contemplating APAM after a very stimulating and challenging week
Its now nearly March. For many it is the beginning of the academic year. For others we have been back at work for some time. What is this 2016? How will it unfold?
It began with several festivals in quick succession: it seems Brisbane Powerhouse is a power house, providing the community with multiple festivals to keep us entertained and connected.
The last big festival of sorts was APAM which was on this week at BPH, Sofitel, QPAC and Judith Wright Centre. Many performances from around Australia and New Zealand came to test their appeal for the wider audiences and many were successful, creating tours through Asian and Europe, USA and Canada. The dream of an international tour is a tricky one and I have the tension inside me: would I rather travel or work?
I did not apply to APAM to pitch: even though I am a practitioner of 40 years I am a newbie when it comes to selling. I am still unsure how one sells work: I know how to create it, dream it on, even get it on, but to then try to sell it to others, well that is the hiccup. The stumbling block. But what was a delicious discovery was that I was not backward in recommending other people’s work: I heard myself on multiple occasions wanting people to buy Aeon, onestepatatimelikethis, The Stance, Collusion, Circe’s Carnival of the Animals etc…no problem at all…and all of these works will get a showing elsewhere. They were excellent as were many other ones that showed on the local stages. I did not see everything. When we are attending a local event there is still the need to facilitate that workshop or go to that meeting, but I did see enough to know that the art in Australia is flourishing and that it is ok that we don’t like everything (I found myself lukewarm about some things and red hot about others)… there is a wide variety of audiences out there.
I have put a community provocation on Facebook to have more theatre pitches from Brisbane for the final APAM 2018. Kris Stewart reminded us that we had several, but I am thinking theatre, not musical theatre (love it), not dance (love it) and not circus (love it) but theatre, those golden nuggets of conversations between audience and performers, stories that connect, charm and transform. I could not see any from Brisbane. And we had some from elsewhere that were charming (“hello, goodbye and happy birthday” was one that was definitely delicious), challenging (in the best way) and very watchable. That caused me to reflect on the shows that I have seen in Brisbane these last months that elicited the very same response: I have been charmed, challenged, engaged…
And the provocation to myself is to deeply consider what it is I am wanting: do I need to take my work farther afield? Or is it ok to remain local, constantly striving for excellence but focusing on my own community’s needs…I have not found an answer yet, but I am considering it.
I love finding old journals. There is always a little magic between the pages...
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Here you will find some more information about this project:
NAME: "My Re-Enchantment Project"
This is a 5 month indwelling of creative practice.
You will create your own project in community with like-minded artists, and at the same time, expose your practice to new ways of seeing.
You will participate in a range of different workshops by leading arts practitioners.
You will engage in Bootcamp writing sessions as well as one-on-one coaching sessions with Dr. Margi Brown Ash.
MY RE-ENCHANTMENT PROJECT IS ABOUT TO BE BEGIN
An image from my play EVE 4change coaching has been operating firstly out of Metro Arts for nearly 2 decades, and now out of Pullenvale, in the leafy western suIt has been very exciting to hear from you all in response to this soon-to-be-realized-project. Just like me (every time I have a major deadline), there are artists out there who seek out consistent support in order to get their work done, and this support goes beyond their director or dramaturg or editor or best friend or supervisor. Someone who is committed to you turning up as your best self and at the same time turning in your best work.
As research, I have been enrolled in four online courses in the last year to suss out what works for me and what doesn't.
I have decided that it is the facilitator's personal interest in the artist and their work that is the magic, not 'one size fits all'. So I think, for this to work, and for it to work impeccably, we need to get to know each other, work together and then have online options when we can't work face to face. This is my preferred way and I hope it sounds good to you.
Our next step, is an email from you to me, expressing why you want to be part of this cohort. I am wanting this project to be accessible, nurturing, exciting, expanding, innovative, crazy-fun and life-changing. I am wanting to dedicate July to December 2020 to this way of being.
Thank you! I so love my community, and at a time when sector support is quite thin on the ground, the work still has to be done, and I am committed to help you do it.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.What if there was a group of artists working at getting a project up and needed some mentoring/coaching support to move towards completion?
This idea has emerged over several years: I have had some big deadlines in the last few years, and so many times I wished-like-crazy that I had a tribe of collaborators who were there, writing alongside me (on different projects usually) on a regular basis. My dream is to set this up for artists: your writing sessions each week would consist of gathering, drinking tea and then settling down to some serious 25-minute stints of writing-5 minute break-25 minutes again and so on. A four hour writing session where I encourage you, and you encourage each other to write, or you may be painting, or choreographing, or researching...the only criteria is that it is creative and that you are keen to finish your project.
Have a read below and if it is of interest, then contact me: send a text or email 4change@iinet.net.au or a PM. Thank you!
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.simple instructions for profound change.
The A-Z of Poses: Asana Guide to Ardha Chandrasana - The BioMedical Institute of Yoga & Meditation
Find out the benefits, Contradictions & Cautions, Preparatory & Counter poses, Variations, Modifications, and tips of the asana pose Ardha Chandrasana.