This week, I analyzed the wrong day of the week, peeled an onion with my bare hands, explored the blinding realms inspired by fringe faced creations of Rainbow Kimono (rainbowkimono.com), and realized one of the cutest dreams I have ever had in my life while touring overseas with Baby Bushka (ilovebabybushka.com), the guinea pig and the mouse under water. Sean Francis Conway put forth an awe-inspiring offering of philosophy in his performance, "Sweeping Event." Amongst these many performances, art church and soul challenge events, and previous performance art instances, there has been an intentional and lightly serendipitous recycling of materials at play. Three blue piñata hitting sticks were purchased in 2020 for a Kilikili performance at SDMAAC one was used for "Hit it like you're never gonna hit it again," 2 were used actively as movement pieces during Symposium Church of Art to represent the push and pull of "the mother" and "the father," and this week, 2 were used again to help bring to life the swimming guinea pig. The "Make out with your fears" mannequin heads were also recycled from that Kilikili performance. In another instance, there were 12 wooden stage legs brought to Tenam to try out different height options for the stage that would be. These legs were used during the first Symposium Church of Art "What is goodness?" as a way of introducing those present to one another and an opportunity to bare witness to the goodness of our creations. Following this, those stage legs sat around as a decorative piece in the studio for a while until this week, 4 of them were turned into handles for the puppet guinea pig performance.
In collaboration with Kalabash School of Music and the Arts (kalabasharts.com) props and costumes on their way to the trash have been given the opportunity to take on new form in these 15min pieces such as the gorilla suit for "Ishmael," the bird costume and cards in "Shame is good for the prevention of destruction," and the rock face creations in "Under the spell, endure the wanting." I'm sure there will be more, great re-using of materials between these spaces to come, and I am extremely grateful to have an artist community.
Monday August 15th
Title: “Analyzing Wednesday”
Instructions: Analyze the poem from last Wednesday’s* performance “OMG I CAN CROSS MY OWN BOUNDARIES.” If more time, analyze the concept of Wednesday. Analyze next Wednesday potentially.
Why? The concept of an unsolicited lecture. I wanted to analyze the poem because I write poetry with open ended metaphors that even I don't fully sit with. I wanted to sit with those connective gestures. I also wanted something on display
Rehearsal discoveries: I printed a picture of my calendar and the poem. Figured I'd set up a desk and a microphone scenario and just riff. Nancy told me I have a way of speaking in poetry, so anything I say is going to be interesting and entertaining. I believe she is correct when I channel such energy and focus.
Performance write up: There was not enough time to get through all of Wednesday including analysis of the poem. I realized in the evening after this performance when uploading videos, the poem was performed on TUESDAY!* This whole performance was supposed to be "Analyzing Tuesday." One mistake set forth an entirely different pathway. What a nice truth to remember and elevate.
In regard to how enthralling/hot this performance was able to be, I got a couple laughs and smiles. It seems at par with the energy of a podcast, delightful and easygoing. Podcasters speak, and they find it all worthy.
I chose to address the audience with eye contact much like an english teacher would lecture on the meaning of a written subject. No one who came was given the information that I would be lecturing them. The concept of an unsolicited lecture was part of the initial motive. It's nice how an academic tone can hold space for the emotional caverns of artistic depth. Additionally, it felt slightly vulnerable to have my thoughts on display through speech versus some coded medium like movement or music. Speech is so defined by the character speaking. Academically, we all want to sound like we know what we are talking about, and if I hadn't been in the space and experienced age to speak that way, I'm sure this performance would have been this other type of struggle.
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Tuesday August 16th
Title: “Peelings”
Instructions: Peel onion with bare hands. Talk about feelings. Say "peelings" instead of "feelings."
Why? Some idea. My dad is filipino and puts on the accent sometimes when he says the word feelings (peelings.) It just seemed like something worth doing.
Rehearsal discoveries: Looked up what feelings are chemically. Found that it boils down to stress, reward, and punishment. I'm oversimplifying, but good enough. Three onions it is!
Performance write up:
I was tired. I was out of it. I felt like I had nothing to say. The art, then, was the experience of forcing statements out when I didn't want to speak. No one was present for this performance. This kept me in my head versus addressing another life form. For this reason, the mood remained heady and introspective. I imagine if anyone was present listening, my survival mode capacities would have heightened to the point of speaking more coherently directed toward some idea or person. There was some shame of not preparing enough to talk about feelings. I think, initially, I just wanted to peel onions. I felt I was peeling at the difference between what strikes people dead in the heart and what confuses people to a point of meaninglessness. Peeling a realization about a difference existing. Why did I talk about shame so much when it came to punishment. Peeling ashamed of being dumb. It all boils down to sleep, food, and yoga.
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Wednesday August 17th
Title: Vortex Bodies
Instructions: Wear the blue and purple fringe face by April of rainbowkimono.com, and embody melancholy, introspection, tranquility, and deepness.
Why? To experiment with April's fringe face pieces. To create an intentional moment in time with emotional expression.
Rehearsal discoveries: Didn't rehearse beyond selecting an outfit and light yoga.
Performance write up: I discussed a few topics with those present following the performance. At one point, I created eyes with my hands, and artist friend Tony described this as a "mask on top of mask" moment. We all spoke of how this, as a silent performance was non-invasive and reminiscent of dolls in a display box. Despite how non-invasive this type of performance is, there remains the element of artistic intervention happening to any passerby's without the intention of coming to watch. They become part of the performance to the audience present every time they step in front of the "box." They may experience questions like "Did i just see that?"
My experience was pretty sad. I emphasized melancholy in my exploration, and in doing so, fed into the feeling. I attempted to embody feelings, and they ended up literally in my body because of it.
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Thursday August 18th
Title: “the guinea pig and the mouse underwater”
Instructions: Interpret your dream about a guinea pig standing under water and a mouse swimming under and between the guinea pig's cute little feet.
Why: I had this dream while on the Baby Bushka tour. It was so cute, I got teary eyed talking about it on the tour bus. I couldn't contain myself. I said, "Hey everyone, I have to tell you about this dream." Literally, it was just this image of a guinea pig and a mouse under water.
Rehearsal discoveries: At first I thought there would be no words. Nancy offered that I provide commentary and analysis of the dream. I realized the best way to capture the essence and represent the cutest of cute was to speak minimally with specific cute/curiousity inducing statements. In speaking less, there would be inherent spacing and greater emphasis on the few words chosen.
In the morning rush, I designed this guide board and placed it in a position of sight reference, using green for staging, red for commentary, and blue for actions more or less
Performance write up: The reactive narrative element (me saying things about it) felt awesome and perfect for the vision. It was precisely what the piece needed. Watching the performance back, I am thrilled at the spacing and how silly.
Funny enough, I set a timer with interval notifications to help me gage 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 min, and I completely misinterpreted it, resulting in yet again, another beautiful mistake that would reshape and reimagine the plot. Essentially, the playful, swimming moment where guinea pig and mouse have met under water was supposed to be the end, but it became the middle because I anxiously doubted my sense of time and rushed after thinking the "time left" was the "time passed." Since I made it to this "endpoint" early, I decided to take the guinea pig back home. It ended up being proper in that, if I had paced it all much slower, it may have been too slow. The additional actions brought about a comfortable place. Not so comfortable for my anxiety, but seemingly a decent show.
View on Youtube -----> https://youtu.be/n1dwk54vJLI
Friday August 19th
Title: “Sweeping event”
Feat. Sean Francis Conway
Sean came dressed in a white button up shirt with a black tie, sensible shoes and pants, and these tools: a broomstick, hand broom, sweeping pan, utility belt, and utility apron. He drew a circle with chalk on the floor outside and began sweeping debris into the circle. Unexpectedly, he spoke, and when he spoke, wisdom poured from his mouth into our ears.
Watch and learn on youtube----> https://youtu.be/ugle54Pwbo4