I am driven by process, in both creating work and in life on a grand scheme. What intrigues me further is the space of process: what is left behind in evidence: physically, emotionally, accidentally or intentionally in the necessity of continuing on. By no means, is this a new or insightful concept-it is just what it is: an actuality. Anything that grows or builds requires tools and stages that are essential until they are cast aside. In order to get to one place, one needs to leave another. What is left behind provides fertilizer for future growth. Plants shed their casings, leaves, and blossoms to the ground that enrich the soil. Having my own growth begin with theatre and the stage, there is little more beautiful and comforting to me than a stage lit only by a ghost light-an open and eerie space of charged inactivity, waiting to be filled, both vulnerable and incensed. All stages are haunted. Much of my personal body of work, teaching and study explores the many different stages that exist outside of the traditional theatre: on the street, in classrooms, museums, public spaces, characters, interactions, it goes on. The less likely conceived to be a stage, the more interesting to explore. The first indication of a stage is the information left behind as evidence. The histories and mythologies borne, explored, and rediscovered in a constant cycle inevitably set a pattern of overexposure, chaos, beauty, loss and mixed messages in clues and remnants left behind. The beauty I see in a ghost-lit stage is a comfort of a charged space at rest. The strength and clarity of the single ghost light is a beacon. It is the starting point in a process-familiar, protective, and simple with an atmosphere of tools, fertilizer and risks to engage or avert.
It is this task of engagement that I set myself out to explore with Striding Lion in the creation of the Night Roars: Live Art Series and the development workshops that lead up to the evening of short, interdisciplinary performances. Simply put, Night Roars: Live Art Series is a cabaret in three acts, featuring new works in development by Striding Lion and artists within the community in an atmosphere infused by creative stations, interactive elements and visual art developed through the workshop process. The entire evening is interactive celebrating works-in-progress, the live art community, and the spirit of performance. The workshops, determined by discipline, are designed as a consistent forum for feedback, generation of different angles and ideas within a work in progress, and a haven in which to play, take risks and create in an accessible, secure and supportive environment.
This afternoon, I hosted the first workshop in a series devoted to Night Roars v.3 “House Party” entitled, “Building Home: mapping memory, history and objects.” As is every introductory workshop in a cycle, this one is based in generating material based on environments and public spaces. This workshop is divided into three sections:
The first section was spent in discussion and feedback of our individual proposed pieces for the upcoming Night Roars event, giving us all a collective understanding of the nature of the work to be developed, the questions that arise from both the creators and community, and considerations as to where these questions and tasks may lead.
The second section is task-oriented. The proposals for “House Party” are divided by the themes of home, security and chaos. I presented three definitions to the group(all pulled from Wikipedia):
A home is a place of residence or refuge comfort.[1] It is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and be able to store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living in the wild or in a domesticated environment. As an alternative to the definition of "home" as a physical locale, home may be perceived to have no physical definition--instead, home may relate instead to a mental or emotional state of refuge or comfort.
There are certain cultures in which members lack permanent homes, such as with nomadic people.
Security is the degree of protection against danger, loss, and criminals.
Chaos (derived from the Ancient Greek Χάος, Chaos) typically means a state lacking order or predictability. In ancient Greece, it first meant the initial state of the universe, and, by extension, space, darkness, or an abyss[1] (the antithetical concept was cosmos), but later uses of the term by philosophers varied over time. In modern English, the word is used in classical studies with the original meaning; in mathematics and science to refer to a very specific kind of unpredictability; and informally to mean a state of confusion.[2] In philosophy, and in popular culture, the word can occur with all three meanings.
With these definitions and the following tools and instructions, the group dispersed to explore neighborhood.
Tools to be used:
Stream of consciousness writing: For five minutes minimum, set your pen on your paper and write without letting your pen leave the paper. Allow yourself to just write, keeping no mind of format, disruption, change in direction to deter the writing. Just write.
Gesture/movement observation: putting the observation of gesture into your own body.
Sound/echoes: Listen to the sounds around you, and articulate them in your own voice or sounds you can make. Pay attention to echoes. Note them.
Personal perspective: infuses everything. If you have a piece in mind, identify the findings that are unexpected. If you are searching for a piece: identify the correlation(association) between what you find familiar versus what you find interesting.
Glean: take what you can from the atmosphere with what you have to collect-gestures, sounds, bits of conversations, objects, photographs
Using these tools:
walk until you are caught by something.(note-if you are not caught by something as ambiguous as “something,” walk along paths until they lead into a building or change of atmosphere.)
Attach yourself to a tool that attracts you. Use it. If one leads to another, use those, too. Use at least 3 tools
Find a way to subtly interact with/as a watcher(Don’t freak anyone out, just make a human connection of some sort)
Record this in some way, using tools as described.
Once everyone returned from their independent journey, we took to creating “maps” of our journeys using collage, shadow boxes and visual work. Fun stuff. Among the items brought back into the space were a few 1961 records of Hansel and Gretel, Disney’s Three Little Pigs, and some Vintage “Better Homes and Gardens/Ladies home Journal” magazines. We played the records, which were eerily creepy and familiar, boasting a Wolf Spanking Machine, and an evil Big, Bad Wolf who spoke only in German, advertisements for battery operated “personal massagers” and quizes from 1970 determining how tolerant women should be of extramarital affairs. Home, security, chaos…indeed. The collages built were interesting, chaotic and concise. A fun Sunday.
Past workshops include:
Title: Looking for love in all public spaces
Description: Writing exercises, observations, storytelling and interaction will be used to generate ideas and storylines as connective tissue by taking part in a scavenger hunt gleaning objects, emotions, tasks, interactions and development of relationships between people, architecture, objects and atmospheres to create uncover the love stories that take place all around us.
Location: Water Tower Place
Designed for: Artists of all disciplines seeking to generate material and transitions in new and developing work, overcoming creative blocks, and gleaning ideas and concepts from public arenas.
Led by Associate Artistic Director, Karen Louis. Karen has worked as a performer, teaching artist, costume designer and every other hat known to be worn with Striding Lion since 2002. She received a B.A.(Theatre) from the College of Wooster and an M.A.(Interdisciplinary Arts) from Columbia College. As a performer and teaching artist, she has also worked with The Women's Project and Productions(NYC), Playhouse on the Square(Memphis, TN), Healthworks Theatre(Chicago), and many other places along the way.
Title: Reinterpreting Fairy Tales-an exercise in music, movement and mythologies
Description: A selected fairy tale will be presented and expanded upon using music, movement exercises and clowning techniques.
Led by Company member, Dana Dardai. Dana Dardai has worked with the Neo-Futurists, Filament Theater,Stockyards Theater Project, New Leaf Theatre, and New Millennium. She is a teaching ensemble member of the Striding Lion InterArts Workshop and co-composed and performed on their album, "Birdsongs". She has also composed and directed music for "A.W.O.L" with the clown troupe Eleffant Foot. Dana studied the violin, voice and viola at the University of Evansville, clown with 500 clown and movement at Joel Hall and the Salt Creek Ballet.
Title: Visualizing Time
Description: Artists explore concepts of time, memory and mapping using movement, contact improvisation and text.
Led by Amanda Exley Lower - a modern dancer, choreographer, and the artistic director of Duende Dance Theater. A mom of two, she shares her passion for movement through performances, residencies, and classes.
Title:Necessary dialogues( Social Theatre/Theatre of the Oppressed)
Description: An exploration into building narrative and concepts of political thought through theatrical presentation. What is considered political? How is it articulated through the written word, body and performance? Where do these performances take place? What is the greater cultural meaning/evidence?
Title: Musical Duct Tape
Description: Designed to use sound, rhythm and songwriting techniques to explore deeper themes within presented work and further development of musical ideas.
Designed for: Those seeking to explore sound and music within their work and techniques in which to expand or instigate musical ideas.
Led by Christian Rogala, a Striding Lion Company Member for three years, an Honor Graduate at Berklee College of Music, Member of Fluid Minds: a Chicago based Rock Group. Also plays with many other musicians and styles of music.
Title: Characters, playing, speed-dating, Oh my! It’s a showcase showdown!
Description: Exploring the relationship between character identities, costuming, and engaging the audience, artists will play with character development, building, constructing and contorting costumes/props, and audience participation/engagement ideas to be used in the Night Roars event. Presentations will be set up in the schedule of appearance, games played, music continued, final thoughts and considerations.
Led by Karen Louis
