The Man Who Wasn’t There ~GRAFFITI EDITION~
.music.
While “busking” (street performing) at The Village of the Fringed in Edmonton, Canada we took time to move to musician Adam Nash in front of a sweet artistic backdrop…I also got to ask him a few questions about his first love, music…
Adam Nash composed our 1 hour show and is always ready to add his extensive knowledge of music to the scene. A few things that influence him…
“…Art in general and anything that is creative. People that invent…people that have certain amounts of originality in their own music and can give back to art in that way in terms of new language and new ideas. Thelonious Monk is worth mentioning…”
Adam Nash & Jessica Myers ~ sometimes music says it all.
“…I think art is connected to everything. It’s connected to being a good person, to being successful, to being a good friend and a lover. To learn more about yourself and to live life. Everyday I learn something I feel like I’m inspired to create art”
James Koroni ~ he always brings the stylish funk and a camera!
Adam Nash & Lauren Cox ~ they usually vibe together on a Jimi Hendrix tip.
“I get very interested in seeing bodies move in space and trying to figure out, ok, what does that sound like? and do I compliment it or do the exact opposite for the sake of what I want to get across?…”
Mariana Ortiz ~ Producer, has an outfit and a smile for every occasion.
Adam Nash & Maya Oliva ~ they never get tired of lifting a leg and doing the do.
“…finished is not a tangible thought. I can always improve upon and make better…In terms of creating this process [The Man Who Wasn’t There], I had an idea of the script and I tried to do very on the spot composition based off of peoples’ improv and what they were giving me. It was very challenging and I feel like I grew a lot from it.”
Mei Ann Teo ~ Director, shows off our marketing skills while busking at the Fringe.
Kevon “Bulletyme” Simpson ~ adds to the art
“the one thing about dancing and music is that it’s such a different sense of communication. It’s like a constant feeding of energy and creation. It’s much more instinctive, rather than playing with other musicians or pre-recorded tracks where the dancer is choreographing to what’s already there…it [music composition paired with improv dance] is another art entirely…”
Adam Nash & “The Twins” (Jessica Myers & Maya Oliva) ~ these two are the busking champions and have book themselves another gig here at the fringe with “Superhero Boy Band”.
“…[This improv composition] focuses on communication. Learning how to be assertive and not passive or aggressive either…you can compliment each others ideas and still speak your mind and get your point across”
~ Missing In Action is playwriter Brian Quick
just putting it out there…europe!
Ponte Vecchio, Florence at night (by Massimo Carradori)
tumblrbot asked: WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?
places of enlightenment. amazonia. panama. egyptian pyramids. machu piccu. the salt caves. the northern lights. nepal. taj mahal. portugal. greece. remote islands. unknown artists. forests abundant with life. different cultures/rituals. huge stages.
.unity.
THE SUBWAY SERENDIPITY OF ME & MEI ANN TEO
IN NEW YORK, YOU MUST HUSTLE. I made and sold my own earrings, did the restaurant thing and, for a while, was a part of one of the exhilarating underground cultures in New York…subway entertaining or “hitting” (more on that in a later blog)
For now I will tell you the story of how I’ve arrived here to Edmonton, Canada with a cast of 5 and a director that’s traveled the world with her art, Mei Ann Teo. You receive a lot of things while performing on the subway…packs of gum, coins galore and promising business cards. Along with Mei Ann’s card came her energy. Her eyes relayed a passion and appreciation for dance, art and ACTION which was missing in my life at that time.
She handed us her card and it wasn’t until a month later that I reached out….nothing. then a month after she returned my email with a 415 area code attached to it…Bay Area? hella. She lived and worked as a director for 12 years in San Francisco but has traveled using grants, savings and pure faith to over 10 countries directing such plays as Lyrics from Lockdown. She is now based in New York while attending grad school.
We met in The Village. She burst out of the movie theater doors after seeing Pina and her energy was instantly contagious. We walked to Vegetarian Paradise restaurant before heading off to see Bill T Jones’ latest work Story/time in New Jersey and spoke of present ideas, past blockages and future possibilities. We rapped about how to travel with art and the preliminary ideas for what would become her first dance piece and my first time under a huge plastic sheet for 10 minutes!
Rehearsal was exhilarating from jump. Samuel Beckett’s Not I translated into 5 languages and ages recorded personally by Mei Ann with dubbed music over. Me under the huge plastic sheet with an audience holding 3 of the 4 sides down by their chairs. We played with time, terror and freedom, performed it twice for her class and professors at Columbia University Masters in Directing Program and put it on our shelf. If there’s one thing I know about Mei Ann it’s that she’s always brainstorming…Fringe Festival was next…
The Man Who Wasn’t There is a present collaboration with a plethora of talent! Writer Bryan Quick called upon Mei Ann, her producer Mariana Ortiz and our composer, Adam Nash, who created this original soundtrack by feeding off of it all. I called upon animal rights artist and my talented friend, James Koroni as well as enlightened mover, Kevon Simpson. Mesmorizing Jessica Myers and Canadian-Italian Maya Oliva found their way to the collab right on time. In this project everyone has a purpose, a creative voice and a character/role to fulfill, we are forgiving and challenged by each other constantly.
After 2 months of rehearsals filled with improv dance/theater, 4 performances in NYC and enough street performances to get people in the door, we find ourselves in front of an international audience who is punctually on time. We’ve had some adapting to do here thus far…Canadians have a different humor, a critical eye but a genuine love for those who put themselves out there in the name of art. The entire collab continues to inspire me with their compassion, drive and vision. We have all “stepped up to the plate” in ways foreign to us and shall be reborn because of it…
Mei Ann is not a professional dancer but carries a professional eye and shocks me with her knowledge of choreography and production methods. She is our gift and I feel so lucky to be working with her and those who she’s attracted.
While enjoying the Fringe hustle, fresh fruits and veggies and the endless sidewalks of Edmonton, I can’t help but miss the serendipity of NYC, the readiness of the subway and what is to come next…
the first of many international stages. Edmonton Canada’s Fridge Festival. Will be staying with a family of fridge enthusiasts and saying aye.
stages of dreams
4am flight from NYC to a circular town with agua flowing through it. i got dreams of the road, and stages to sage.
here, over and over, is a new beginning ending up in empowering spaces that replace past insecurities.
where the subway mouse meets the field and all hustle pays off.
where the path and the stage converge i will find myself stronger than ever, ready to share. finally.
it has been….
a motherfucking process.
fall, wobble, jump, be on that tight rope until you…
push through your feet and lengthen.don’t sickle your ankle, sit in your hip or lift it either…lengthen. no hyper-extension, muscle contraction, just opposition and resperation. ribs down, belly button in, pelvis calm, release your neck and shoulders. energy down and up and side from within spreading out, SMILE.
breath, breath…breathbreathbreath…breeeeeath and lengthen.
don’t think but share. but not too much. no marking, full living, lessons are infinite.
I am a teacher, so are you and in order to be one, just do what you must do.
…I AM A TRAVEL MUSE. as well as many other things.
…what are you?
____________________________________________________________________________________
muse \myüs\noun
1. a state of deep thought or dreamy abstraction
2. any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology presiding over song, poetry and the arts & sciences.
3. a source of inspiration
