The Institute for Men
What your Relationship with your Father?

A brand new project (2025), the Institute for Men (IM) is an ever-shifting collective and container for art-based research. The IM is for anyone marked by manhood (i.e. everyone). Facilitated by Andrea Sisson (artist & licensed social worker) and Eliza Lu Doyle (artist & educator) since winter 2025, the Institute has gathered regularly under the premise of rehearsal-without-end.

We are not concerned with fixing manhood so much as finding new ways to make contact with it. In curiosity we ask, what is the contemporary man? What does manhood mean to us as a social collective and as individuals? What is the future of manhood in a uptopian society? Let us not leave men behind (including our inner men). Shifting indiscriminately between discourses like psychoanalysis, posthumanism, somatics, group relations, and the queer utopoian agenda, we rehearse together. We enter the space multiple, bringing along our inner men, our outer fathers, and any other Men that may emerge.

Through creative inquiry and an ethos of play, we research to produce new knowledge. Together, we move through structured discussions, writing prompts, and movement scores, hoping to culminate with performances, workshops/classes, and a collaborative text/reader/artbook with contributions from all participants, edited by Sisson and Doyle.

Our first event provides an example:

Event #1:

  1. Introductions

    1. Your name

    2. The name of your inner man (qualities/what is he like?)

    3. What’s your relationship with your father? (qualities/what is he like?)

    4. Would your father and inner man get along…?

  2. Movement

    1. To a “manly” musical playlist, move around the room as your inner men. How do they walk? How do they interact with other men in the space?

    2. Next, move around the room as your fathers.

    3. Then again as your inner men.

    4. Next, sync your movements with the person closest

    5. Continue moving as a group

      1. [In our event an army emerged, a troope moving in synchronicity and marching, together.]

  3. Role Play:

    1. Split into two groups - one group comprised of those that want to be a savior/hero and the second comprised of those that want to be saved.

    2. In these groups, discuss your savior/saved fantasies.

    3. Next, pair up (one savior and one saved). Discuss your savior/saved fantasies and design a pose or scene to present to the group.

    4. Each duo takes a turn presenting to the group.

      1. [In our event a duo emerged, one honorably knighting the other]

  4. Put your inner men to sleep

    1. Take a man nap

  5. Discuss and Close-out

    1. What were your gains from this event?

    2. What happened for you?

    3. What do we want to do next?

Please reach out to Andrea and Eliza if you’re interested in joining a rehearsal event, have an activity you’d like to offer, would like to host an event, or would just like to learn more about our research and upcoming rehearsals, workshops, or performances.
Andrea - andreasissonal@gmail.com
Eliza - elizalu4@gmail.com

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