The Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance

If you hear the word “birthday,” what do you think of? Birthday cakes? Parties? Presents? Getting old? Whatever you think of, those are associations.

Association is a useful tool for inter-actors. When you need an idea on the fly, if one doesn’t show up spontaneously, you can generate one using association.

The process is simple: Focus on the current situation, think of something related, then make an offer based on that.

The spect has established that he’s a physicist. Grace wants to explore that world, but she’s stuck for an idea. She considers things she associates with physics—science, gravity, Isaac Newton, the dropping apple. Grace goes with the idea of gravity and tells the spect that his experimental gravity reduction system has proven successful.

Any time you need an idea and inspiration isn’t providing one, try association. With practice, it can become a fast process. (It didn’t take much time to think of things associated with “birthday,” did it?) Association improves your mental agility and is a good way to generate ideas when inspiration isn’t there.