Ylva Björnberg: Collective Imagination Projects, Trainings and Podcast Interviews

Trainings in Imagination Methodologies and Co-Creative Leadership

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Imagination-led Projects

Our Place in Timespace: An Imagination Tool for Place Development

This 3-hour process drama experience "Our Place in Timespace" explores how imaginative thinking can enter into the development of places. Targeting a diverse group of stakeholders involved in a place development process, the experience aims to spark deeper connections to a place through unconventional, intuitive methods, opening up new pathways for sustainable thinking and ideation.

The project builds on three layers of imaginal concepts, Timespace, visiting a realm outside of linear time and physical place and our current view of how the world works; where it is possible to meet and interact with non-human stakeholders; and the utilization of collective imagination methodologies to respond to complex challenges. Participants engage with non-human stakeholders to gain new perspectives on the ongoing development of their place, a municipality in Sweden.

Visiting Timespace

Through a guided inner journey, participants “travel” to Timespace.

”It is said that Timespace came into being when the first spark of awareness rippled through the void. This ripple did not travel in a straight path; it spiraled outward, weaving a matrix of infinite pathways. Every choice, every breath, and every whisper left an imprint in this realm. Timespace became the domain where those imprints linger, not as memories but as threads waiting to be touched, stretched, or rewoven. In this domain, new realities can be conceived.”

Once suggested into this other reality, participants wake up in a changed setting reflecting the Timespace reality. Once inside, participants interact with mythical characters connected to the group’s task: learning about and imagining the future of their place. They meet with the spirit of the place Genius Loci embodied, as Genius Loci is an established concept in place development. Participants also interact with the grumpy Urd, the oldest of the three Norns in Norse mythology who weaves fate, which relates to the theme of the future.

The project combines techniques for inducing altered states of consciousness (i.e. a guided inner journey supported by music; elements of ritual; roleplay; and a narrative context) combined with classical process drama methodologies for collective imagination, where participants remain in character throughout the exercise, guided by drama and roleplay conventions like character immersion and collective action. The experience of Timespace as a reality in itself is achieved through a combination of guided meditation and sensory immersion (music, lighting, and props). The use of non-verbal communication, embodied exercises such as collective statues for story creation, and sensory engagement—such as light changes and tactile experiences—supports participants in maintaining an altered state of consciousness throughout the event.

Suspension of Disbelief: Crucial for Players in Professional Roles

It’s important to support participants in professional roles to step away from their usual analytical mindset and carefully transition them into a space where rational thinking doesn't dominate. The project therefore places special emphasis on methodologies to support suspension of disbelief, creating an environment characterized by mental openness, providing space for unconventional thoughts and ideas— as well as a context where thinking differently is the norm: the Timespace. During the pre-drama workshop, the group is provided with rational arguments about the method and approach. It is also crucial to offer participants a safe personal distance from the experience (they are assigned characters as their successors 10 years into the future), ample warm-up time, and sufficient post-reflection time.

Theoretical Foundation: Emotional Experiences

The drama draws from the pedagogical theories of Dorothy Heathcote, focusing on experiential learning through deep emotional engagement. Heathcote’s idea that emotional immersion is crucial for impactful learning was central to the design. The drama also referenced posthumanist theories, encouraging participants to engage with non-human elements connected to their place. This approach aligns with Gavin Bolton's theories on using drama to support cognitive development through emotional experiences, emphasizing that transformation often comes from experiencing rather than analyzing.

Results: Actual Travel

The drama successfully transported participants into the world of Timespace, where they reported having felt detached from their everyday roles and more capable of coming up with creative solutions. Comments from participants like “I truly felt like I travelled” suggested deep engagement with the process. When the group shifted its original focus from the future of the place to the future of the world (Urd’s agenda), it can be assumed they became fully engaged in the drama. Potentially, it achieved what Heathcote defines as the purpose of drama, “to dive deep into feeling and meaning”. Participants entered the post-drama workshop with a number of ideas for further integration into their place development process.

The drama was conducted as an examination project at the Process Drama – Drama as a Tool in Education course in May 2023 and developed as a team effort by Ylva Björnberg and Mikael Holmlund, a professional drama teacher-student. It involved a cross-disciplinary group of players tasked with a fictive place development process.

Sources:

Bolton, Gavin (2008) Drama för lärande och insikt. Om dramapedagogik i teori och praktik. Drama för lärande och insikt. Texter i urval av Anita Grünbaum [Drama for Learning and Insight: On Drama Pedagogy in Theory and Practice. Drama for Learning and Insight. Texts Selected by Anita Grünbaum], Daidalos, Göteborg.

Bowell, Pamela; Heap, Brian S. (2013), Planning Process Drama: Enriching Teaching and Learning, Routledge, New York.

Hallgren, Eva (2018) Ledtrådar till estetiskt engagemang i processdrama: Samspel i roll i en fiktiv verksamhet [Clues to Aesthetic Engagement in Process Drama: Role Interaction in a Fictional Context], Doctoral dissertation, Department of Humanities and Social Science Didactics, Stockholm University, Stockholm.

Heggstad, Kari Mjaaland (2014) 7 vägar till drama, grundbok i dramapedagogik för lärare i förskola och grundskola [7 Ways to Drama: A Basic Book in Drama Pedagogy for Teachers in Preschool and Primary School], Studentlitteratur, Lund.

Wagner, Betty Jane (2004) Drama i undervisningen. En bok om Dorothy Heathcotes pedagogik [Drama in Education: A Book on Dorothy Heathcote's Pedagogy], Daidalos, Göteborg.

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