Welcome 2017

Here comes a new year. A time to make resolutions. A time to start fresh.  A brand new, clean calendar to fill up with all the things. I love my new dayplanner. Empty and clean and ready to go.

                                                                Sunset in Bogota

I was looking back at the year through all the photos on my phone. 2016 was a full and exciting year. Tricklock had a wonderful Revolutions with old friends and exciting new work. We toured to Colombia, Poland, and Ukraine performing and teaching workshops and making lovely connections with artists and students. Hannah and I had a great time at the TCG conference in Washington DC. Elsa and I participated in a clown and mask intensive at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance in Canada with the amazing John Turner. I was able to attend the Boska Komedia festival in Krakow. I had the best time with my travel companion Dominika as we also made a rockstar, whirlwind trip to Szczecin and Wroclaw to see more theatre, meet new people, and connect with old friends. 

                                                          Friends in Amsterdam

Aaron and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. I am so grateful we found each other again. I love this man more than anything else in the entire world. 

                                                              True love

I got to spend time visiting the greatest of friends. Karen and Carla in Baltimore, Byron and Brandon in Phoenix, and Kerry, Joe, and Eric in LA. These are friends I have had for 15, 20, 25 years. I also just got back from a wedding in El Paso of two amazing women. I am surrounded by such amazing people. 

                                                    Young and beautiful forever.

This year I had knee surgery after 5 years of pain and trouble with movement. I am still recovering and it will get better, but I am pretty sure it will never be the same. It is a weird thing when your body changes because of time. I have a damaged knee and that is just how it is now. People ask me what happened but I think it is simply 20 years of being a physical theatre performer. Training and performing take its toll. I am not complaining. I am so pleased my body is still pretty strong and my knee was awesome for 39 years. Now I just have to do things in a different way. I can still move and that is what counts.  

Overall, it was a fine year. Really. I know a lot of people had a hard year but when I look back, it was pretty good. 

                                                            Baltimore in the summer

The bad thing about 2016 was Donald Trump. Warning: this paragraph is really unpleasant. I do think my heart and hope will lighten up as time goes on, but right now my feelings are very grim. My country voted for a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic bully. The hate and terror this man wears so boldly on his sleeve means that EVERYONE who voted for him is a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic bully. Or they are some version of that. There is no way they could vote for this man unless some of this hate runs in their blood. I realize this is a blanket statement but it is where I stand right now. I have no desire to "connect" with these people. I have no desire to unite. The people who voted for him clearly do not want a united country. They had no thought for what is good and safe for the majority of the people. The evil side of me slightly looks forward to the downfall of this country because it will hit these racist assholes hard. Trump is not going to save jobs. He is not going to help the middle and lower class. He is not going to keep our country safe. He is not going to bring prosperity. He is not going to lift this nation up. It is going to be a terrible four years and I am horrified and humiliated that we voted this man in. Shame on us. I am still unsure what to do next. 

I am holding some light and love as I look forward. There are some exciting and good things already planned for this year. More travel and exchange. More theatre and festivals. Big plans and ideas. Clear focus and also a sense of mystery as I just dive in. My hopes and dreams for the year are simple and also huge. I was recently told by a theatre colleague that I needed to think of the biggest and boldest plan, a plan that seems impossible and then pitch that idea and make it happen. 

Okay. 

I have a few of those so that is what I will do this year. 

                                                      More Colombia in 2017 please

I recently saw Rogue One. I very much enjoyed it for reasons I won't go into right now but I keep thinking about the character Chirrut Imwe. As he walks through the battle to the master switch he says, "I am the force, the force is with me. I am the force, the force is with me. I am the force, the force is with me. I am the force, the force is with me. I am the force, the force is with me. I am the force, the force is with me." I have decided this is my mantra for 2017. 

                                                                 Travelers

Holding onto light and love. Pitch the impossible. I am the force and the force is with me. 

Happy New Year! 💗

                                                         Relaxing at Tent Rocks

                                          Here is a picture of a bunch of salsa. I love salsa.

Polish theatre holiday

Hey Poland, I'm back! Aren't you beautiful? All full of holiday lights and a great big theatre festival. What a delight you are! 

I wrote my last blog the day before the election. It was a blog filled with fear and anxiety. It turns out that if you add in some anger, this is often my state of being now. Except for the past five days. I am in Krakow, Poland at The Divine Comedy Theatre Festival. I haven't thought about the future of my nation for at least three whole days (until I turned on BBC yesterday. Ugh.) It's been a nice break. 

The brief description for the festival is "A theatre holiday where the best Polish shows are presented in a true Polish showcase. The most dramatic part of the Festival is the Polish Contest INFERNO within which the most provocative and exciting productions of the past season compete for the grand prize. 'Inferno, comprises the most distinguished and widely discussed performances, that showcase the wide range of talents and artistic aspirations of Polish directors. Its main purpose is to present the diverse landscape of Polish theatre life as well as to expose audiences to the latest trends and areas of artistic exploration and experimentation that our directors have to offer,' enthuses Bartosz Szydłowski, Divine Comedy's Artistic Director." 

If I was a zillionaire, I would bring most of these show to Revolutions. Not because they are perfect but because they are brave and exciting experiments. As I often encounter in Polish theatre, performers have a fantastic mix of both bold courage and natural ease. It's like watching a charismatic tightrope walker. A performer who is wild and electric but also in complete control and in their element. Self awareness goes away. That "Look at me! I am acting so well!" veneer does not exist. The check in. All of it is gone. What is left is skilled bravery, which is captivating to watch. And that is just the actors. The minds of the directors, writers, and designers run wild. Again, not all is perfect. The editor in me often goes on overload. The writer and director in me has a lot of notes but the sheer imagination and creativity is inspiring and joyful. 

It would be too much to write about each show, but here are some thoughts on a few that I enjoyed very much. 

Lars Jan's The Institute of Memory (TIMe) is a multimedia show about family and history. It is a detailed and sharply performed investigation that starts with a desire to understand an absent father and turns into a discovery of identity and culture. The actors have a lovely mix of wonderful technical skill and deep emotions which allows the storytelling style of repetition, pieced stories, and grid based movements to come alive in a deeply felt way. I am fascinated with memory and I loved the way the show dug into that.  I really enjoyed this piece, and I am hoping to bring it to Revolutions. 

Robert Robur is a performance based on an unfinished novel called "The Unusual Adventures of Robert Robur" by Miroslaw Nahacz. Directed by Krzysztof Garbaczewski, this show is epic. It is a science fiction/adventure/love story utilizing live action film. They had a set behind the set where they performed and filmed scenes with a GoPro type camera and we witnessed this film in real time on a giant eyeball shaped screen. As the play went along more of the live action moved on stage (and all around the theatre.) This four hour play was full of magic. Of course I have a million notes, things I would fix or change, but what a crazy night at the theatre. It tapped into issues around the media, reality tv, disconnection, desire, culture, and technology. It was wrapped up in a weird murder mystery, changed gears in the third act, and used fabulous 1980's style graphics and synthesized music. It was bananas and I really had a good time.

And then there was We Get What We Believe In. I arrived at the theatre to find an enormous table had been constructed with seats all around for the audience. In the center of the giant table was a man in a bathtub. At your seat was an electronic voting device and piece of paper and a pen. Ahhhhhhh...an interactive piece. Yes, please. As with all these shows it is complicated to explain, but this show was described as being based on the novel "The Master and Margarita" (and it was, kinda) but it was really an exploration into democracy, choices, classism, politics, and modern Poland life. I was very taken with these actors who made direct contact with most of the audience, using the audience's interactions as part of the work. We voted on questions posed to us and were able to see the results. They had videos of the Warsaw actors experimenting with the themes out in the world. My favorite was one of the actresses in a store sobbing in front of the diaper section because the choices for diapers was overwhelming. Her interaction with an older woman trying to help her was hilarious. The show had many elements of bouffon and it was used well. Taking the piss, exposing the bullshit, pulling back the curtain. I appreciated this work very much. I am certain this show is too large and expensive to bring to Albuquerque, but I plan to check in with the director. It was funny, strange, and fascinating. I liked this show very much. 

There are four days left and they are packed! Tonight I am going to see Teatr Figur Krakow's new piece Huljet, huljet which we are bringing to Revolutions in 2018. How much do we love TFK??? I can't wait to see this new work. It is an installation inspired by the memoirs of Jewish Krakow citizens in the Ghetto. I saw Daga the first night I got here, but I can't wait to see the rest of the gang tonight. There are more shows on the schedule, a tour of the Kantor museum, a few more meetings with directors and curators, more pierogi and zurek, more vodka, more castle and Krakowian magic. I am having a fabulous time with Dominika and Greg. It is so lovely to spend time with brilliant artists who you admire and connect with in your favorite city in all the world. 

Dominika and I have a crazy last few days travelling to Szczecin for a show and then to Wroclaw for more meetings (and Hubert!) so I hope to write again soon with more adventures. Love from Krakow to Albuquerque. 

Oh hey. I just looked outside and it is snowing. Magic.