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 […]
PART 1 PART 2
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 […]
I was reminded yesterday of how helpful work in progress showings are. I often forget that this is an experimental form we’re working in, and that experimental forms need actual experiments. While performances are experiments, they are high-pressure ones, and I learn as much, if not more from showings along the way. Here’s some excerpts […]
One of the things that is shifting in me in response to the recent death of my friend Sharon Mussen is a re-prioritizing of friendship. I had a professor in grad school tell me once that I should never direct my friends in my projects–that the roles become too confusing. Even though I respect this […]