As we finish up our first premiere weekend of Arthur in Underland, and move towards our last, (performances run through March 18th) here’s some background on the piece, from the Director’s Note I wrote for the program: Arthur in Underland is one of the most personally vulnerable pieces I’ve ever made. It is based on […]
Emmaly Wiederholt interviewed “Arthur in Underland’s” Co-Director, Writer and Performer Mantra Plonsey about the creation of Dandelion’s new work: EMMALY WIEDERHOLT: What was the process of drawing from Eric’s personal history to write Arthur in Underland? Conversely, what is it like to perform in? MANTRA PLONSEY: Eric had recently completed the process of creating and producing AND performing […]
We’ve been working on A Mix Tape For Ophelia for about a year now, and from the beginning i knew it would be a combination of dance and theater. but no only has it been an interesting struggle to figure out what that means, where on the spectrum of performance arts we fall, it has […]
I’m a big fan of fermented foods and drinks: sauerkraut, tempeh, kombucha, rejuvelac, kim chee, wine, beer and more. It’s fascinating to me how completely new nutrients and beneficial bacteria develop when we let things settle for awhile. And then how new food and drink is created, not necessarily better than what was originally there, […]
Transitioning back to ordinary life after a performance run is difficult for me. And this particular transition out of performances of Dandelion’s Friend has been particularly difficult. Ram Dass wrote and spoke about how as he began to get in touch with larger and more beautiful spiritual experiences–as he got “higher” each time–the accompanying falls […]
My current favorite definition of the word “dance” is: “Impermanence made visible.” That seems to cover the immensity and the minutia of this slippery form. I’m particularly in touch with impermanence as Dandelion moves into our premiere of Friend tonight. It strikes me as odd how performance is what I pour my most extreme efforts […]
It’s been longer than I would have liked since my last post. I’m in the final stages of “birthing” our Friend project, and these past few weeks have felt like the major hump to get over. As I catch up with myself and the work, I’ll be posting some eclectic reflections from the adrenaline-fueled final […]
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There always seems to be surprise gifts that come from creating a performance work–things that enhance my life and/or art making that I didn’t expect to receive from the project. With the Friend project, a major gift has been a reminder about the joy of making stuff. By stuff I mean visual art (sculpture, collage, […]
I love mysteries. I love mystery novels and movies, and mysterious stories and myths. I love when spiritual teachers refer to the divine as the “Great Mystery.” More and more these days I’m seeing my performance work as a series of mysteries I’m immersed in. Each new performance project at times seems like something I’ve […]