Hello. I’m sorry it’s been quite a while. I’ve been remarkably busy as of late. I attended the &Now Conference in Buffalo and had a brilliant time. This is not the normal “scene” that I am exposed to (it’s mainly fiction/poetry based innovative & experimental work with a ton of computer related elements, but “it” – it’s actually not a “scene” but multiple ones really – seemed to focus on text rather than performance) and I was really happy to connect to others who I may never have had the opportunity to meet. It was a fantastic opportunity. I’m hoping that one day a collaboration might come about from these hellos and friendly intellectual conversations that were had over the few days I attended. For the conference, Carl, Niina and I performed my performance piece I/Labyrinth at Hallwalls in Buffalo. Hallwalls is a cute art and performance space that is part of a church off of Delaware Avenue in this far Western NY city. And Buffalo itself is an interesting place. I managed to have a number of exciting experiences happen during this trip (crazy public metro bus ride to Niagara Falls from Buffalo, drag show complete with dwarf in drag at Marcellos (I think that was the name of the club), Beautiful Thing (the play), a short visit to a 1970s-era mall called the Arcade which seemed perfect for another remake of Dawn of the Dead, nice theater people and the best caramel apple martinis (at $2.50 a piece and free top-offs!). Excellent times had by all.
The performance went well. I’m really proud of the performers as they really gave it their all for this piece. They’ve been involved with this since almost the beginning of it when it was just a few abstract thoughts swimmings around in my brain.
Next month I’ll be in San Francisco to show a slimmed down version of I/Labyrinth for the “Mythological Landscapes of the Body” at Subterranean Arthouse in Berkeley. I’ll be reading it live with the three video versions of the various iterations: WAXworks, AUNTs/Movement Research Spring Festival/&Now @ Hallwalls. And hopefully there will be a commentary piece about the creation of it published perhaps? I’m crossing my fingers that happens as it will help me piece together a more logical approach to this abstract piece.
I also had the chance to see the Robert Lepage show Lipsynch at BAM for its 9.5 hour view on closing day. What an inspirational piece of art. I love Lepage and is collaborative epic performances. Such a stunning show that is still running through my mind now. If you ever get the chance to see anything that he’s created, please do so! You will not regret it.
I guess that’s about it. I’m back in Florida for the time being, working on things, seeing some shows (I’m supposed to do a guest cameo in NOTLD for Jobsite) and hoping/dreaming/wishing to get back to NYC soon for a longer stay. ❤
Autumn Widdoes 