Kicking off the LMP Podcast, we have none other than Joe Binford!
Joe is a film-making-soccer-playing-world-romping bundle of positive chaos. He finds joy in the little things, and he brings excitement to the world around him. His laugh is infectious, and his spontaneity is out-of-the-park. In sum, Joe is a hoot-and-a-half.
It’s kismet for Joe to be the first guest on the LMP Podcast. In the short months that I had the pleasure of working with him, Joe and I shared scores of meaningful conversations, donned a choice selection of wigs, and went on many a wild golf cart ride. We danced and sang and paraded in the hallways. We held planks, lost (and rescued found) Frisbee’s, and swung on the swing at the studio backlot.
At the end of the day, I met Joe exactly when I needed to, in exactly the right context; Joe not only allowed me to play, he encouraged it.
Play has always been integral to my identity, but I learned to suppress my playfulness because assuming character traits like “mature” or “kind” seemed to attract more praise from my teachers. I always looked for the comment “a pleasure to have in class” on my progress reports, if that’s any indication of my desire to people-please.
As a kid, I was also discouraged from playing in the ways that I liked to for silly reasons. I was kicked off of multiple playgrounds for being “too tall.” I was pulled out of extracurricular activities because I was “too old” to be a beginner. I was kept outside of groups and clubs because I didn’t immediately fit in or I wasn’t skilled enough to compete or I just didn’t want to compete (literally, I just wanted to play).
I’m not really sure why my play was so policed. Part of it could be a benign consequence of growing up in a safe, small town. Part of it could be that my compliance made me an easy target. Part of it could be oversensitivity. None of these individual experiences were particularly traumatic, but I think they each chipped away at my innately playful nature. Regardless, I was hurt by these minute rejections as a kid because my intentions towards my play were always pure.
Now that I have been living independently of a system for a little while, I have started to take down some of the walls that I built around myself. I know that gravity is supposedly on my side in this metaphor, but I’m convinced that constructing the walls was much less of a feat than tearing them down has proven to be.
Thus far, three things have helped me feel more in touch with my playfulness:
Giving myself permission to take up space in the environments I choose,
Working on creative, fulfilling projects, either for myself or for others, &
Surrounding myself with people who want to play with me.
So, I’ve learned to treasure the people that I can be playful around. It is a privilege to see someone play, and I think it is a beautiful thing to share play with another.
I’m happy to say that Joe is someone I can be playful with. For that reason, and for so many more, Joe really “hits the rent,” and I am forever grateful for our friendship.
You can follow Joe, and all of his creative endeavors, on Instagram @directingwithaneditorseye.
Referenced people and materials:
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Lost Daughter (2021)
All music for the podcast lovingly created by Ian T. Jones.
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