Open Wide

Well... we've opened.  It was a crazy week (which explains my blogging absence), filled with all manner of frustration and discovery... and what we're left with, is easily one of the most beautiful shows I have ever done.  The show is a perfect dance of light, sound, projection, text, performance, and direction.  I am so incredibly proud of it, and I can honestly say I have never seen another show like it... it is utterly unique.  This show raises the bar for the use of projections in a theatre piece, Jacob has done some incredibly beautiful work.  Diana, Sharon, Jacob and I have captured a perfect storm of a show, and hopefully, audiences will find their way to us in the midst of a theatre scene bursting at the seams.

Please, join us.  Be part of the experience.  You'll be glad you did.

Prepare For the Great Bird!!!

It's been a really intense, exhilarating, and frustrating week.  I don't want to talk too much about specifics, because I want you to be surprised when you come and see the show, but much has been accomplished.  We've set stuff up, we've torn stuff down... we've smudged, we've laughed, we've stared blankly at each other in frustration, we've argued, and we've persevered.  The Click and The Whir are in place (hello boys), and they look amazing... we have our Great Bird.  Rehearsals have been going very well, and Diana seems very pleased (despite her growing frustration concerning my resistance face looking identical to my processing face... for the record, this is the number one complaint about me from my directors.... they don't know whether I'm fighting them or taking it in).

(Between you and me, I am usually taking it in).


From hereon, things really start to accelerate... we're introducing Jacob's projections tomorrow, and Sharon's lights are arriving Monday.  It's going to be dizzying change after dizzying change, the show is going to grow in leaps and bounds.  Sharon has warned me that our tech days (Tuesday and Wednesday), are going to be the longest most tedious days of my entire life.  I have never teched a show like this before... it's going to be an experience, that's for sure. 

We open in six days.  Yikes.

I was in the bathroom the other day, I looked in the mirror at my exhausted face, and I had to smile.  Here we are, the four of us... working with money raised through fundraisers, grant writing, and personal investment... and instead of going to Paris or paying off debt, or even buying a PS3 (sigh), we're doing what we we're moved to do.  In times like these it's a daring act... and the simple truth of the matter is... there's nowhere else any of us would rather be.  It's a powerful realization, and kind of exhilarating.

We make a great team, Diana, Sharon, Jacob, and me... this ragtag Wingéd foursome... and I am so proud of everything we have done, everything we are doing, and everything we are going to do.  I am so proud of our courage and our integrity.  It takes the sting of the most frustrating day completely away.

Clutch. Hip. Hum.

Sometimes, I wonder about the wisdom about blogging during a rehearsal period, because not only are rehearsals exhausting, but fraught with self-doubt and anxiety.  The last thing I need to be doing is chronicling my freak outs and showcasing my neuroses... or perhaps that would help. Something to think about.

The week of full time rehearsals ended with a modestly successful run, some minor text adjustments (ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!), and a production meeting which puts us in good stead for this week.  We bid adieu to the rehearsal studio, and tomorrow, we get to load into the gallery which is very exciting.

This week, we'll start to deal with concretes in terms of space and staging; all our approximations will be boiled down into a heady stew of absolutes.  The visual language Jacob is creating for the projections are very exciting, his ideas are inspiring and a perfect compliment to the text and performance.  Sharon's lighting design is also solidifying, but we won't actually get to play with the lights in the space until next week, when they arrive.  Diana has apparently been building wardrobe all weekend, and tickets have started to sell.

The boys are dancing with me every day, hanging out with me most of the time.  I am ready for the final consumption, to lose myself utterly in the work, until I come through the other side.  I will say this... I have been working very hard, despite my underlying feelings that I haven't been making any progress.  It feels good to work this hard.  It feels good to feel this tired.  It feels good to be working with who I am working with. Perhaps I will just leave it at that.

Mantra Prescription

Repeat as necessary to alleviate symptoms:

I disappear my fear.
I resurrect my audacity.

By The Pricking?

Full time rehearsals.  Diana is being driven mad by production duties, Sharon is scouring the city for scaffolding, Jacob's laptop is down for the count, and I am terrified that I have no idea what I am doing.

In other words, everything is as it should be. 

I was sitting there today on lunch, looking at the sky, and I realized despite everything, it's still so exciting.  It's a short rehearsal period and a short run... every moment needs to be savored, because who knows when I'll get the chance to do Wingéd again?  So, no matter what the complaints, I am trying to enjoy every second... which admittedly is challenging when Diana is driving me crazy with her direction (we're getting down the the nitpicking in some places, and today I had to obey the Rule of the Leg.  Who knows what insanely frustrating  rule tomorrow will bring?).

The words are in my head.  Abandonment and Trust are being called for; both onstage and behind the scenes.  We're calling in favours where we need to, and we're slowly making progress. 

That's about all I have for you at this moment... aside from this ---> if you happen to have some scaffolding in your backyard, you should seriously call me.

Simplicity and Idea Keys

The exciting thing about ideas is that they can change... like the map I drew (see below).  It took about an hour of fussing and working through things with Diana before we realized the staging idea looked pretty enough on paper and was sound in concept... but it just wasn't going to work.  In a heavily ironic flash of brilliance, it hit us both... there was no need to reinvent the wheel.  The existing staging ideas from the production of Sunstroke: Icarus Speaks we did at the Rhubarb Festival were simple, beautiful, and served the piece.  The second we tried it, everything fell immediately into place.  There were so many spectacular possibilities about doing the piece in a new space... but when you find yourself in a new ballgame, I suppose it's easy to get distracted by possibility instead of building on what you have... lesson learned.

I am happy to say some amazing discoveries come out of the epicycles exercise, as they often do... sometimes, the best ideas are cleverly disguised keys to open doors to other places.

Speaking of other places, here is the article about the play in Xtra... it's always a little terrifying to read an article someone else wrote about your show when you're a control freak... but it's great (thank you, Serafin).  The posters are out in the world, I'm handing out postcards like a madman, the show is definitely starting to pierce the social consciousness.  It's a very satisfying thing to have people you haven't talked to in a while ask you about your show... it means word is getting out. 

This week, things kick up a notch in a big all consuming way... I'll keep you in the loop as best i can.

It's going to be a very special, very important show... for reasons I already know, and lots of reasons I don't... but I have this... very special feeling about it...  up, up, and away!

X Marks the Spot

Saturday morning, I had a wave of inspiration around the Icarus staging based on the work Diana and I did last Thursday.  I dutifully opened my computer's paint program, and tried to translate the idea into a diagram.  Despite my shaky illustration skills, I was very impressed by what I ultimately came up with... a map which tracks Icarus' movement through the space, anchored by key bits of text.  I made it my desktop because I like it so much, and then thought perhaps it might be amusing to share here... et voila!  The ideas at play may be lofty, but the execution is decidedly very basic... the result is weirdly amusing. Diana liked the map a lot, so we'll see what happens when we take into the studio tomorrow. It's still early in our process and much can change... but this is an exciting point of inspiration. Sometimes you just gotta follow the rabbit hole no matter where it takes you.

Game On!

We have a show.  Of course we have a show... but in today's session with Diana and Sharon, things started to happen that actually felt exciting.  I'm 2/3 of the way there in terms of memorizing, and with the script finally locked, the playing can really begin.  It felt so good to be on my feet today, it felt delicious to get in the sandbox with the boys (Icarus, Lucifer and Phoenix).  Every time I think I understand the dance we have going, it becomes even more intense, even more remarkable; they twirl me around a corner, and spin me into an even grander wonderland.  I am in their care, and they are taking very good care of me.

Diana is also keeping a watchful eye; today she tabled a wholly unexpected staging concept for Icarus that challenged me to find freedom among a host of constraints... which was incredibly frustrating, but will no doubt be incredibly cool to watch.

Points of inspiration are still surfacing from all over the place...  we are dutifully documenting everything, allowing the gathered bits and pieces to stew in the Wingéd slipstream... who knows what we'll pull out of it by the time this is all over.  We definitely have a beginning.  The script is rock solid.  The poster is awesome.   The boys and I are doing our part. We have great momentum.  We are at the precipice... and it's a gorgeous view.

Picture This...

Hooray! Today marks the debut of the awesome show poster (welcome), which showcases the photography of Kathleen Finlay and the design genius of Rob Kimmel. It's a unique, powerful vision that I didn't see coming.  

Rob sent Diana a proof Monday morning; when she told me about it, and I was like "Huh." When I finally saw it, I was like "Well, that's it then... that's the poster." Diana and I spoke briefly about the possibility of minor alterations, but in the end, it didn't need much back and forth between us and Rob (he clearly has a handle on the show); now, it is my great privilege to share it with all of you.

I took the photographs with Kathleen many months ago in a testing of sorts to see where we could go with capturing Icarus, Lucifer, and Phoenix. I never imagined that they would be the final product, but she clearly captured something very compelling. I look forward to working with her again; she's crazy talented, and totally fun to be around. Be sure to check out Kathleen's collaboration with Diana called Starfall; Kathleen's link is to the right.

In other news, it's been a very intense time; there has been much upheaval in my life in the last few weeks; however, I will say this... rainy days in March are perfect for memorizing.

Slow and Steady

The gathering and discussion of images and points of inspiration continues in its fractured way as everyone else is currently preoccupied with other projects. Group emails filled with video links, photos, and/or staging ideas is the order these early days. I have been having regular meetings with Diana, talking through sections of the script and setting the foundation for everything that will follow.

I've also talked to several people about memorizing, given the length of this piece (at about 9200 words long, it's the most I've ever had to memorize). I have been given several helpful suggestions only to discover that my own powerful method (walking around my bedroom with the script in hand reading and muttering to myself, then collapsing on the bed and staring at the ceiling and spitting out the text) works as well as anything else. Victory me!

As we inch closer to the end of the March, the intensity grows; these slow and steady days of contemplation and careful planning will soon give way to a chaotic descent into the madness of the creative fugue. There is a roller coaster ahead, navigating and understanding the twists and turns of the bones and blood of the thing, which (I suppose) is best not anticipated but experienced in the moment.

Onward!

Saturday Status

More memorizing. Trips to the gallery. Emails to artists. The sharing of inspiration. Continuing creative conversations. Fine tuning the script.

The piece really sings now... a final script session with Diana sorted out any remaining areas of concern. On Thursday, the spine of the play snapped completely into place; it felt like a chiropractic adjustment. Now properly aligned, the piece has a resonance that is very profound; it simply sings. The years of development work feel like they have totally paid off. There is something to be said for the taking of time to develop a play like this. Everything is falling into place.

The more time I spend with the play, the more I realize I simply need to get out of the way, and let Icarus, Lucifer, and Phoenix do their thing. That's going to be the challenge, I think... abandonment. But if I can do it, if I manage to step outside of myself enough that they manage to get their hands on the steering wheel, it's really going to be something to behold. Very exciting.

Spirals.
The double helix.
The meaning of the minotaur.
The weight of being Lucifer.
Embracing the fall.
Breaking the code.

Forgetting everything we (think we) know so that we can see what is really there.

And So it Begins...

Ok, so... yesterday we had our first production meeting. We managed to make one huge staging decision, and took several steps towards the deciding of other mid-sized decisions. There was talk of foam core. There was a ladder discussion. There was technical chin-wagging between Sharon and Jacob. We slowly zeroed in on the show we wanted to do, how the piece was speaking to everyone, and what it was inspiring. A couple of key words emerged during the discussion; aftermath, epicycles, and compass (with an honorable mention to the Ptolemaic Universe). Very cool.

I have been busy memorizing, but there is still a ways to go. The three (Icarus, Lucifer, and Phoenix) are definitely hanging out with me more and more, and that is very comforting. They are so good to have around.

Wingéd. It's called Wingéd.

It's a dream born in a barn.
A star that fell from the cold midnight sky.
A promise rising through the snow and mud.

It's joy that burns bright and hot.

I'm looking forward to the ride...

Testing.

Wing'ed started to surface in 2005. Since then, the project has unfolded in fits and starts, led to unexpected places, and demanded a highly unusual approach in its development. Finally finished in late 2009, the project has evolved into a beguiling experiment in theatre.

It is slightly terrifying to finally be doing this after so much work; when one has been haunted by a project for this long, it can result in a witches brew of expectation poured over an insatiable desire for perfection. I suppose the first things on the Wing'ed "to do list" is to get that particular witches brew in check. Nothing about this journey so far has been about perfection. In fact, creating this piece has tested me in the subtle and powerful ways of flaw and imperfection. It's the dance that shines in the light and trips in the dark, yet always so marvelous.

Icarus, Lucifer, and Phoenix; I have found them in myself, and have formed a relationship with each one. Diana (the director) suggested I have the tightest rapport with Lucifer; she may not be far off the mark. He's a dazzler for sure, the consummate showman. Sarcastic and passionate, he burns with insight and opinion. Icarus for all his damage, is raw but lovable and so oh-so-sexy; you just want to give him a big hug. Phoenix is the one that scares me the most. Phoenix is the newest of the three; it took an unbelievable 16 drafts to get him down on paper (in hindsight I suppose I had to work with the energy of creation and destruction in order to discover what its story was). Phoenix is the closest to the slipstream of creative consciousness; he is rage and transformation and the things the sparkle when the lights go out. He is out of control. He is a channel for raw universal energies. He is remarkable.

Naturally, there's a part of me that feels like I still don't fully understand the piece; luckily, I am surrounded by capable, talented artists who will do their part to bring light to the dark. I am also being guided by forces bigger than me who conspired with me to create this work, who are ever-watchful and very patient; their influence can be felt in the low-level tide pull of intuition and head pings. The universal forces are clear and unwavering... so too must I be. I have to trust everything that has brought me here. I have to trust the Wing'ed team. I have to trust myself.