Chinese Whispers/ Telephone & Consequences

To illustrate how meaning transforms through transmission we decided to begin our workshops in the villages with the game Chinese Whispers (or Telephone), a rapid example of the evolution of narratives over time through oral and pictorial storytelling traditions. A group sit in a circle; a nominated person whispers a short phrase in the ear of the person next to them, that person, in turn, repeats what they think they have heard to the person on their left and so on, until the message arrives at the last person in the circle. At this point they say aloud the message they have received. Inevitably this message will have changed meaning considerably. Often, the rhythm and cadence of the resulting phrase bears a resemblance to the original, each person making an approximation of what they have heard.

We also played Consequences.

The rules:

A piece of paper is folded into sections along its width, to create a loose, open fan shape. The first person draws the head of a creature, folding the paper over so that the next person to draw can only see two lines indicating either side of the neck; the next person draws the torso and the last person the legs and feet. In each case the person drawing only has guidelines that help to position their drawing so that the result, when viewed unfolded, fits together as a strange hybrid creature. The body is collectively assembled, but without knowledge of the collaborators actions.