 
PRINCIPLES

•   Let  the  body  be  the  guide.  Do  not  plan,  act,  
mime,  pretend,  manipulate  or  represent.  Simply  
BE  and  DO.  
•   Lean  into  the  “stuck”  situation.  The  wisdom  is  
there  already.  Notice  what  is  emerging  –  what  
in  Theory  U  language  is  sometimes  called  the  
  “crack”.  
•   Trust  the  moment-­to-­moment  experience.  
OVERVIEW
USES & OUTCOMES

This  is  the  main  technique  of  Social  Presencing   •   Become  more  sensitive  to  and  honest  about  the  
Theater.  The  other  forms  (such  as  4D  Mapping)  are   feeling-­quality  of  their  current  situation  
variations  on  this  practice.  It  is  a  process  by  which   •   Suspend  concepts;;  build  trust  in  body  knowing.  
one  experiences  going  through  the  whole  U  journey  
•   Feel  ourselves  as  part  of  a  co-­creative  system.  
by  moving  from  Sculpture  1  (current  reality)  to  
•   Feel  what  is  emerging,  a  future  that  we  want  to  
Sculpture  2  (emerging  future).  We  do  not  know  what  
create.  
the  movements  will  be  or  where  they  will  stop,  but  
we  can  follow  the  movement  and  then  reflect  on  our  
experience.  Surprising  insights  can  arise. AN EXAMPLE

This  exercise  can  be  used  by  individuals  or  teams  

PURPOSE as  a  practice  for  letting  the  intelligence  of  the  body  
guide  us  in  decisions  and  actions.  Fully  embodying  
our  situations  gives  us  direct  feedback  that  informs  
The  invitation  here  is  to  notice  the  inclination  of   our  decisions.  Noticing  the  interdependence  of  many  
individual  people  and  groups  of  people  to  move   factors  and  influences  in  every  situation  gives  us  a  
toward  a  saner,  freer,  healthier,  more  creative   broader  perspective.  
situation;;  to  sense  more  deeply  into  the  current  
reality,  rather  than  trying  to  “fix”  the  situation  from  
the  same  mind-­set  or  frame  of  reference  that  created   SET UP
the  stuck  situation.  Instead,  we  feel  deeply  into  the  
situation,  suspending  our  problem-­solving  habit.  By   People  &  Place  
paying  attention  to  our  “body-­knowing”  and  to  the  
•   Groups  of  4-­6  people  
social  field,  we  discover  new  directions  or  fresh  
•   Sufficient  space  so  that  groups  can  work  
insights  that  were  not  accessible  just  by  thinking.  
without  distraction  
 
Time  
•   Part  1  is  10  minutes.  Each  person  shares  a  
gesture  and  a  few  minutes  of  reflection  at  the  
end  
•   Part  2  is  5  minutes.  All  participants  practice  
together.  
•   Part  3  is  10-­15  minutes  per  person.  Each  
person  sets  up  Sculpture  #1,  moves  to  
Sculpture  #2,  and  there  is  time  for  reflection  
after  each  person’s  “stuck”.  

 
PRESENCING  INSTITUTE  TOOLKIT   SOCIAL  PRESENCING  THEATER:  STUCK  EXERCISE  
 

PROCESS  
 
Show  Sculpture  1   Group  Stuck  
(Corresponds  to  the  U.Lab  video,  “Stuck  Part  2”: (Corresponds  to  the  U.Lab  video,  “Stuck  Part  6”:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVeU1fTuSZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvgVt-­JBpO8)  
c)   1.   Take  2  minutes  to  sit  with  the  group  in  silence  
1.   Sit  together  in  groups  of  five.   and  feel  the  social  body  of  the  group.  
2.   Reflect  on  a  place  where  you  feel  stuck,   2.   One  person  places  the  others  in  their  stuck  
where  there  is  a  breakdown  or  an  area  of  life   sculpture  to  emphasize,  augment,  or  clarify  
or  work  that  feels  stuck.   their  feeling  of  stuck.  
3.   Let  that  feeling  of  being  stuck  in  this  particular   3.   As  a  collective,  stay  with  the  feeling  of  stuck,  
situation  come  into  your  body  as  a  shape  or  a   deepening  into  it.  
gesture.   4.   Pay  close  attention  to  the  collective  or  social  
4.   Embody  your  feeling  of  stuck.  Make  it   body  as  it  begins  to  move,  shift,  or  change.  
concrete  and  visible  in  the  space.   Don’t  talk  during  this  phase.  
5.   One  by  one  share  this  with  the  others  in  your   5.   When  the  movement  stops,  rest  in  this  
group.  Allow  space  between  each  person.   Sculpture  2.  
6.   Brief  reflection  on  what  you  saw  or  felt  as  a   6.   Remaining  in  the  Sculpture  2,  each  person  
witness.   says  one  sentence  from  the  “I  voice”  
7.   Reflect  as  a  group  on  what  you  noticed,  saw,  
  and  felt.  
Show  movement  from  Sculpture  1  to  Sculpture  2   8.   Gap  of  silence  
9.   Next  person  does  their  Stuck  Exercise,  same  
(Corresponds  to  the  U.Lab  video,  “Stuck  Part  4”:   as  above.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcxcGrqNRfQ)  
 
1.   In  parallel  each  person  embodies  their  stuck  
shape  (sculpture  1)  and  then  allows  that   Reflection
shape  to  move.  When  the  movement  comes   •   The  reflection  is  built  into  each  part  of  the  
to  an  end,  stop  (sculpture  2).   exercise.  Participants  can  reflect  through  
2.   After  all  have  shared  their  movement,  briefly   several  lenses.  
reflect  together  on  what  each  person  
•   What  is  the  difference  between  the  stuck  shape  
experienced  doing  the  exercise  and  
and  sculpture  2?  How  are  they  different?  What  
witnessing  the  others.  
was  the  movement  from  sculpture  1  to  
sculpture  2?    
•   Where  did  the  movement  begin  in  the  body?  
Where  in  the  social  body?    
•   In  the  group  stuck,  each  person  holds  or  
expresses  a  different  aspect  of  the  system,  but  
also  embodies  the  whole  system.  Reflect  on  
what  literally  happened,  on  the  quality  of  
experience  and  on  the  feeling.  
•   What  insights  or  questions  arose?
•