Physics/ Movement

I liked Body Cartography Project's 1/2 Life so much that I decided to go the their workshop at the Southern yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect- all I knew was that it somehow had to do with dance and physics.

The first exercise was something called "Authentic Movement" which I had heard of before but never really delved into it. We got into pairs, and one person moved through the space while the other witnessed. The person moving was supposed to listen to how their body wanted to move. I found that when it was my turn, I had a hard time not judging what I was doing. I kept on reprimanding myself for not being authentic enough, even though that was precisely what Otto Ramstad told us not to do. I also was very aware of being watched, even though I had my eyes closed. Still, I was able to tap into listening a little bit to what I felt my body was telling me. I ended up moving very much in a crouched, fetal position, with most of my movements generating from my core. I'd like to try more of this kind of exercise on my own.

In the second exercise, we again worked in pairs, and this time one person was supposed to be the scientist and the other the organism- or some sort of phenomenon that could be studied. A person could be a tree, or a cell, or a rock, or something like that. I started out being smoke, dissipating at first, and then entering the lungs, scraping at the blood vessels. This turned into me being a person dying of emphysema. I found it a lot more difficult to portray the scientist, because I wasn't very good at guessing what the other person was supposed to be. In the end, though I decided it was okay not to know, and to just be open to the other person and play. It was a lot more fun that way, anyway.

Then Bryce Beverlin gave a lecture on physics, and explained how hydrogen in the sun gets sucked toward the center via gravity and turns into helium. He also discussed black holes. We got into groups and were supposed to come up with a phrase based on Bryce's lecture. Our group decided to enact the hydrogen traveling toward the center of the sun via a folk-like dance, followed by dissipation. We joined hands, and made our way closer together, becoming more dense as we traveled, and then when we reached the center, transformed into helium, which was a much more peaceful, groovy state.

After the workshop, I've been thinking more and more about black holes. It might be kind of fun to use that as a starting point for a piece- either a poem or a play perhaps. I'll have to think about it a little more.

Dreams

Taja Will, who is also participating in Works In Progress at the Redeye with me, emailed me a survey about dreams that she is collecting as research for her piece. This was more than a week ago, but it has taken me this long to actually have a dream to write about.

I very rarely dream, but last night's dream was very vivid. It involved biological experiments, a triptych of rotting cloth on particle board, and more than a little anxiety. I wish that I was better at tapping into my dreams and using them for writing. They can be so rich in symbolism and imagery, it seems that artists who are able to channel that side of their brain can create work that is far beyond normal boundaries of the imagination. Artists that come to mind- obviously the surrealists- Dali, Magritte, I would say Garcia Marquez's writings are heavily influenced by dreams, as is Carlos Fuentes and of course David Lynch's work.

I am a very literal person, actually. Concrete. I like a + b = c. I get flummoxed when in art or books things don't make sense. Lynch drives me mad, actually. Which is not to say that I am not also fascinated by that kind of work. It intrigues me. There's a wrestling in my head as I try to make sense of it, a continual conversation between me and the text or image that goes on for infinity. It's something that I should play with, I think in my own writing. Just to try, mind you. What's the worse that could happen? I could simply decide that it doesn't work for me and move on.

In the past I've found that if I tell myself that I'll remember my dreams, I have a better chance of doing so. I'm going to make a concerted effort to make this happen.

Starvation Update

I met with Maggie Scanlan yesterday to discuss my Redeye solo show about the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Last week we had a workshop session with the other Works in Progress participants and I got some good feedback about the first five minutes.

As we presented it last week, it starts out with a person crawling very slowly, painfully slowly from the back of the stage to the front. Then there's a transition, and the second scene is Ancel Keys delivering a monologue, perhaps to a group of fellow doctors, about how they were going to be able to succeed with the experiment.

I got some good feedback. People seemed engaged with the physical energy that I was working with, although Steve Busa suggested that I might look into incorporating some Butoh movement. He also suggested that I start to think about differentiating the characters in the story.

So when I met with Maggie today we watched some Butoh youtube videos, which do indeed inspire me. I think incorporating that style of movement, or at least being influenced by it, is something I'd like to play with.

I also talked to Maggie about really taking a look at the main characters and try to develop a separate physical language, and vocal language for each. We're planning to do that on Friday.

I woke up very early this morning and started thinking about the visual aspect of the show. When I first thought of the piece, I had this idea that there would be projected images of the starving conscientious objectors at various points in the show. I scrapped that idea pretty quickly because it sounds technically difficult to pull that off, but lately I'm reconsidering the possibility, although I'm thinking more abstract images.

Last night I had an interesting conversation about how this piece is an attempt to intersect, or juxtapose, images of war, starvation, altruism, and patriotism. So this morning, when I got up early, I was kind of on the hunt for some images that might inspire me.

I haven't really found what I'm looking for, but it's a start. Below are a number of mostly pro-American propaganda images that for some reason or another drew me in. I'm hoping now to find more pieces of photojournalism from the war, from the starvation experiment itself, and of starvation generally. I'd also really like to find some abstract images that somehow relate to the themes. I most likely won't use these images in the show, but I'm thinking more that they could be a starting point for working on the piece visually and theatrically.


From WW2 in Color
http://www.ww2incolor.com/d/315891-2/life_245


From the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
Title: Disabled Veteren
http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/images/photodb/23-0318a.gif


From the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
Title: A record of Boeing-Witchita's 1,000th B-29 moving through the production lines.
http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/images/photodb/23-0475a.gif


From Northwester University's WWII Poster Collection
Title: Millions now don't get the food they need.
Publisher: [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. G.P.O.,
Date: 1941.
Format: 1 poster : b & w ; 64 x 51 cm.
Series: Make America strong series ; no. 2
Notes: "Dept. of Agriculture, Extension Service"--Monthly catalog 1941, p. 782.
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/img/ww1645-67.jpg


From Northwestern University's Poster Collection
Title: These breed danger : meals that are too meager, meals poorly prepared, meals low in protective foods.
Publisher: [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. G.P.O.,
Date: 1941.
Format: 1 poster : b & w ; 64 x 51 cm.
Series: Make America strong series ; no. 5
Notes: "Dept. of Agriculture, Extension Service"--Monthly catalog 1941, p. 782
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/img/ww1645-72.jpg


Title: Some can't buy : some don't know, some don't try.
Publisher: [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. G.P.O.,
Date: 1941.
Format: 1 poster : b & w ; 64 x 51 cm.
Series: Make America strong series ; no. 3
Notes: "Agriculture Department, Extension Service"--Monthly catalog 1941, p. 781.
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/img/ww1645-71.jpg




From Northwestern University's WWII Poster Collection
Title: 1 pound sugar allowance coupon /
Publisher: [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. G.P.O.,
Date: [194-?]
Format: 1 sheet : b & w ; 22 x 22 cm.
Notes: Sheet of 8 coupons. / "OPA form no. R-327"
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/img/ww1647-62.jpg


From Northwestern University's WWI Poster Collection
Title: We French workers warn you : --defeat means slavery, starvation, death
Artist: Ben Shahn
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/img/ww0207-05.jpg

Theatre of Disruption

There has been a change of plan. I went to the first meeting with the Seagull cast(s) tonight and learned that because of extenuating circumstances the original schedule for Lamb Lays with Lion Vs. Katie Mitchell's The Seagull has changed. Before, we were going to do a preview of the show at The Southern Theater's New Breed Festival followed by a full run of the entire show at the Fallout Center. When we were all gathered in a circle at the Fallout Center, Jeremy Catterton told us that he has made the decision to cancel the Fallout presentation and focus totally on what we are going to do at The Southern.

I honestly am happy with his decision. I feel that this gives us a narrower focus and an opportunity to really push the limits of what we can do with the piece. Jeremey said that in his conversation with Jon Ferguson, he asked "Do I have a right to spill blood onstage?" and Jon replied "Yes." (Note: I don't think we actually are going to be spilling blood onstage."

Jeremey said that he wasn't sure which sections of the script we are going to do yet in the 30-45 minutes we're allotted, but he knows definitely we'll be doing Nina's soliloquy, the play within the play, and the Horse scene. He said we could email him if their were certain moments that we really wanted to be kept in the new cut, but i don't think I'll do that. I haven't been with the project long enough to be married to any one line. I'm really happy to be part of something that is really groundbreaking as opposed to focused on my individual role. I mean, sure, I love the character of Masha, and I will work very hard to create a full and nuanced characterization within the context of Jeremey's concept.

We talked a little bit in the meeting about how things are actually going to work, which may change as we work through the process. The actors will be playing their characters and also themselves as actors. So there is a dual superobjective for each character/performer. The actor has a through-line in terms of the play's text, but meanwhile the character has a through-line in terms of the competition between the two casts. The way Jeremey demonstrated it, it seemed as if we might actually physically step in and out of the character and actor roles.

Some of the other techniques we'll be playing with are synchronicity and repetition. Nina's soliloquy may be delivered twice, for example, or the two casts may speak the same lines at the same time.

There also may be some interaction between the two casts. For example, if an actor is playing a scene, and is missing a prop, he may steal one from the other cast.

Because the actor from the Katie Mitchell cast has dropped out, Jeremy has decided not to recast him and instead his absence might actually be remarked upon and maybe the Katie Mitchell cast might even need to steal an actor from the Lamb Lays with Lion cast. This all will need to be worked out as we rehearse it.

Jeremey said that he didn't believe that ultimately there would be a "winner" in terms of the competition between the two casts. "I love all my children equally," he said. He added: "I want to stack the deck so that as much shit can go wrong as possible."

Huzzah. This is going to be fun.

Jane Gordon at the Northern Clay Center

I was really excited to see my high school friend Jane Gordon's work on display at the Northern Clay Center last night. This year, Jane was chosen to receive one of the Jerome fellowships, and she has been working on Gather/Disperse I and Gather/Disperse II for the last year. Today she leaves for Arizona where she's going to grad school.

Jane's work in recent years has predominantly been outdoor installations. A couple years ago she had a neato piece on Lake Calhoun called Migration which consisted of small ceramic objects assembled together in a pattern on top of the frozen lake. She's done other similar outdoor work as well, incorporating her ceramic work into the plant and animal life of the outdoors.

When I spoke to Jane yesterday, she said since she had the opportunity to present at a gallery through the Jerome Fellowship, she wanted to embrace the opportunity, and decided to create an indoor/outdoor exhibit. So outside of the Center you can see Jane's ceramic buds and flowers attached to the trees. Inside, along the walls, with the same color palette, there are fungal spore looking growths along the walls, and then large blossoms hanging from the ceilings. The blossoms themselves, gigantic and beautiful, seem to be the end of the progression started by the buds on the trees outside. Jane said that originally she thought the walls were going to be white, but when she learned they would be green, she adjusted the color scheme of the entire piece to blend into the gallery space.

I think I might go back today to take another look at the outdoor portion of the piece, since it was a bit hard to see last night.

Training

I've been immersed in some theater classes both last week and this week at Studio 206, in the Ivy Building, with two of my favorite people: Bob Rosen and Barbra Berlovitz. The classes are very affordable, as part of the studio's mission, and I felt that as I wasn't in rehearsal, I needed to take the opportunity to work on my craft.

I feel a little pretentious using the word craft, but really that's what it is. Actors, generally are fairly lazy. We learn our lines, and that's usually about it. How often do we exercise our technique when not in rehearsal? For me, not very often, especially since I've been out of school. So I felt I owed it to myself to spend two weeks of working on my practice.

Last week I took Barbra's Shakespeare class. I've taken it before, when I was doing the Deception at the Jeune Lune, but it was good to take it again. Barbra has a unique approach to Shakespeare. Her first training was with Jaque Leqoc, which was mainly physical work. With the Jeune Lune, she worked on many Shakespearean and Classical texts, and in recent years has studied with voice guru Patsy Rodenberg. So her approach is both very physical and breath oriented, which I like.

What's interesting is that while she approaches the work physically, she also encourages her students to simplify. So much of what young actors do is extraneous. She asks: Why are you making that gesture? Can you get rid of the tension in your face? Because just moving your hand, or raising your eyebrows, doesn't do anything: it's not connected to the text, or to the emotion. One of the most difficult exercises for me was to try and do my monologue only with movements in my torso. I realized how much I rely on my arm movements to speak.

This week I've been taking Bob's devising class, which is something that I could do for every play that I'm in. Instead of simply performing a play, it's about creating a piece of theater using multiple sources- text, music, an image, and simply creating an idea using play and improvisation. It takes an incredible amount of trust and courage, but I find it a lot more rewarding in the end. If I had my way, I'd be in a theater company that worked in this way for months at a time before ever performing something on stage. Hahaha. I know this will never happen in this country.

Mumma Mummies

I happened to be at the Bloomington Arts Center yesterday and I checked out The Mummy Paradox, a rather bizarre collection of clay multicolored mummies.

The first thing you notice when you enter the gallery is a group of 50 mummified cats all facing one direction. They stand upright, and in front of them is a little mouse that I almost stepped on because I didn't notice it. It's a whimsical piece, almost cartoonish. Like much of the exhibit, I felt like the artists were playing and having fun with their theme.

Many of the pieces consist of miniature clay mummies housed inside of "reworked vintage printer trays" (as the artists say in their notes on the piece). Denise Rouleauf and Mark D. Roberts seem to be playing with the idea of pattern. The mummy figures, configured in their drawers, or lined up on pillars, seem to be waiting for the afterlife as if that moment will occur in a very categorical and organized way. There is something quite unnerving about all the little embalmed figures grouped together, even when the figures are bright blue or some other vibrant color.

In some of the pieces, such as "Crucifix", Christian images are juxtaposed with the Egyptian motif. Similarly, some of the mummies take the shape of Catholic cardinals or monks. Perhaps the artists are trying to point to the universality of death- that while beliefs and rituals surrounding death vary from one belief system/ culture to another, we all ultimately end up in the same place.

While the mummies often made me go "aw!" with how cute they were, there was also something frightening about them all lined up together. The program notes indicate that the artists were attempting to explore "the magnitude of generations; the significance of ritual; and the notion of individual identity within the broader scope of the human condition." I think they carried off their goal fairly well- there definitely was a feeling of a sacred space in the gallery. However, at the same time, I felt that the comedy evident in some of the pieces (the mummy gumball machine, for example) took away from more serious questions that the artists seem to be asking.

Collaboration

I've asked Maggie Scanlan to help me with The Minnesota Starvation Project. I should say that I've asked her to direct it, although I haven't used that word yet, to her or to myself until just now. I asked her to collaborate with me on it, to help me shape it, to give me feedback, etc. But to ask her to direct it- implies a certain relinquishing of power that I know I need to do but am scared to.

This play is my baby. It has been percolating in my head for years, and I've written several versions of it. It takes a certain amount of humility to be able to say: I need help with this, I can't do it by myself.

As an actor, it's a lot easier for me to work with a director. I think of myself as a hired gun: I do my job, as I know how to do it, in order to carry out the vision of the director and/or writer (if that person is alive). I feel very confident in my abilities, and it doesn't hurt my feelings if I'm told that I made the wrong choice. Perhaps this comes from spending three years of grad school being constantly torn apart- I developed a thick skin.

With writing it's different. I feel a lot more possessive of the work, and a lot more insecure. I have had horrible experiences letting other people direct my work, so much so that for years I absolutely refused to allow anyone direct it but myself. But there is a certain limitation to this approach. This fall, for the first time in nearly eight years that I allowed someone else to direct something I wrote. It was a ten minute play I wrote for Commedia Beauregard's Masterworks: The Goya Plays. I feel like it was a good exercise in letting my work go. It was good practice, and the fact that I wrote the play specifically for the project helped, because I wasn't uncontrollably invested in it.

Also this fall I was in a play that I think was a good example of what a healthy collaboration can be. I had the opportunity to perform with Barbra Berlovitz in her play Stories as Told in a Bed which was directed by her longtime friend and collaborator Bob Rosen. The two had a shorthand form of communication, from their 30 years of working at Theatre de la Jeune Lune together, that was so fun to watch. In a way the dynamic they developed between writer/author and director is one that I would like to use in my own work. While clearly the play was Barbra's vision, she let Bob take charge the artistic direction of the piece once rehearsals started. It was a beautiful balancing act of listening, communication, and play.

I hope that Maggie and I can find a similar fruitful way of working. I know it's possible. We've done a number of shows together and I consider her a great friend. I feel some of my best acting work was done with her as a director. With that knowledge, I plunge ahead, trying to keep my eyes open, trying to keep breathing.

A tale of two Seagulls.

I'm starting to think about the next play I'm going to be in. I'm playing Masha in Lamb Lays With Lion Vs. Katie Mitchell's The Seagull. It's a part I've always wanted to play, and I'm thrilled that my first venture in performing Chekov outside of school will be this daring conceptual production.

I studied Chekov in school, both in undergraduate and graduate school, and there is definitely a mystique about it. Everyone has their ideas about the "right" way to perform Chekov's plays. While some "experts" say that humor must be part of any Chekov production, other says that playing the subtext is the most important thing. The result of erring too far on one side of the other is either a very shallow play or a very drab one.

The concept for Lamb Lays With Lion's production is that there are two casts performing The Seagull. One cast, inspired by British auteaur-director Katie Mitchell will interpret the play with period costumes and set, and "naturalistic yet simultaneously symbolic" acting, as one critic described Mitchell's style. (sidenote: Ms. Mitchell did give her permission for the project).

The other cast will employ only four actors, and it will be set in modern day, with a very different interpretation (I'm unclear about what that interpretation is at the moment, but I'm sure it will be a bold choice).

The two casts will rehearse separately, and come together toward the opening. Jeremy wrote me today, and used the analogy of Two-Face from Batman to describe the technique. "One face, one play. Different halves, co-existing but vying for control." Excellent.

So it should be a fun experience. Now I just need to start working on my lines so I can be off book for the first day of rehearsal, and start thinking about my character. More on that later.

"Origins to Endings" at Altered Esthetics

Tonight I went to the gallery opening for Origins to Endings at Altered Esthetics. I've been wanting to make it to the gallery for years now, but this was my first time there.

AE has been around since 2004, and I learn from their website that they are entirely volunteer-run. Their website states: "Altered Esthetics provides a venue where artists can create "art for art's sake" - not because it will match somebody's couch." So, pretty noble aspirations. I appreciate the love of art that goes into an organization like this. It takes a lot to ask people to volunteer their time. I think people do it because they are compelled to, from deep down. They know that what they do deserves payment but they will do it anyway, for free, because they don't know how they would exist without it. That's the beauty of an artist- run organization. It's also why so many are just holding on by their teeth. I hope the best for AE- they seem to be a little organization with a lot of heart.

As for the show, there was very little description in the program notes, or in their publicity. The publicity blurb reads: "An exhibit that examines the mysteries of life. From creation to the afterlife, evolution to the flood, artists explore the stories and legends of how things were, have been and will be." What I found this to mean was art that depicted ghosts, gods and saints, with the occassional scary clown and skeleton.

While the some of the works delve deep into the macabre, such as Patrick Vincent's eerie prints of skulls and bones and Gail Kern's grotesque political "horseman of the apocalypse" paintings, other works offer images of mythic and spiritual symbolism. I was entranced by Melody Williams's ceramic sculpture decorated with glass beads "The Seduction of the Innocent", based on C.S. Lewis's "Perelandra" and her "Guaia", a magnificent depiction of the earth mother goddess made with clay and twigs.

Jennifer LaCasse offers a completely different spin on the theme, critiquing the role that extreme religion plays in society. Her large, realistically painted nightmares show the horrors of religion when it controls people's lives.

I'm definitely glad I took the time to stop by the exhibit. Hopefully I'll be able to see future shows at Altered Esthetic as well.

Here are a few of the works that can be seen on the artists' mnartist pages:

Promethea, by Erika Tenjack, Intaglio

Martyr by Jennifer LaCasse, Acrylic, charcoal and mylar on canvas, 30 x 48.

Baptism, by Jennifer LaCasse, Acrylic, charcoal and mylar on canvas, 36 x 48.

That Old Time Religion, by Jennifer LaCasse Acrylic, charcoal and mylar on canvas, 48 X 96.

1st, 3rd, 3rd, and 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse

Old Testament Mosaic, by Julie Reeve Stained glass and beads

Cowboy Crow Rides the Pale Horse of the Apocalypse by Patrick Vincent