An earned presence: studying the effect of multi-task improvisation systems on cognitive and learning capacity

The Demands of Performance Generating Systems on Executive Functions: Effects and Mediating Processes

“…These findings confirm and deepen our understanding of the benefits of conscious analysis, strategic reflection, and problemsolving in the context of improvisation practices (Hansen and House, 2015;Hansen and Oxoby, 2017). The results furthermore support the critique of an over-emphasis on presence in classical improvisation approaches, voiced by contemporary improvisors and PGS creators (Drinko, 2013;Sarco-Thomas, 2014;Midgelow, 2015;Hansen, 2018).…”

“…The concept of DST draws on dynamical systems theory to define the boundaries (performance context), energy resources (source materials), parameters (tasks and rules), variables (performer training and memories), and attractors (e.g., learning curve, competition, fatigue) of these systems (Hansen, 2015). Analytical and dramaturgical work invested in understanding how these systems generate performance has led to theories about the cognitive demands they likely place on performers (Hansen and House, 2015;Hansen and Oxoby, 2017). In this regard, there is a relevant difference between PGS and the classical forms of improvisation introduced as interventions in the EF studies previously mentioned.…”

“…They address this problem by developing strategies that counter their trained tendency toward repetition and provide more limited options (e.g., inhabiting a new space with each movement or shifting relationships with co-dancers or between body parts). As they do so, complex ideas become meaningful and a vast amount of information becomes clustered to avoid working memory overload (Hansen and Oxoby, 2017). As these examples indicate, PGS require performers to both:…”

“…Experiential knowledge was then built onto this understanding, rendering it operational. This choice was based on the results of a pilot study into embodied and conceptual learning through PGS that Robert Oxoby and Pil Hansen completed in 2016 (Hansen and Oxoby, 2017). In this pilot, qualitative data revealed that students who engaged with both the conceptual analysis of the systems and participated in the experiential exploration of them advanced beyond students who only engaged with one of these components.…”

Hay w wykonaniu House’a. Ocena zasad kreacji i wymagań poznawczych systemów performatywnych

“…Wraz z Robertem J. Oxobym (ekonomistą behawioralnym), Viną Goghari i Emmą Climie (psycholożkami eksperymentalnymi) zaczęłam sprawdzać te hipotezy w pilotażowych badaniach eksperymentalnych na Uniwersytecie Calgary (zob. Hansen, Oxoby 2017). W poniższej pracy wspólnie z House'em omawiamy wyzwanie, jakim jest opis I'll Crane for You (zarówno pod względem zasad kreacji, jak i procesu uczenia się) za pomocą teorii układów dynamicznych.…”