I've been thinking about international collaboration lately...how does it work? Envisioning ways to create work across culture and geography that result in something richer, something new. When I went to Africa, I had the chance to exchange ideas and techniques with other theater artists, even the opportunity to work on a new play. But what would a larger-scale project look like? What would the result be?
So the SF International Arts Festival is on right now, and I went to see "Yes, Yes to Moscow", a collaboration between American and German artists that premiered in Berlin last year. It's an ensemble physical theater piece in both languages, based on Chekov's Three Sisters. Experimental, yet charming. Seriously. Great aesthetic and movement, so many well-crafted moments, never took itself too seriously...and it felt cross-cultural somehow. I enjoyed it, even without understanding the sections that were in German and not remembering most of the Chekov plot...
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
This is a Woman's World...
I've been thinking a lot about women. As someone who was never afraid to call myself a feminist, even as we continue to experience a backlash (and it has gone on and on, in a myriad of subtle and not-so-subtle ways) in this country, and who has devoted most of my visual art and theater practice to issues of gender, it's always on my mind in some way, shape, or form. Right now I'm thinking about what women carry...we do have the weight of the world on our shoulders. The emotional space we occupy, the deep love we feel that makes us that much more vulnerable to guilt, pain, and sorrow. The circumstances we find ourselves in that pit us against each other, even when that is not our wish. It's a question of systems and values, and it's global. No one is immune.
But I also am reminded constantly how strong we are and can be--how we step up for each other, without expecting anything in return, the inner resources we think we don't possess but that we find just when we least expect them to kick in. It's a gift.
In discussions about gender, I've always said that never in my life have I ever wanted to be a man. That is true. It's no reflection on manhood or men; it's more that I have cherished the fact that I am a woman, it's everything that I am and can be.
But I also am reminded constantly how strong we are and can be--how we step up for each other, without expecting anything in return, the inner resources we think we don't possess but that we find just when we least expect them to kick in. It's a gift.
In discussions about gender, I've always said that never in my life have I ever wanted to be a man. That is true. It's no reflection on manhood or men; it's more that I have cherished the fact that I am a woman, it's everything that I am and can be.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Standing on their Shoulders...
When Lynn Johnson and I started OutLook last year, we wanted to launch the company with a long-term project, one that we felt passionate about. We had both been reading articles about the building of LGBT Senior Housing communities in the Bay Area and beyond, and were fascinated by the fact that the people who would potentially live in such communities are members of the first openly gay generation in the United States. We both feel a profound respect and admiration for these community elders, and also a desire to hear their stories, to learn from their experiences.
So we decided that OutLook's inaugural project would be built around the personal histories of Bay Area LGBT seniors. Lynn and I devised a short "prologue" piece, both as a way of developing our collaborative process, but also as a means of exploring our interest LGBT seniors--asking ourselves "why do we care?"...we performed this piece for an invited audience in November 2007. In January 2008, OutLook established our first community partnership with New Leaf Outreach to Elders (www.newleafservices.org/services.htm).
In the past week, we've finally had the chance to begin connecting directly with LGBT Seniors. We've been waiting for this opportunity for so long, speculating about what it would be like...last Friday we attended the Lavender Seniors of the East Bay monthly lunch. It was the day after the California Supreme Court's historic decision in support of same-sex marriage. One woman got up at lunch and made a toast; another person said "I didn't think I'd see this in my lifetime"...I felt so honored to be there, and moved to think that this is a moment that they have been waiting for for decades. It's because of them and people like them that this has happened.
This past Friday Lynn and I facilitated our first OutLook "Speak Out" at New Leaf. The goal was to begin meeting local LGBT seniors, to hear more about what issues and themes are important to them, and begin gathering little pieces of their histories. We performed a staged reading version of our prologue piece: I have to say that I was terrified to perform a piece that explored how I feel about aging and old people in front of a group of...old people. And it was definitely humbling--they didn't hold back in their critique, but as scary as it was, I was grateful for their honesty. And their stories were incredible--I am so excited to get to know them better, and to meet more and more people and hear their stories, and honor them by creating this piece.
But I think ultimately the lesson learned, or reinforced, by the Speak Out is that, when working with a community of people different from you (in this case, separated by age), you have to come to them with humility, curiosity, transparency, and integrity. That is how connection across social barriers, and thus true dialogue, happens. As one woman left, she said "Thank you. I really felt comfortable sharing my story here." Engaging in a process without pre-conceived notions of what it will become because it must continue to change and adapt to fit the needs of its participants and contributors is critical. Entering into a space with people different from you who may suspect your motives because they have been mis-represented, spoken for, or discounted in the past, without imposing an agenda on them is scary, but necessary. I consider myself lucky to be part of this ongoing challenge.
So we decided that OutLook's inaugural project would be built around the personal histories of Bay Area LGBT seniors. Lynn and I devised a short "prologue" piece, both as a way of developing our collaborative process, but also as a means of exploring our interest LGBT seniors--asking ourselves "why do we care?"...we performed this piece for an invited audience in November 2007. In January 2008, OutLook established our first community partnership with New Leaf Outreach to Elders (www.newleafservices.org/services.htm).
In the past week, we've finally had the chance to begin connecting directly with LGBT Seniors. We've been waiting for this opportunity for so long, speculating about what it would be like...last Friday we attended the Lavender Seniors of the East Bay monthly lunch. It was the day after the California Supreme Court's historic decision in support of same-sex marriage. One woman got up at lunch and made a toast; another person said "I didn't think I'd see this in my lifetime"...I felt so honored to be there, and moved to think that this is a moment that they have been waiting for for decades. It's because of them and people like them that this has happened.
This past Friday Lynn and I facilitated our first OutLook "Speak Out" at New Leaf. The goal was to begin meeting local LGBT seniors, to hear more about what issues and themes are important to them, and begin gathering little pieces of their histories. We performed a staged reading version of our prologue piece: I have to say that I was terrified to perform a piece that explored how I feel about aging and old people in front of a group of...old people. And it was definitely humbling--they didn't hold back in their critique, but as scary as it was, I was grateful for their honesty. And their stories were incredible--I am so excited to get to know them better, and to meet more and more people and hear their stories, and honor them by creating this piece.
But I think ultimately the lesson learned, or reinforced, by the Speak Out is that, when working with a community of people different from you (in this case, separated by age), you have to come to them with humility, curiosity, transparency, and integrity. That is how connection across social barriers, and thus true dialogue, happens. As one woman left, she said "Thank you. I really felt comfortable sharing my story here." Engaging in a process without pre-conceived notions of what it will become because it must continue to change and adapt to fit the needs of its participants and contributors is critical. Entering into a space with people different from you who may suspect your motives because they have been mis-represented, spoken for, or discounted in the past, without imposing an agenda on them is scary, but necessary. I consider myself lucky to be part of this ongoing challenge.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
...the Journey continues, even at home
I have now been back from Africa for as long as I was there, and have barely posted since that time. I started this blog as a chronicle of that journey, and once home, have been unsure as to what I'd have to say now that I'm back. But, as the aim of this blog is to "share thoughts on art and culture, travel, and life in general from a theater artist's perspective". So I will continue to do that...
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