The Art of Imagination and Make-believe
Contributor
Written by
Karen Devaney
January 2014
Contributor
Written by
Karen Devaney
January 2014

Since the age of five, I have indulged in make-believe; wrapping towels around my head transforming myself into a queen or a maiden or Rapunzel dangling from a castle window. Sheets transmuted into  exotic robes or forts or tents that you could only enter after reciting a secret code. I have not lost the ability to pretend and although I only wrap towels around my head after a shower and usually put sheets on a bed, make believe remains as essential as water to me.  It is a practical tool for pursuing a passion into reality; seeing yourself as the physician or musician stokes the fires of persistence.  Or in my case as a writer, performer the art of make believe leads me down sinuous alleys unseen by the naked eye. Imagination feeds my visions and dreams and lifts me out of the doldrums.  Make believe invents possibilities creates new realities amid what may appear irrational unfeasible. All too often society’s mantra is; “That’s not realistic.” when it comes to imaging the impossible defined as not practical or profitable.  But when you look at all the great artists, scientists, or philosophers—they all were/are practitioners of make believe asking the “what if” question and answering it against all odds.

These moments of what if’s come in a menagerie of sizes from the grandiose to the miniscule.  Seeing the change or the goal in the mind’s eye through imagination and make believe gives it energy momentum.  Using the imagination helps us problem solve through make believe scenarios.  In today’s frenetic society we have less and less time to imagine because the endless river of stimuli snatches our attention.  I have to consciously carve out imagination time—let my mind wander into the forest of make-believe. 

While growing up my father made up nightly bedtime stories while my mother blasted classical musical and lauded the theatre.  As a middle class family going to a live theatre or an orchestra production was hardly in the budget but we attended regularly in our imaginations.   The seeds were planted--I fell in love with it all music, theatre, writing, dance. My sister and I produced live shows complete with costumes (from the “dress-up” box) for our parents and friends.  Make believe is what brings prose and plays to life otherwise they would simply be words on a page.  It would not be practical to eliminate the art of make-believe; which I might add is not the same as being delusional!

Make believe or pretending on many occasions has gotten me to the place I want to be—literally.  When I was first studying theatre—although I had no experience—I had imagined myself many times on stage. I made believe I was confident regardless of my nervous system telling me otherwise and landed the leading female role in an enormous ensemble production.  Despite the harrowing first rehearsals, it was an exhilarating experience that forever changed the course my life.

As a children's writer make believe allows me to disguise messages in characters that are direct descendants of my imagination.  All children's writers--rely on their ability to see what is not there to let their mind run amuck as if in a waking dream state--where fish can sing, dogs talk, and elephants can fly around the world.  Make believe breaks down or introduces  challenging concepts for children--parable like.    

Make believe can take us to places long archived in time.  All of us have familial stories that are passed on mutating as they tumbled from one generation to another; some so embellished they are barely unrecognizable.  But the threads that link them to their essence remains no matter how exaggerated.  Imagination unveils stories that survived and allows us a glimpse of “what may have been.”  History relies on imagination and make believe—the pretending to be in a particular time give the writer the impetus to write about it.  It is impossible to really know what Shakespeare intended when he wrote Romeo & Juliet or what day to day life was like during The Merchants of Venice but through speculation and imagination we interpret.

Create a make-believe tradition; when my daughters were younger the night before their birthdays I'd slather the living room with balloons and crepe paper. When they awoke surprised and elated, I told them “It was the birthday Elves.”  They loved it and plan to carry this on when they have their own children (eek let’s hope that is not for a long time!).  I say it is time to bring back the art of make-believe let it roam free again in our modern society that is bogged down with constant googling and fact finding.  Let our children develop not merely math skills but their imaginations as well.  Rather than more why not less—why not indulge in making forts out of sheets and cardboard boxes or wrapping towels for crowns—cut the bonds that chain us to computer games and numbingbelievestimuli.  Make believe can cure sadness, teach, entertain,  and bring world peace—if we only imagine.

Let's be friends

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