Part 2???

Looking at this website, I'm reminded that this has been part one of the Gift Cycle. The obvious implication is that there are many parts to come. I'm pleased to think that is true.
As for this first part, I thought that we were able to - to pick up on my journey story prior to the performance - overcome any obstacles and find our way to the hearth, where a scrumptious meal was eaten, followed by homemade cookies, and enjoyment - deep, soul stirring enjoyment - was had by all (that's not active enough: was TAKEN, SIEZED by all might be more accurate).
But I also see clearly and appreciate the role of the leader in all of this creative gift giving.
So, thank you, Laurie.
I was walking by a theater in my neighborhood the other day and I took a picture of the first name of a theater (see below).
Started to wonder about a Laurie Roth Dance Theater...
So, when does Part 2 begin?
(click on collage to enlarge)

Five Stages of Group Development

Educational psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman (1965) developed a 5-stage model of group development. He labeled the stages as forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. I began to wonder these fives stages matched the five sections of our project. What do you think?

1. Forming: Water Sharing

2. Storming: Pacing

3. Norming: Face Making

4. Performing: Storytelling

5. Adjourning: Flower Dancing

More on this model of group development.

And yet more.

Generous Play

"We are born in terror and trembling. In the face of our terror before the uncontrollable chaos of the universe, we label as much as we can with language in the hopes that once we name something we no longer fear it. This labelling enables us to feel safer but also kills the mystery in what's been labelled, removing the life and danger out of what's been defined. The artist's responsibility is to bring the potential, the mystery and terror, the trembling, back. James Baldwin wrote, "The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by the answers." The artist attempts to undefine, to present the moment, the word, the gesture as new and full of controlled potential.

I became a theatre director knowing unconsciously that I was going to have to use my own terror in my life as an artist; I had to learn to work in trust and not in fear of the terror. I was relieved to find that the theatre is a useful place to concentrate that energy. Out of the almost uncontrollable chaos of life, I could create a place of beauty and a sense of community. In the most terrible depths of doubt and difficulty, I have found encouragement and inspiration in my collaborations. we have been able to create an atmosphere of grace, intensity and love. I've created a refuge for myself, for actors and for audiences through the metaphor of theatre.

I believe that theatre's function is to remind us of the big human issues, to remind us of our terror and our humanity. In our quotidian lives, we live in constant repetition of habitual patterns. Many of us sleep through our lives. Art should offer experiences that alter these patterns, awaken what is sleep, and remind us of our original terror. Human beings first created theatre in response to the everyday terror of life. From cave drawings to ecstatic dances around numberless fires, from Hedda Gabler raising her pistol to the disintegration of Blanche Dubois, we create hopeful shapes for our distress. I have found that theatre that doesn't address terror has no energy. We create out of fear, not from a place of security and safety. According to the physicist Werner Heisenberg, artist and scientists share a common approach. They enter into their work with one hand firmly grasping specific and the other hand on the unknown. We must trust ourselves to enter the abyss with openness, with trust in ourselves, despite the unbalanced and vulnerability. How do we trust in ourselves, our collaborators and our abilities enough to work within the terror we experience in the moment of entering?

William Hurt, the actor, recently interviewed in the New York Times said, "Those who function out of fear, seek security, those who function out of trust, seek freedom." These two possible agendas dramatically influence the creative process. The atmosphere in the rehearsal hall, therefore, can be imbued with either fear or trust. Are the choices made in rehearsal based on a desire for security or a search for freedom? I am convinced that the most dynamic and thrilling choices are made when there is a trust in the process, in the artists and in the material. The saving grace in one's work is love, trust and a sense of humour; trust in collaborators and the creative act in rehearsal, love for the art and a sense of humour about the impossible task. These are the elements that bring grace into a rehearsal situation and onto stage. In the face of terror, beauty is created and hence, grace.

I want to create theatre that is full of terror, beauty, love and belief in the innate human potential for change. In dreams begin responsibility. How can I begin to work with this spirit? How can I work, not to conquer, but to embrace terror, disorientation and difficulty."

- Anne Bogart

Anne Bogart on Ritual

During her brief tenure as Artistic Director of The Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I., Anne Bogart worked hard to drum up ticket sales. As she spoke at many local institutions hoping to generate an audience, she began to wonder was it was that attracted people to the theater. In her book and then, you act: making art in an unpredictable world [Routledge, 2007], Bogart writes about "the seven compelling forces inherent to theater that attract people to it: empathy, entertainment, ritual, participation, spectacle, education and alchemy."
Since we have focused on ritual in our rehearsals, I'll summarize her section on ritual (pgs. 71 - 74):
* Elias Canetti in his book Crowds and People asks, "Why do people do go church?" and responses: "Not pray to God, but rather to stand, sit and kneel simultaneously." The ritual of theater begins longs before the play starts.
* For an performer as well as for the audience, the ritual of theater extends forwards and backwards in time. The ritual of theater for the audience includes buying the tickets, the dressing up, and the conversations that ensue afterward.
* Rituals can be, but not necessarily must be, lead by specially qualified person such as a priest or sorcerer.
* Rituals = a form of communication. Two elements are needed for this communication: an "emitter," the performer, and a "receptor,"the audience.
* Ritual, like performance, is a liminal event. The word liminal is derived from the Greek limnos meaning threshold. The stage is a liminal space which is "neither useful or productive in any concrete or materialistic fashion. It is a transitional space, neither practical nor constructive, in the realm of day to day living." It is, like a church or any place of ritual, a place where symbolic acts are carried out.
*"The word tragedy originated in the Greek word tragodiai, "goat songs." Originally to purge human failings, goats were sacrificed on alters while people watched...the actor is the emblematic or stand-in martyr for all those watching. He or she suffers the goat's fate in symbolic way."
* The need for confession is as essential a need as food and shelter. Is drama an extension of the human need to confess?
* "It is this unspoken religious dimension that gives theater its depth."
* "A shared space between the "emitter" and "receptor" is an intrinsic ingredient to ritualistic action." Ms Bogart reminds us that it wasn't until Richard Wagner that theaters were lit in such a way that there was only light on the stage. Previously, the audience and performers were equally lit.

Persistence

At the end of last night's news conference, in response to a question about the Arab-Israeli conflict, President Obama spoke about the importance of persistence. I've been thinking about the value of persistence - in the making of ANYTHING, whether it be the building of political accord or the creating of dance and theater. Even when encountering adversity, going forward, staying with it. Here are his remarks:

"You know, leaders from the two sides of Northern Ireland that, you know, a couple of decades ago -- or even a decade ago -- people would have said could never achieve peace, and here they were, jointly appearing, and talking about their commitment, even in the face of violent provocation.

...And what that tells me is that, if you stick to it, if you are persistent, then -- then these problems can be dealt with.

That whole philosophy of persistence, by the way, is one that I'm going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come as long as I'm in this office. I'm a big believer in persistence..."

Obama's remarks brought to mind the words of another president, Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

Intuition

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. - Albert Einstein

intuition:

n.

1.

a. The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition.

b. Knowledge gained by the use of this faculty; a perceptive insight.

2. A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

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[Middle English intuicioun, insight, from Late Latin intuiti, intuitin-, a looking at, from Latin intuitus, a look, from past participle of intur, to look at, contemplate : in-, on; see in-² + tur, to look at.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Painting by Pablo Picasso