Twyla is running as part of the bone party. Everyone deserves a good bone.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
The last 20 minutes of my life...
This weekend's recent happenings just turned into the biggest snake of thoughts and video cravings. If you'd like to spy on the goings on of my tired-Sunday-night-musical-theatre-deprived brain, follow along below.
11:44pm.
Apply a new red lipstick, for kicks.
Start off by thinking about Saturday night- a spur of the moment decision to go see the touring production of Chicago at the Wang (hahaha). A fun night with friends, but a very tepid production featuring an awkwardly disappointing Christie Brinkley. Find and read a review online, here, that is very gracious to the production.
11:46pm.
Get sad about the lack of awesomely perfect musical theatre in my life, get nervous about upcoming theatre prospects, get more sad about the injustice done to Hot Honey Rag in the show last night, find favorite version of the number from FOSSE... watch here, jump to 3:30 if you're lazy.
Debate with Ariane about Fosse logistics, think about what I love about Fosse in general, pin it on some serious committed embodiment of movement by decent Fosse-performers.
11:49pm.
Think about current piece at the College, no it's not plot-based, but how do I get my dancers that aren't making a career of dance to discover embodiment of movement/character, even when not playing a defined role... Think think think.
11:51pm.
Get bored of thinking, find favorite Fosse stuff from Damn Yankees, Pajama Game, Kiss Me Kate (laugh about how many times they sing the names Harry and Dick back to back).... find Fosse DVD and fire it up while thinking that it's a better time to watch than to sleep.
Fall in love with these musicals and numbers all over again... back to thinking about embodiment. I take for granted I work with a few wonderful dancers in Luminarium that are beyond proficient in finding their character within the work and channeling the movement inside and out. How to bring this to an amateur level... Moment of proudness for being picky in rehearsal tonight and attempting to coach theatrical moments and movement specifics out of the 8 college ladies I am working with. I don't like spellings things out, way more into discovery, but...
11:57pm.
Serious commitment to silly roles. Where else can we find it? Always with Gene! Is it too late to watch both Fosse and Singing in the Rain? Probably. Time for youtube substitutes to get my Singing in the Rain and American in Paris fixes. Urgh. Silly 2012. We take ourselves and some of our movement too seriously, sometimes.
11:59pm.
Have a laugh about the amount of pelvis in my own choreo. Sneaky sneaky jazz... who needs labels/genres anyways? No time for Slaughter on 10th to catch some video evidence of crazy pelvis action.
Mental note. I should return the box of Rogers/Astaire DVDs I borrowed from my mom. Other mental note, who has my copy of Anchorman? Other-other mental note... WHY can't Movin' Out revive itself? That show was way too short-lived. Third mental note, not really a note, more of a thought... why on earth can't my day job involve choreographing musicals? How amazing would that be? Day job = fun theatre candy, night job/real work = Luminarium. Wowza. That'd oddly similar to the days where I take a Ritalin and drink coffee and green juice all day and then go out for a cocktail with a friend. Woooooooooooo. Maybe that would be bad for me. Eh.
12:03am.
Moon some more over Gene Kelly (this is never confined to a specific amount of time), think about logistics of making a time machine and jumping in for Leslie Caron, here, so I can be serenaded.
12:06am.
Have a GREAT idea to chronicle the last 20 minutes. Write it all out. Find myself in the present (12:25) having wasted another 20 minutes by doing this. Still watching Fosse. I'd really like an apple.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Pointless.
I'm a bit sick of rules, society-established norms, preconceived notions, etc. Limiting. People would be happier if they didn't have to check their thoughts at their mouths and hold back actions. I am also going a bit nuts stuck on my street in this rain, wind and hype storm and it is a bit of a downer after a fun weekend. Weather isolation leads me to stew in what's currently bopping around in my head... Apologies to my blog. Self-imposed bedtime. Bam!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
fail.
That unfortunate moment when you pop a midnight Ritalin instead of a birth control pill...
Sigh. It's always something.
Sigh. It's always something.
Friday, October 12, 2012
real life.
While I am fortunate and lucky, see below post, I can't help but feel like I need more. Non-things, not material things.
procrastinating writing with writing?
This has been a weird week, some parts great, some parts gloomy. All parts freezing cold. Very Luminarium focused.
It's grant writing season again, and this has made me think about the company a lot (partially cause it's inevitable when writing pages and pages about your work). 2012 was our second full-year, our first real year after the first year. It by far had our highest highs, our lowest lows, but SO much success. I've learned about my process, learned about myself as a teacher, and learned even more about running a company. Maybe most importantly I've been enjoying growing a community of dancers (and collaborators) I love and value for different reasons, and that can work with how I work. I can realize now that I don't have to settle in who I work with (performers and otherwise), and that it's a disservice to me and my work if I settle.
Integrity. I spoke on this in the text/conText lecture we did a few weeks back. In that specific setting I was discussing it solely in reference to creating work. Unless it's a commission, or you just really owe someone a favor, I feel like work should only be created when there is a reason to create. I really dislike projects that serve to be purely self-gratifying, abstract for the sole sake of being weird, and also those that are tepid and half-hearted. I try very hard, if it isn't the root of my motivation already, to find a seed of something human in everything I make. I like to adopt the stories I explore, connect choreographic story lines with bits and pieces of my life experience, and hope what I make relates equally to whoever views it, in whatever way they find. I love criticism and discussion about my work, as long as the criticism is rooted in integrity... Constructive comments, if honest, are great because they mean people are watching and taking some interest.
Trust. My process is... well, my process. It's sometimes very roundabout, sometimes very tough to participate in as a performer. I know this, but I also know it doesn't work if the people I am working with have no trust in my work. A lot of my stuff comes together at the last minute, with a lighting idea, with a sound atmosphere, with some other magic... Anyways, I care about the pieces I make and wouldn't put my dancers onstage looking stupid or subpar and it doesn't work if the dancers I am intimately involved with don't believe it.
Future. Really, if Luminarium keeps going with equal upwards momentum I'll be pleased. I meaaaaaan, I had my picture on a full page of the Globe this year. Shazaam (yes, being an ass for the sake of being an ass here). Next year (2013) will bring about necessary changes based on what we've learned. We want bigger shows, more epic venues, more name recognition, and more collaboration. We want to pay our dancers more to further sustain performing arts in this community (and because they are awesome), and eventually to make a paying career out of what we do. Through all of this my ultimate goal is to not lose focus or personal integrity, and only make decisions for reasons I value.
Not too hard, right?
For now... back to writing small grants to sustain year 3! I already want to brag about this season so so so much, but no spoilers yet :(
It's grant writing season again, and this has made me think about the company a lot (partially cause it's inevitable when writing pages and pages about your work). 2012 was our second full-year, our first real year after the first year. It by far had our highest highs, our lowest lows, but SO much success. I've learned about my process, learned about myself as a teacher, and learned even more about running a company. Maybe most importantly I've been enjoying growing a community of dancers (and collaborators) I love and value for different reasons, and that can work with how I work. I can realize now that I don't have to settle in who I work with (performers and otherwise), and that it's a disservice to me and my work if I settle.
Integrity. I spoke on this in the text/conText lecture we did a few weeks back. In that specific setting I was discussing it solely in reference to creating work. Unless it's a commission, or you just really owe someone a favor, I feel like work should only be created when there is a reason to create. I really dislike projects that serve to be purely self-gratifying, abstract for the sole sake of being weird, and also those that are tepid and half-hearted. I try very hard, if it isn't the root of my motivation already, to find a seed of something human in everything I make. I like to adopt the stories I explore, connect choreographic story lines with bits and pieces of my life experience, and hope what I make relates equally to whoever views it, in whatever way they find. I love criticism and discussion about my work, as long as the criticism is rooted in integrity... Constructive comments, if honest, are great because they mean people are watching and taking some interest.
Trust. My process is... well, my process. It's sometimes very roundabout, sometimes very tough to participate in as a performer. I know this, but I also know it doesn't work if the people I am working with have no trust in my work. A lot of my stuff comes together at the last minute, with a lighting idea, with a sound atmosphere, with some other magic... Anyways, I care about the pieces I make and wouldn't put my dancers onstage looking stupid or subpar and it doesn't work if the dancers I am intimately involved with don't believe it.
Future. Really, if Luminarium keeps going with equal upwards momentum I'll be pleased. I meaaaaaan, I had my picture on a full page of the Globe this year. Shazaam (yes, being an ass for the sake of being an ass here). Next year (2013) will bring about necessary changes based on what we've learned. We want bigger shows, more epic venues, more name recognition, and more collaboration. We want to pay our dancers more to further sustain performing arts in this community (and because they are awesome), and eventually to make a paying career out of what we do. Through all of this my ultimate goal is to not lose focus or personal integrity, and only make decisions for reasons I value.
Not too hard, right?
For now... back to writing small grants to sustain year 3! I already want to brag about this season so so so much, but no spoilers yet :(
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Sleep is overrated.
Somehow I thought it would be a great idea to take a quick bubble bath before bed and here it is, 2:37. Whoops. The plus side is the smell of spearmint and eucalyptus is lingering in my nose, and i have brand new sheets since destroying my third fitted sheet in the last year. Seriously, I somehow end up tearing holes in each one... I've thought to film myself sleeping to get to the bottom of this but how could I find the attention span to watch that footage??
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