The Follies is a core feature of ACBS conferences. At the ACBS World Conference 15 it will take place on the Saturday night from around 21:00 – 23:00. Basically it’s a cabaret show, filled with funny songs, sketches, stand-up comedy routines, humorous PowerPoint presentations, pre-made videos, etc. And all of this funny and talented content is created by YOU: the conference delegates!
There will be a cash bar to facilitate you getting in touch with your values as a performer (yeah, right…), after the Follies there will be dancing.
There are very few rules regarding the content – Firstly it has to be short (around 3 minutes is perfect. Longer, and the shepherd’s crook will be sweeping you off the stage!) Secondly, any aspect of ACT, Mindfulness, Behaviourism, therapy, RFT, CBS or any of the people you know in the ACT / CBS Community is fair game to be (gently and kindly) mocked.
The Follies actually comes from an important tradition: in the past ‘The Truth’ was what an authority deemed to be true. Then science came along and people started to look to their direct observations to determine what was true. But of course, human beings being as we are and loving to categorise things in hierarchies, began to automatically create hierarchies of people who could directly observe what was true and hence we have scientific authorities. The purpose of the Follies is to ensure that no idea, and no person in this community who has an idea, is immune to question, playfulness, challenge.
So delegates: get your creative powers focused, anything you have seen in the ACT world that deserves to be made fun of is fair game. Produce your sketches, songs, PowerPoints, stand ups and either email sonjavbatten@gmail.com or daniel.moran@comcast.net to ensure I have your name down for a place in the Follies or come and see me during the conference (Hurry you only have the first day to do it).
Our top tips are: if you have a funny song, produce a PowerPoint with the lyrics so people can see and sing along. If you are looking for a backing track to sing to, this is a good site: http://www.karaoke-version.com/
As a taster, and to inspire you to action here are some superbly talented videos that have been shown at previous ACBS World Conferences, courtesy of Daniel Ek:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afnJYSvkqSA&feature=youtu.be
Here is one from our very own Joe Oliver: CBS Wars
https://contextualconsulting.co.uk/insights/cbs-wars-acbs-conference-follies-2015
And here is one from the Utah State and Nevada students from 2010:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cXb3rpU8M4
The fun doesn't stop when the Follies end!
Immediately following the Follies we invite you to join us for a dance with "DJ CFunc", a.k.a Eric Morris. See you on the dance floor!