Bubbles for Kate's baby/video

Last image of Kate's solo. Played "It's a Wonderful Life" for her baby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypzd26wIgS0

You're not invited to David's solo

Because only David was invited to David's solo, I wanted to give you a taste of what you missed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI2hTiBHTZM

I'm interested in how to share the residue of a solo, how to talk about it vividly enough that you don't necessarily feel like you were there, but you have enough information that you could build a conceptual solo in your head.

Think of this as a virtual solo for your imagination.

Location Scouting

I made a video about the practice of looking for a site for Kate's solo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSu9Ac489nU

Nick Kaye defines site-specific art as "a set of practices which, in one way or another, articulate exchanges between the work of art and the places in which its meanings are defined."

The site is the housing for the context. Choosing the site IS a practice. Since these solos happen pretty fast from conception to performance, you have to get intuitive and practical about what you have around you and how you can use it. It has a little sustainability agenda wedged in there--use what's there, make the site an example of 'found art'. You don't have to make it, you just have to find it.

You do or don't want somewhere really public
You do or don't want somewhere insanely private
You do or don't want to get interrupted by passersby or security
You do or don't want neutral space
You do or don't want vastness, perspective, and scale
You do or don't want comfort and ease
You do or don't care about having someplace where you can dance well
You do want the site to reflect something about your spectator
You do want to control the situation a tiny bit so the show doesn't get shut down in the middle or you can't get access or you get arrested or there's a 90% chance your spectator will get lost getting there

A few things to think about.

Carey's solo for Daniel

*EVIDENCE FOR DANIEL*

I HAD SOMETHING IN MIND….

…for Daniel’s Evidence solo. It started out like this….

(Wearing all black with hat and glasses
Stand behind benches in bushes
Pseudo-Whispering text
I’m a mix between David Attenborough and a field recordings collector)

“Ok, here we go:
life score, take one….chirp, whimper…
shit, what’s that?
ok, try that again
life score, take 2…
damit, don’t do that…
sigh, do you have any mechanical pencils?”

Then other stuff was gonna happen….

BUT THEN SOMETHING ELSE, THE INCIDENT, HAPPENED…

…and everything changed

After our “incident” (Daniel telling me “Fuck you!” in the middle of a
rehearsal), I almost decided to do a no-show for his solo (which was 36
hours after the incident), but given the fact that I had to live with him
and be in class all day long with him for the next month, I realized I had
no choice but to deal with him / this. So, I set up a treasure hunt of
sorts, set up a one-man movie theater that was playing a movie all about
Daniel, and I offered an opportunity for forgiveness.

Here is some writing I did as I was creating the movie:

What choice do I have?
Don’t do as I do
Disregard impulsivity
Don’t ask too many questions
Speak eloquently
Think before speaking
Vigilance Rules
Efficiency matters
Don’t push people’s buttons
Don’t get in others’ way
Am I in your way?
This is life
Have mercy on the human condition
Catharsis matters
I need a bit more time

Treasure Hunt/Milwaukee

This is a treasure hunt. These are simple clues. Go to Zelazo, on the UWM campus. Go to the third floor. You will see some lockers that look like cages. You will feel like you are at a kennel. There will be one locker that is not locked. In it will be a small red bag, and in that bag will be an old fashioned tape recorder. Take it out and put it up to your ear. Press play and listen. When you are done, rewind the tape, put it back in its red bag, and shut the cage.

I'm looking for ways to share the solos with non-spectators. For Kate's solo, I made a short tape recording. It closed the piece. I asked her to listen to it alone after I disappeared on my bike.

Drum Solo: Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

Because no one but the performer and spectator can view (most) Evidence performances, I recorded a re-enactment of part of Kayla's solo.

I took one drum lesson so far. In my life. She loves the Eurythmics, at this moment, anyway. She's got a stream of new things coming her way. It seemed only right to share my new thing with her. Or maybe I'm just promoting newness for her, trying to read between the lines, enforce a little something I see coming. I shove some Ridiculous in her lap hoping for a drop of sublime.

keep your head up. moving on.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-j937d4m8I

Christina's solo

I created a 'practice' solo for Christina, who is also in the training process and making a solo of her own. She is a mother of two young children and working full time toward her MFA. She never sleeps. I made her a solo called 11 Dreams for The Woman Too Tired to Dream.
Here are the dreams I gave her:
1. On bike with mask and cape: fast, easy, free, stuck
2. Lady in dumpster, can't get out
3. Lady doing tap routine on top of dumpster
4. My mother comes as the Universal Mother to give you uplift
5. I beg and plead from far away but no one listens
6. I have to hold the handstand for a really really long time
7. I beg my daughter to come to me, she refuses, we discover a ladybug as neutral territory
8. Isn't this Naked Day? What do you mean I'm the only one naked?
9. Nurse Ratched comes to lobotomize
10. Blackbird singing in the Dead of Night
11. Lullaby for a sleepy mother