Tuesday, May 29, 2007

pitaya

My conversation about Brazil this weekend with a friend (post 365 performance) plus my consumption of a delicious papaya (or mamao if we want to be Brazilian about it) has got me thinking again about pitayas (my first encounter with them was in Barao Geraldo).

I frequently have visions of them. Take a look at this photo and you'll see why.



What a stunning fruit. (possibly the first time I've typed those words in the context of actual produce)

that hamburger...

had nothing on the car that destroyed my rear wheel today.

:(

I wish I had taken a picture.

On the upside: I am getting a custom-built wheel for only a little more than it would have cost me to replace the original with the cheapest, crappiest one. I get to keep my hub nad it'll be travel-ready again. I'd like to look into taking a little bike trip upstate this summer.

Upside #2: I must have looked like I walked away from a gnarly crash of some kind, traipsing down 3rd avenue, carrying my warped bicycle on my back.

At least the frame is fully in tact!

on art and love

My friend, Eve Miller, a fantastic cellist (who keeps her cello in the fiercest, sexiest pink case) -->
I just tried to find a picture of it online and failed, but I did come across this rather scary, Pepto-hued violin

--> recently wrote about creative acts sometimes producing a feeling of falling in love.
I've linked to it because it's an interesting discussion and I'm intrigued by her declaration that "it feels like love, but it isn't love"...and why that may or may not be the case.

I wonder how much of that statement has to do with the notion that love is somehow boundless...that the only love is "unconditional love". Someone recently told me, in a serious, look-into-my-eyes, you'd-better-believe it way, that she loved me. I was moved, perplexed, giddy, surprised, and all sorts of things (I was also, it must be said, not entirely sober)...Now, this declaration of love is the result of our work together as artists and our work together as artists is the result of (among other things) our generosity of spirit and sense of kinship and so cyclically on and on. I believe that she does love me. Does she wish she could see me every day or at least on a very frequent basis? I don't think so. Does she want to fuck me? Nah. Does she want to support me emotionally in all areas of my life? No and I suspect she's not equipped to do so. Does she want to support me in my work as an artist? Absolutely and she has in countless ways. Is the love between us limited in scope? Sure; but it's pretty palpable and there's "real" feeling involved. I love my family, but, thankfully, the love we all share is also limited in scope. Is the connection we share deeply physical? In many ways, yes, because the work we do together is physically strenuous, exhilarating, inescapably bodily, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual all at the same time.

I have another thing to say about sensuality and sexual arousal and a feeling of physical intimacy in moments of creation (see Eve's blog). Steve Wangh, former student of J Grotowski and amazing teacher in his own right, taught me a lot about possibility ... in particular about the possibility for intimacy in the warmup. You know, that period where people usually stand around wiggling their foot now and then, doing a jumping jack, humming, stomping in solitude, or engaging in some other sort of ritualistic and/or half hearted maneuver designed to warm up parts of yourself in isolation (alternately, the warmup may consist of some kind of mandatory, structured, group activity)... Well, when Steve worked with foolsFURY for a glorious week back in 2005 before we did Twelfth Night, he blew my mind. There I was, doing anything and everything I needed to warm up my body, voice, relationship to the space, and relationship to my mates/collaborators all at the same time; and I'd never felt such an intensely intimate (and somewhat scary) connection with a teacher. He was so open, so generous, so receptive...I found myself attracted to him on every level. Suddenly, I wanted to be naked with him, to touch him, to smell him...this profound sense of attraction was not inspired by lust in any commonplace, visual, pheromonic way...but it was how my mind turned on and tuned in to the gifts he gave me - the gifts of possibility, the openness, the creativity...it was an element of my gratitude and excitement and it was an effect, I think, of working with a teacher who in no way separated his own work - what he was exploring artistically - from what he was asking his students to explore. He trained with us, he leapt with us, he moved with us...not to show us how it should be done, but rather to allow us to participate in his doing and to participate in ours. "Never settle for anything less" he told me. And, by that, he meant: make your warmup what you need it to be, do what you need to do, be who you need to be.

And now, I have to quote another artist whom I don't know personally, but who has certainly changed my life: Chuck Mee.

From HOTEL CASSIOPEIA:

JOSEPH
Still,
if I were to say anything to you
it would be:
do what you love
not what you think you should do
or what you think is all you can do
what you think is possible for you
no
do what you love
and let the rest follow along behind it
or not
or not
because
even if it doesn't follow along behind
you will have done what you've loved
and you know what that is
you know better than anyone what you love
and a life centered around your love
cannot be wrong
cannot finally be disappointing

THE GIRL
Easy for you to say.

JOSEPH
No. No, it isn't.

Friday, May 25, 2007

AEA showcase code revision petition

NYC99.ORG

unfuckwithable

That's what it says on one of the Unamerican (www.unamerican.com) stickers on my bike.

Yesterday evening, while biking home, I nearly wiped out on a hamburger. An alarmingly hazardous puck of ground meat not too far from an uninviting pothole on 50th St.

Hmm.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

365 Days/365 Plays with SITI tonight and Sunday

Thursday at 8 at the Skirball Center (Washington Sq South - NYU's beautiful performance space)
Sunday at 3 at the Public Theater (425 Lafayette @ 4th)

all performances are free

www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu
www.siti.org
www.publictheater.org

365 Days 365 Plays Volunteers

SITI Company would like to thank all of the performers who volunteered their time and talent to help make SITI's presentation of Week 28 a success! In addition to company members Akiko Aizawa, J. Ed Araiza, Leon Ingulsrud, Ellen Lauren, Kelly Maurer, Elizabeth Moreau, Barney O'Hanlon, and Brian Scott, the following individuals brought great energy and skill to the performances - and we are grateful to have been able to share this unique theatrical event with them. Thank you!

Rachel Bonds (Ensemble)

Rachel is an actor/playwright who has trained and studied with Christopher Bayes, Jordan Harrison, Brighde Mullins, New Dramatists, Karen Kohlhaas, Roberto Sifuentes, The Atlantic Theatre Company, and most recently the SITI Company in Saratoga and in New York. She has written two one-woman shows: You and me cowboy, which she performed in the Club at LaMaMa, the Town Hall Theatre in Middlebury, VT, and at Brown University, and Princess and the P , performed at Brown in 2005. Most recently she has performed in The Golem, directed by Shira Milikowsky for Columbia Stages, 365 Days/365 Plays for Ars Nova, and (...) An Evening of Beckett Shorts, directed by Michael Rau. Rachel has worked as a Development intern at HERE Art Center and in Casting at the Roundabout Theatre. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Brown University.

James Ryan Caldwell (Ensemble)

Recent acting credits include Meigh (pronounced “me”) in The Bird Stories (which he wrote) at The Tank @ Collective Unconscious, Smurf in Ex-Antwone (P.S. 122 – BaiT Festival) Kyle in Both Sides (Classic Stage Company), Man in Uhaul Trilogy (Live Arts Festival/Philadelphia Fringe, dir. Juan Souki), and Anne Boleyn/Elizabeth I in Bloody Mary (Third Man Productions). Internationally he has performed The Bakkhai at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Festival of Ancient Greek Drama in Cyprus. In New York, James has studied with LAByrinth Theatre and the SITI Company. Upcoming: Sganarelle in Don Juan at Classic Stage Company.

Victoria Chamberlin (Ensemble)

Victoria is a graduate of Skidmore College and has been living and working in NYC for about a year. Some recent credits include "Losing Something" and "Degeneracy" with the 3 Legged Dog Media and Theater Group, and "Psyche" directed by Leon Ingulsrud. Victoria is thrilled to be working once again with fellow SITI students and the SITI company members themselves. Victoria is also a Pilates Instructor in training.

Davina Cohen (Ensemble)

Recent work includes: the Women's Project's site-specific Girls Just Wanna Have Fund$ at the WFC and the video installation and by Pierre St-Jacques. Select credits: Mary Zimmerman’s The Secret in the Wings at Berkeley Rep (us), La Damnation de Faust at the SF Opera, Magic Theater, SF Circus Center, SF’s infamous Trannyshack. Member, foolsFURY Theater Co; frequent collaborator with the Lark and the Bay Area Playwrights Foundation. Davina’s choreography and alter-ego performance poet are featured in the indie film Come Fly With Me Nude. BA Columbia U.

Christian Frederickson (Sound Designer, Viola)

Violist, composer, and sound designer, is a founding member of Rachel’s, an instrumental band with six albums on Touch and Go Records. Recent projects: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fund$" at the World Financial Center; "Hanjo" at Japan Society; "Fetes de la Nuit" Columbia Stages NYC; “King Lear” Point B Productions, Nashville, TN; “The History of the World...” Saratoga Springs, NY. Other credits: “The Water Project” Bowdoin College, ME; “Christina Olson: American Model” at P.S. 122; "systems/layers" with SITI Co. at Krannert Center and Utah State University.

Karen Grenke (Ensemble)

New York theatre includes: the upcoming Blue Puppies Cycle at The Chocolate Factory and In the Heart of a Chinese Curse with LIVE Theater. Previous NY theatre includes shows at Women's Project, the Ontological Theater, HERE, Theater for the New City, GAle GAtes et al. and Aisling Arts. Regional: Hangar Theater. Film: "Love Like Blood", "Rockport" and "The Fold". She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. Ms. Grenke is a founder of Cagey Productions, a NY production company for emerging artists. She is a member of the Women's Project Producers Lab.

Jim Kane (Ensemble)

Jim Kane is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, now residing in New York. Some recent credits include: Death and the Maiden (One Year Lease), Hotel Oracle (Sum of Us Theatre Co.), Candles to the Sun (New Mummer Group @ Actors Theatre of Louisville), Pheadra x 3 (Phedra, Pheadra, and Pheadra’s Love), Under Milkwood (Williamstown), The Good Thief, Hellhound on My Trail, Waiting for Lefty, and One for the Road. Upcoming: Death and the Maiden in Athens, Greece (6/07), The Writers Exchange Project with New Mummer Group, in Kentucky (7/07). He is a founding member of both The Sum of Us Theatre Company and New Mummer Group.

Amanda Maddock (Ensemble)

Is a puppet artist. She performs and builds for theater and tv. Her work has been seen at PS122, St. Ann’s, Theater for the New City, and on “Crank Yankers,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Lazy Town,” and “The Book of Pooh.”

Valerie McCann (Ensemble)

This is Valerie's first NYC appearance. She is a founding member of ARTEL, a Los Angeles based physical theatre ensemble. Credits include: The Festivities (Tatyana), The Shadow (Princess), Far Away, and the US premiere of Top Gun! The Musical (Goose). Valerie has trained with SITI in Los Angeles and New York, and is a graduate of The College of Santa Fe.

Eve Miller (Cello)

Eve Miller began her musical studies at age 9 and in 1987 she was awarded a two-year fellowship with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC under the legendary cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich. Eve holds a Bachelor's Degree in Cello Performance from the Peabody Conservatory and a Master's Degree in Music History from Temple University. Eve has been a member of the ensemble Rachel’s since 1992. She has toured extensively with Rachel’s, performing all over the US, in Europe and in Korea. Rachel’s has fostered collaborations with other artistic disciplines, most notably with the actors of the SITI Company in New York, NY. From 2000 - 2005 Eve performed,toured, arranged and recorded with the band Matt Pond PA. She has recorded and performed with many alternative groups including: Lewis and Clarke, Mission of Burma, Low, Arcwelder, Mazarin, The Trolleyvox, Adam Arcuragi, The Swivel Chairs and Swearing at Motorists. Eve has twice recorded with Philadelphia's premier baroque orchestra,Tempesta di Mare and she performs as a regular member of the ensemble. She studied modern cello with David Teie, Stephen Kates and Jeffrey Solow. She studied baroque cello and viola da gamba with Ann Marie Morgan.

Amira Nader (Ensemble)

Amira Nader graduated from Florida State University with a BFA in Acting. She has appeared in Hearts & Minds in the 2006 Downtown Urban Theater Festival and most recently in Milk Can Theater's Potluck Plays. Past roles include Lydia in Big Love and Rosencrantz in Hamlet.

Jeremy Pickard (Ensemble)

JEREMY PICKARD has performed with madhause, Allentown Shakespeare in the Park, the Obie-award winning team of Lisa D’Amour and Katie Pearl, the Odin Teatret-inspired Street Theatre program, New Mummers Group, Kitchen Theatre Company and Columbia University’s MFA directing program. As a director, Jeremy has worked for the Julliard School of Music, HERE Arts Center, chashama, Kitchen Theatre Company, Tin Can Fantasy Factory and Superhero Clubhouse. Jeremy is a graduate of Ithaca College and the National Theatre Institute. He continues to train extensively with SITI Company and is helping to develop East Coast Artists’ unique Rasaboxes program. This summer Jeremy will perform and manage for The Savannah Theatre Project, an international arts exchange (www.thesavannahtheatreproject.org). Catch them at the NYC Fringe Fest before they travel to South Africa!

Stephanie Pistello (Ensemble)

Stephanie is the Founding Artistic Director and General Manager of New Mummer Group Theatre. Training: The Atlantic Theatre Company Conservatory, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and with Anne Bogart’s SITI Company. Directing credits include: Candles to the Sun at Actors Theatre of Louisville (produced by NMG.) Assistant Directing: Our Town (NYU/Atlantic Studio), Into the Woods (Lexington Children’s Theatre.) Acting credits include: The Cherry Orchard, Street Scene, Sweeny Todd, Peer Gynt, The Miracle Worker, The Government Inspector, and The Complete Works of William Shakespear (abridged.) As an educator,s he has worked with the Lexington Children’s Theatre (KY,) The Women’s Project (NYC,) and the Atlantic Theatre Company (NYC.)

Pip Smith (Ensemble)

Pip first trained with the SITI company in Saratoga Springs 2005. Her experience with the company encouraged her to finally write, direct and produce Titus! The Ultimate Murder Ballad Musical alongside a cast of 17 performers, 3 musicians and 4 co-writers for her company gumption ubertheatre (www.gumptionubertheatre.org.au) in 2006. Pip isreturning to Sydney in June to pick up where she left off, after having her creative batteries recharged in the SITI Company’s Viewpoints Level 2 class. Pip is also a singer songwriter (www.myspace.com/pipsmithandredstar).

Liz Stanton (Ensemble)

Liz received her MFA in Theater: Contemporary Performance from Naropa University in May2006. New York credits include: The Rover, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night (Clark Studio Theater), Hedda Gabler, Hamlet (Raw Space), Winter’s Tale, Cymbeline, The Changeling (Culture Project). Regional credits include: The Buddy Holly Story, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Cole, Closer Than Ever, Romeo and Juliet, Parallel Lives, Zen Cabaret, Letting the Body Speak and Persephone. Her most recent show: Power to Pleasing: The Sex Lives of Teenage Girls won Pick of the Fringe at the Boulder International Fringe Festival in 2005 and 2006.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Follow that dime!

My Women's Project cohort Edwina Findley snapped this delightful (or is it disturbing?) image of the dime, dining on miso soup, backstage at the World Financial Center.


I have no idea how to rotate a photo before posting it to a blog.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

upcoming performances

After "Girls Just Wanna Have Fund$" ends, you can catch me in performance:

1) as Betsy in selected scenes from "I Heart Kant" by Ken Urban, a fundraiser for Theatre 1050.

A Night of Ken Urban, May 21, 8pm and 10pm
The Gene Frankel Theatre
24 Bond Street
New York, NY 10012
reserve tickets by calling Greta Pauley @ 646.505.8343


2) with the SITI Company in 365 Days/365 Plays

SITI Company participates in Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Days/365 Plays National Festival

You're invited to see SITI's presentation of Week 28 in what is being billed as the "largest collaboration in the history of American theater." In November 2002 Suzan-Lori Parks committed to writing a play a day for the next 365 days. Over the course of this year, over 60 selected theater companies – curated by The Public and the 365 Days/365 Plays National Festival – will perform these brief, brilliant plays. For more on the festival click here.

SITI's performance will be on Thursday May 24th at 8pm at NYU's Skirball Center. The performance features SITI Company members along with performers who recently trained with SITI as well as members of the musical ensemble Rachel's. Tickets are FREE and will be available at the Skirball box office starting May 18th. Call 212-992-8484 for details.


We will also perform on Sunday, May 27 at 3 pm with the Atlantic Theater Co and INTAR.

I'm in the NY Times

Check it out: a feature on the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fund$" performances at the WFC I'm doing with the Women's Project.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/nyregion/17theater.html?ex=1180065600&en=6fa9ed2a1e1571f7&ei=5070&emc=eta1

If you have the actual paper, you can see some snazzy photos (one featuring yours truly) on page 2 of the Metro section (sorry, outta towners).

We have 7 more shows (in 2 days!), so please come by. They begin at the Gatehouse A/Liberty St Bridge entrance (Liberty and South End Ave) and travel to various locations in the WFC. Friday at 1, 5, and 7. Saturday at 1, 2:30, 4, and 5:30.

http://womensproject.org/on_our_stage.htm

Please spread the word!