Loosing the mask
Time: 45 minutes
Roleplay practice:
Aim: to look closer at what it means to wear a mask during a conflict. Repetition of the three masks from the Power Game: attacker, victim and saviour.
What works/doesn't work in relation to solving the conflict, of methods of meeting these three types in a conflict situation?
This exercise demands that one has already gone thoroughly through the attacker, victim and saviour types in the Power Game.
Introduction:
(Repetition from the Power Game)
Using a mask in this context means choosing, maybe not consciously, a strategy, a way of behaving in a conflict situation. Power is an important key word here: one uses the mask in order to gain power or control in a conflict situation.
What does the expression "loosing the mask" mean in this context? It means to feel uncomfortable about continuing to employ the strategy or stance (personality) the mask stands for.
(10 minutes)
Roleplay:
The participants are divided into 3 groups. One group works with the attacker mask, one the victim mask, and one the saviour mask.
One person in each group puts on the mask. The group chooses, or is given a situation to roleplay. The others in the group try, in different ways, to make the mask wearer remove his/her mask. It is natural for the group to stop and discuss along the way, to evaluate how it's going, discuss new ideas, or for the mask wearer to tell them if they are getting nearer.
The roleplay can be played many times, with different solutions.
(25 minutes)
Reflection:
What succeeded in making the different types of personality remove the mask?
What caused the conflict to escalate, and why?
When did the situation get better, and why?
What kind of methods did the group use?
(10 minutes)