thoughts on the oyster, friends and time

Well, well - it is nearly a week since the rampant creativity of an oyster bbq FUNdraiser - the 17th or 18th annual of the type for we theater simpletons. Fairly straightforward idea: throw a party, fire up several barbecues, make a bunch of food and invite friends to do the same, then add a keg of great beer, a few gallons of some infamous sangria, and 40 dozen oysters. Ask pasl to bring friends, more food, and something to toss into the piggy bacnk to help fund more theatrical escapades.
Repeat as necessary.
Andrew and I are of the opinion that a good party should always repeat, and have its variations. This year they were foodie and croquet. Lots more kids, a few less dogs, but wow- GREAT weather. (We'll put in our request for next year.

The hurdles this year were numberous, not the least of which was: WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO FIND OYSTERS?? A rare heat spell had temporarily closed ALL the local oysters beds - just as we made our order. But we found 'em, and we're keeping 'em a secret, or we might not have them next year.

many thanks, by hte way, to the sponsors of this years oysters (Mel Nyffler and DINETTE, the fantastic bistro on Capitol Hill) and to the sponsors of the BEER, which was a marvelous Maritime Pacific brew, courtesy of Lowell's in Pike Market, and Mark, their groovy manager. (Talk about knowing your audience - he knows from artists and beer, ohhhhh yeah.)

Llysa
who counts herself in the 'foodie' group. And who thinks Monique is right - we do theater merely so we can create art, make friends, then eat great, artistically inspiring food with our artsy friends. Ergo - making art and creating theater is ultimately just the mechanism... for eating! lol

Open a Page (August 1st)

Today's quote:

"Art, like life, is understood through experience, not explanations. As theater artists, we cannot create an experience for an audience; rather, our job is to set up the circumstances in which an experience might occur. Artists are always dependent upon the person at the receiving end of their work."

--Anne Bogart, A Director Prepares (page 69)


This passage speaks to one of theater simple’s core beliefs: that the audience is smart, and that they love the chance to use their own imagination to follow us into the worlds that we create.

It is very seductive to try and ‘explain’ while you are creating work for the stage. (“Will anyone get this?!?”) However, my favorite memories as an audience member have been when I’ve fought through a moment (sometimes longer) of disorientation and found myself not only enjoying an experience, but stumbling upon comprehension much like we do in life itself. And the chance to explore that journey with the other members of the audience is where the true magic is.

“The audience grows together and becomes a group. There is the impression of a journey undertaken together, and a goal achieved.” ---Alfred Brendel

Open a Page (or...Thoughts on a Random Quote)

“Generally speaking, we can conclude that tradition, in the sense we use the word, means “frozen”. It is a frozen form, more or less obsolete, reproduced through automatism. There are a few exceptions, such as when the quality of the old form is so extraordinary that even today life remains in it, in the way that some very old people remain incredibly alive and touching. However, all form is deadly. There is no form, beginning with ourselves, that is not subject to the fundamental law of the universe: that of disappearance. All religion, all understanding, all tradition, all wisdom accepts birth and death…”

Peter Brook, The Open Door (page 59-60)


To get us started off blogging away. I thought it would be fun to literally "open a page". So today, I picked up a book that I had been meaning to re-read and opened it to a random page from which I pulled today's quote.

So, do you believe that there is a fundamental law in the universe that speaks to everything's eventual disappearance? And what about tradition? It is a solid foundation from which to draw from that allows us to achieve without having to re-invent the wheel? Or conversely is it a shackle that prevents us from dreaming, seeing, learning, or communicating in new ways?

Mr. Brook is referring, in the passage, to the benefits of not being ‘tied’ to traditional forms of generating or performing theater. Taken out of context, we can have a little more fun with it and make it even more personal.

In reading this passage, I'm reminded of the many ways that we try to 're-invent' ourselves every day: How people see us, what kind of person we strive to be, what kind of health or shape we're in.... but I don’t know that who we were, or what steps came before our current destination ever truly disappear. (We may wish that some would, but these are usually the things that cling tightest to us!)

It’s my opinion that we need question our past. We need to truly understand our traditions and habits. Be it from our parents, our heritage, our religion or just the daily life patterns we’ve led for year after year, we still need to strive to reach higher, or at least outside of the zone where we are used to functioning. One of my favorite things that Peter Brook ever said was that…”we need to allow each other to fail gracefully” because it’s in these failures that grand ideas will appear.

This is just one of the reasons that I love theater, the creation, fruition of and eventual release of ideas and labor to whatever end. We hope for our ideas and labors to support the best and the brightest, the creation of the “Aha!” moment for every single audience member who comes to witness what we’ve done. But truth be told, those moments are few and far between, and they usually lie within a flower bed of compost ideas that doesn’t always smell sweet. ;)

So this returns to my thought earlier. I don’t believe that things ever disappear (even traditions) Instead, I believe that they fade or breakdown into a ‘mulch’ of sorts that help support other ideas or methods that are just starting to sprout.

And we feebly begin...

OK - months after I got all energized and created this(on my birthday no less) in Adelaide, Australia during our fringe time there, I am actually, for real and truly, POSTING to it. Lamely, feebly, and soon - much better. This is for all intents and purposes, merely a TEST.

So -

TEST.

One. Two. Zebra.

Thanks.

SOON - I promise - all sorts of mischief and creatively lazy plots will be revealed.

Llysa