The Dada Diaries

Ask me about my SECRET!

2009-05-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

the dada cabaret
(NON) TRADITIONAL CABARET – 8:00PM
on the UC Davis Campus
Bum, bum, listen to the drum
Bring your picnics, blankets and start to hum
As you walk down Hutchison –
past music, art & theatre,
In front of Mrak you will be able to see, hear and feel her.

Tomorrow belongs to DADA!

2009-05-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

Gosh, we've come so far and there's plenty to do before the big event tomorrow. I am super excited about the possibilities around this event and that's what keeping me going. Well, that and lots of caffeine.

Yesterday we rehearsed the Hugo Ball Does a Dance piece and were visited by the lovely people at The Davis Enterprise. We finally moved that dance out of the studio and into the world and I must say it felt GREAT. Getting to feel my feet on the grass doing the movement, as well as trying on the pebbled concrete on for size. The concrete is definitely not my favorite, but the balls roll more and they take a life of their own.

I also moved a piano yesterday with a good bit of help from some guys from TCS and then I met with most of the cabaret artists in the SECRET location to go over how this crazy cabaret will go. Since most of the performers have not worked together we are all a little anxious, but know the spirit of Dada will guide us through.

For those attending the daytime event tomorrow, just know it's gonna be HOT. Wear plenty of sunscreen and drink lots of water. And be prepared to get your hands dirty for DADA!

help, I just realized that the anti-spectacle is indeed a spectacle

2009-05-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yes it's true. My DADA needs a MAMA, but not in a heteronormative way, or even in a way that supports the idea of binary gender. My DADA also needs a ZAZA and a MEEMEE, a QUSO and a WEBFART.

What am I trying not to say?
Help, I just realized that the anti-spectacle is indeed a spectacle.

Most specifically I just realized that I am being interpellated by cultural studies texts that challenge the hegemonic culture making machinery. What does that mean? I mean that just when I think I'm resisting, or conspiring an "alternative", I realize that the university, the books produced in academia, and the language that we speak to critique hegemony, spectacle, and ideology are all spectacular distractions shouting, "Hey you, look over here!" Just when we get an embodied awareness of the matrix, we get seduced back into the fold, the plié, the crease, the contraction.

Cultural studies texts induce an internalized and masochistic prison industrial complex, including panopticonic surveillance structures, inescapable tortures, punishments, and incarcerations. The room has no windows. Only a ceiling open to an infinite sun, camera, eye. 24/7 people, I'm talking 24/7.

And I'm an artist. A performance artist past the edge of a nervous break (dance). No one understands me. Which is predetermined. We/they want it that way. And I am only now understanding how deeply embedded this failure is. But embedded does not equal embodied. The msm journalist in Iraq is disembodied, cut off from the socio-political body, in a way that should seem familiar to contemporary artists.

So I'm approaching DADA in Davis with some trepidation, some concern about my nostalgic formulations. Isn't nostalgia a further embedding of the ideology that is cyborg-izing what remains of the living tissue that was my bodymind. Ouch, why doesn't cyborg-izing hurt? Why isn't the surgery of interpellation leaving visible scars at the corporeal points of entry or exchange. And how are these points of contact, penetration, and embeddment, anything but the primary material of my dancing, where dancing is the live moment presence of the dance, the making of the dance, the embodiment of the dance?

So I refuse to dance DADA. I will speak to the dead object that is alive with fetishistic vibrancy. I will share my concerns with whoever can hear me. I know that the ear has not kept up with the eye, i.e., the ear listens from a more archaic paradigm than the eye, cyborgized at a faster rate by visual technologies and the languages that support them. So that means I will also sing, sound, moan, whisper, grate, shift, burp, scratch, vibrate and resonate.

Saturday. Davis. 90 degrees in the shade. I'll see you there wearing shades, dishing shade.

Keith X Hennessy

T-minus 10 days and counting...

2009-05-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a meeting with Tom Munn, the lighting faculty member in the Department of Theatre and Dance to talk lighting for the evening cabaret. I don't think he would admit it, but I saw him getting pretty excited. When we walked into the secret location, his mind was cranking. I saw him walk the space like a private investigator. Making sure there were plenty of outlets and how the placement of the stage could affect the placement of the lighting instruments. He sees lots of red rope lights and a simple lighting plot that can be used for the entire evening without change. Simple.

Praba Pilar my partner in crime for the evening portion will be guiding the scenic elements. I am thinking swarths of rich fabric to really warm up this cool space. We also talked yesterday about using the 2 foot risers from the department of Theatre and Dance to create a small stage area. Since the audience is on one level and the ground is not level in all areas, I want to make sure everyone can see.

Thank god I have a team of Alpha Phi Omega volunteers to help that morning. One of my DRA 10 students, Maverick Bohn, is on the task of finding DADA images and quotes to put on the volunteer hats. I will check in with my ladies from the Prytanean Society today to see how their presentation went yesterday. It would be great to have more hands on deck.

Now, the chick from the Cal Aggie Band-uh just needs to call me back...

Updating the world

2009-04-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Chad Sniffen who drafted the latest press release and is sending it out to the world. We decided to keep the detail on the website so I am hoping to get some inquiries from those newspaper types soon.

I sent a bunch of updates for the website to Kathryn Ricoli a few days ago, and in my excitement I keep checking to see if they are up. They aren't. But I did hear from her last night and she should be working on them today.

I am also making a little progress with the artistic events. We are performing a bit (if not all) of Brian Griffin's The Zurich Plays. I just need to cast it - and offer extra credit to my DRA 10 students -- to do a scene or 2.

Makin' the Map

2009-04-27T12:25:00.001-07:00

Just came from a meeting with Jessica Bender who is designing the map. We met over some tea and with her inspirations from some Dada graphic design, she will be creating the event map and listing of events.

We had a spirited conversation and it looks like she will incorporate the bowler hat image that we will be using with our volunteers. We both got super excited as we continued to brainstorm and throw out ideas.

We also discussed the "Do It Yourself" Dada tables that will be at each of the 4 afternoon venues. I talked with Sarah Kendrick and Jamie Kumpf on Friday about having a painting station, but after further consideration that has "messy disaster" written all over it. Jessica and I decided on doing Hannah Hoch inspired photomontages instead. And that's great because my good friend Angela Mitchell will be coming in from Atlanta and exhibiting her modern take on a photomontage using images of women in the Iraq war.

I am also working on a big overhaul of the website. I sent new information to Kathryn Ricoli this morning and the super generous Chad Sniffen wrote a draft of the press release. I just made some changes and sent to a group of proofreaders before we send it out into the universe.

Gosh, this event is actually going to happen! How exciting is that?

The Countdown Continues

2009-04-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Gosh, there's so much to do. It's a little overwhelming. However, today I met with Christina and Kirti, the service leaders from the Prytanean Women's Honor Society on campus. The meeting was mostly with Christina and Kirti joined us between meetings. I explained the festival in detail and talked about volunteer opportunities for the membership. Actually, I thought the meeting to the membership was yesterday, but after no one showed up I rode my bike home and looked at the correct date in my email.

Anyway, as I spoke about tasks of posting flyers, setting up the cabaret and the afternoon walking tour, I saw Christina's mind go. She got so incredibly excited and thought of numerous ways for the entire group to get involved. While we met I call from Vanessa at Davis Commons who passed on the number of her contact with the CalAggie Band-Uh. They apparently are having a fundraiser on May 16th and want to use Davis Commons together. With my love of marching bands, I am super excited.

I am optimistic that we will have plenty of help. Just as I am optimistic that the city will be overrun with Dada art and performance.

We are on our way!

The Zurich Plays

2009-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

In 2001, the Atlanta theatre Dad's Garage produced The Zurich Plays written by Brian Griffin and his band of crazies. I saw it twice. The first time I was -- well, in a drug induced haze, but the second time I was very much sober and yes, still I didn't "get it."

With The Dada Cabaret on the horizon, I contacted Monsieur Griffin through the magic of Facebook and he finally sent it and upon my couch I read the masterpiece that is The Zurich Plays. I do have to say that it makes much for (non) sense now that I have the knowledge of Dada. There are a few ideas that I would like to incorporate into the festival and I didn't realize that I actually took them directly from The Zurich Plays. The number 1 is that I would like to dress someone as Mona Lisa complete with mustache and small beard and when others see her to yell, "She has a hot ass!" Well, maybe Jeanne Jacobson said something similar (and I know she didn't see The Zurich Plays) but there is a very similar section in the play.

I am going to write to Brian right now and see if we can perform excerpts both during the day and in the evening. Fingers crossed that he says "ja ja!"

The Magic of Bob Bowen

2009-04-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I met the Promotions Manager for the City of Davis to talk about the festival. The man is a wonder on two legs. He is extremely energetic and supportive and knows a heck of a lot about the history of this city.

I met him at the Hunt Boyer Mansion which is currently city offices, however most of the staff are moving back to City Hall. He gave me a quick tour of the first floor before we hustled to the train station plaza.

Since the train station plaza or technically the Brindley Plaza is one of the afternoon Downtown Davis venues - and the only one that is not commercial property - I needed to talk with the man who knows. Names, dates, history, drama, the characters in the city who are impossible to work with. See, Bob knows!

Bob is a reformed song and dance man who has created and performed many site specific works in Davis. He showed me a few choice spots at the station that I cannot wait to commandeer with art and music on May 16th.

He also assured me that the insurance issue is easily solved. However dealing with the Theatre & Dance department today, they are turning on the orange caution lights. You know, the ones with the piercing annoying noise that sounds to accompany the flashing lights? Yeah, those. I prefer the calmness of Bob Bowen, thank you very much.

Anyhoo, the other exciting thing is the Pump House on 2nd and E that I have been staring at for months should be okay to use. It's the site that Mishka's will move to, however, the Pump House still stands and it should be in it's current condition through the end of May.

Guess who arranges for use of that space? Um, yeah, my new buddy Bob Bowen.

adelante!

2009-04-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

I invited two Bay Area performance artists - who do cabaret - to come and do their dadaesque magic with us, but alas, neither was available. I will be excited to present The Cyborg Soap Opera as part of this event.

Just Over a Month to Go!

2009-04-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

I met with Peter, my advisor today and he asked if I have been keeping a record of all the craziness? To be honest, it's been mostly word of mouth. I have not had much time to blog, let alone do my laundry. And then there is this big dada extravaganza less than a month from now.

Julie Friedrichsen jumped on a board a week ago and had been helping with securing venues and getting permits. And I met with Jenna Chen yesterday to give feedback on her flyer designs.

There are also additional requests to volunteer and I will be meeting with Praba Pilar tomorrow to create a poster.

I also had a great Hugo Ball dance rehearsal yesterday and we decided to do an abstraction of the piece where we change clothes with each other. I am very excited.

I just came from 2 surprise visits with positive outcomes. The first was a semi-surprise. We have been playing phone tag with Natalie from the Pence Gallery and I stopped by to schedule time with her tomorrow. And then I went to a loft space where I want to use a balcony. I got a call from the leasing office the other day and she said no, so I went up to this beautiful Asian-styled patio and started knocking on the residents doors. I think I got a taker. A nice guy from the history department. He's checking with his wife, so I think we're golden.

Now I just have to tackle elements of insurance.

Wish me luck!

Major Updates

2009-03-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe the Winter Quarter has come and gone. We have made a ton of progress, but not as much as I've wanted. I did have some help this quarter with some of the marketing and managerial duties and thankfully there has been a bit of artistic creation.

But I guess I should start and say that the City of Davis did indeed award us with the grant we applied for. Not only that, we were fully funded. We received all that we requested. Which is very surprising in this current economic climate.

Lynette Hunter from the Theatre & Dance Department worked her magic and got a group of Davis Honors Challenge students to take on the project, Dada Lives! Four third-years assisted with writing a press release, creating a Facebook group and starting to make community contacts. For the most part they kept me on track and got me excited each and every time I met with them.

Over the last few weeks, I have also been collaborating with 5 other dancers to create my Hugo Ball Dance. PhD candidate, Claire Blackstock will be reading a Hugo Ball poem in German while the dancers move on those giant yoga/exercise balls. In fact, we finally put the dance together today and Claire came for about 30 minutes so we played with rhythm and tone. We will continue this on Friday.

Lastly, we are moving slowly on the school workshops. We have 2 high school classes and potentially two junior high classes. I have yet to speak to any elementary classes and with my schedule, I may let that go. Just as we did with the flash mobs.

I have invite a number of new authors, so hopefully there will be an influx of writing sooner rather than later.

Onward Ho!

Funding Next Step

2008-12-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

I came home from the first half of the Contact Improv and Body Mind Centering workshop to find a nice letter from the City of Davis with congratulations on my strong application. They had questions about the educational part of this project in the Davis public schools. So, for the last week I have been playing email tag with Gina Smith who is one of the Drama teachers and have sent quite a few more emails to other art and music teachers on the HS and Junior High level with no response. Amy Greer offered to lead the lesson for elementary and I will gladly take the high schoolers. The city needs some information on how the lessons will be focused and who will be leading them. They need this by January 5. With the holidays upon us and vacation time prevalent, I have quite a task ahead of me.

Oh the grantors also want to have a confirmed date. This is the communication I've had with Scott Bowen and Joy Cohan. I think we will still push on with the 16th of May. Yahooo!

Hope: Sat. May 16, 2009 probably will be the date of the Rotary Turkey BBQ in Central Park (they use the Sycamore Grove & stage all day after Farmer's Market), it's also the day of the Double Century bike tour (a couple thousand bicyclists up at Community park), and probably an outdoor movie in Central park that evening at about 9:00 p.m.

Depending on WHERE you do the cabaret downtown, these events should not conflict. It's also 2 days after Celebrate Davis, a huge event in Community Park.

exhibitionism

2008-12-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

I've always been kind of fascinated by those human exhibits that took place in the early 20th century, wherein members of "tribes" from Africa or India or Oceania were brought to Europe and displayed as if in a sort of human zoo or living museum. It was a horrible thing, of course, in many ways. People and their cultural artifacts were removed from their contexts and placed before sensation-hungry Europeans. I sometimes wonder if Duchamp's urinal was a (unconscious?) response to this sort of thing (and a more sophisticated response than, say, Debussy's or Picasso's). After all, a mask (or even a person) from Africa will have a particular function in its society of origin; when it is placed in an exhibit at a European museum it takes on all sorts of new meanings. Similarly, one would presume, with toilets and other objects--perhaps members of another society would find in our toilets powerful artistic expressions.

I wonder if such exhibits could be done today. If someone put us, for example, in an exhibit, what would they want to see? What meanings can we be invested with if we are taken out of context? What is exotic about us, what strange rituals do we perform, in what ways are we "primitive"? What are our mating dances, our healing songs?

Alternately, what happens when/if we museumize dada? Does the present world provide a proper context in which to experience dada? Or is dada already subsumed by the cultural establishment? Should dada be meseumized? Should dada-ists be meseumized?...

"Ladies and gentlemen prepare yourselves, for today you are in for a one of a kind treat! Thought to have become extinct in the 1920s due to suicide, venereal disease, and anomie, we have traveled deep into the primordial recesses of art history to bring you these primitive and exotic specimens. Marvel at the enigmatic chatterings of the Tristan Tzara; delight in the strange songs of the Kurt Schwitters; tremble at the primeval visages of the Marcel Janco! Ladies and gentlemen, without further delay, I present to you: the Lost Tribe of the Dadas!"

Ready, set, propose

2008-11-23T15:27:00.001-08:00

On Friday I drafted a flyer calling for artists and performers, as well as the submission form for art and performance projects. I only got feedback from one of the minion, so I will review both again today and send out to the world tomorrow. Actually I already made some changes to the flyer and will look at the form in a few minutes.

There's a lot of work to do with this festival, but it's like pulling teeth to get feedback and assistance. This quarter has been busy and I know that everyone is overcommitted. I'm hoping once I have some of the artistic stuff done and the word starts to spread, I will get a few more people to assist with organization and logistics and then I can do that thing that I'm not so good at - delegate.

I wonder why I have not spent much time on my thesis this quarter...

Mo Money, fingers crossed

2008-11-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

So, on Thursday the ball started rolling and my Sunday it became a huge fireball. In my conversation with Bob Bowen he mentioned the Arts Competition grant from the City of Davis. The folks at the Pence told me about it weeks ago, but I really didn't think I needed it. However, now that we are taking over downtown Davis, I realized both the potential and all of the costs involved.

I got together with one of my fellow acting MFAs, Amy Cole, on Sunday for brunch at Little Prague. I had done a bit of work on the application on Saturday, but we talked through the budget and scope of the project. Amy has quite a bit of experience with grant writing and I have to say that I never would have been able to do it without her. What I have been learning at grad school most of all, is how to articulate what I do and why it is important. After a few more hours of reworking and fleshing out of ideas on Sunday, I sent it to Tim Orr, yet another classmate in my program to do a little proofreading. He caught all of my colloquial shit and forced me to take out anything that would set a red flag for the panel. Tim has a bunch of administrative experience in both theatre and dance and his comments were specific and professional. I do have to say that I am a good editor and proofreader, but it's just like cleaning and organizing -- I'm always better with someone else's stuff.

What I realized on Friday however, was that I needed resumes from all of the lead artists and quite a few letters of recommendation. I am not going to lie - that was the scramble part of the process. Due to the short time to get the proposal in, I had to do quite a bit of legwork, but it's done and in and I did in fact kiss the packet of application copies as I put in in the box on the front desk of the Pence Gallery.

I cannot wait to really start digging in and get all Dada artistic. That will certainly inspire all of this organization and administration.

Dadaists Untie!

Dada Takes Over

2008-11-14T16:01:00.000-08:00

So, I found out this week that the Davis Arts Center is no longer available to rent in May 2009 for our little adventure. I was slightly bummed, but realized that we were only taking the easy way out by keeping the Dada Cabaret so contained. I had a great phone conversation with Bob Bowen in the City of Davis on Thursday and he never said no. I am not sure why I thought he may. he gave me great ideas and people who I need to contact and encouragement in getting city funds.

Our meeting yesterday was nothing less than spirited. Josh spoke in excited tones and Sarah was super vocal. We made plans of treasure maps, exploring the nooks and crannies of our little cowtown and getting all dada.

I am in the process of getting additional funding from the participating UCD humanities departments and I will be going to the Davis ArtsWalk tonight to start getting my name out there and preaching the Dada gospel.

It's going to be a lot of work, but I am very excited about the journey. Here's to a Saturday in May and a little gypsy dinner to follow the mayhem.

p.s.

2008-11-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

I just came across a line in Tzara's Dada Manifesto that perhaps complements the questions I put forth in the previous post:

Beware of forgeries!

Imitators of DADA want to present DADA in an artistic form which it has never had

last meeting's exercise

2008-11-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

I think it's peculiar what can evolve from the awareness that one is being filmed. I wonder if our actions would have been different had we not had a camera to consciously or subconsciously perform for.

I also am thinking about what it was like to deliberately follow direction stating, "We will all do Dada things now, and here are the parameters under which they'll take place." Is an academic discussion of Dada sort of Dada in itself, seeing as how Dada founders believed everything to be absurd or incomprehensible?

If we "put on" a Dada event, are we contradicting what Dada is, fundamentally? Would our performance be just that--a facsimile or representation of Dada, instead of the "real thing"?

Reflecting on exercise

2008-10-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

The improv station activity was very much out of my usual mode of what sometimes feels like "robotic student." It gave me a chance to play and I realized how little playing i do in my daily lifeand how important it is to break out of that routine! I especially liked rolling on the ball and reading out loud. I learned that I must read that manifesto to go further in this collective. So this activity is a reminder to play and remain flexible and keep making/creating/collecting/let others in to find out what else is possible.

The creative energy in the room was high and varied in personality. We respected each other's space and helped to create something that seemed completely ridiculous and absurd and loads of fun!
I had a smile on my face into the evening and could still feel the essence of improv the next day. It carries into the other activities in my life and ultimately has a positive effect that is bubbling over into the present moments building upon each other...

Uh oh, another meeting

2008-10-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

We have our third meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Right now only 7 people are scheduled to attend. I have not really planned this gathering. I would really like to whip together a flash mob. I wonder what we will actually do.

There is some activity in the grant department which is super exciting. I also had an epiphany about space when I went to see Trolley Dances this weekend in San Francisco.

More later.

More Design, more Art History

2008-10-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

I got a message on Monday from Kris Carpenter in Design saying that she was off for the month of August and did not send out the message to the students. So after I gave her the go ahead to send my original email on, I got interest emails from eight more students. Therefore when I sent out the minutes of the last meeting yesterday, I also requested another gathering.

Mike Ricoli responded to the Minutes email and said that he spoke with one of his professors about the project and she would like to announce it to her Art History students. My guess is that we will have a new surge of participants in a few days.

I guess I'd better get my act together and get the performance side of things rolling.

Mostly Conventional, a Little Absurd

2008-10-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our second Dada meeting in the conference room in Wright Hall. As usual, there were those who responded but didn't show and at least one who didn't respond but did attend. I asked everyone to consider what they wanted to bring to the table, as well as share some knowledge of Dada with the group. There were 4 of us who brought either books or ideas to share, but for the most part most of the people involved do not know how they want to be involved yet.

I believe we took a step forward yesterday and I started to explain some of the performance pieces I am thinking about. Daniel was surprised that they were so literal and historical, but I personally want to start there so we at least have some pretty accessible things in the mix. I would still like to show Hugo Ball as a volleyball sized ball with the word HUGO on it. Then I thought it would be fun if we used the ball as a head and created a little movement exploration that assembled the image of Hugo Ball at the Cabaret Voltaire.

Mike mentioned that he still wants to play with large canvas paintings. I offered the idea of doing a painting on a piece of fabric that then becomes a costume piece, but he was less interested in that.

We talked a bit about space and that is still the largest obstacle. In my frustration I talked more about the flash mob elements that we would not need space - and to be honest I got more excited as I spoke about potential performance ideas.

The biggest thing is that before the meeting started I handed out tasks for everyone to complete during the meeting. I was unsure if anyone was going to do them and it wasn't until 4:00 until things started rolling. Daniel got up and asked everyone to join him in singing Happy Birthday to Mr. President. Unfortunately we also lost Julie and Mike who had to leave at that time, so the meeting didn't get as raucous as I'd hoped.

I do have the whole thing on video (or well mostly Dave Dennen and me on video) but there is pretty good audio throughout. I may cut together the highlights and post them here.

We did not schedule another meeting, but I plan to get started on the performative elements that interest me. Hopefully that will get the BALL rolling a bit faster.

Not a fan of the No.

2008-09-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

Since it's difficult to really make a plan with this project without a venue I went to two of the galleries in town after meeting with Garrett from the music department and Josh, one of the scenic designers in my program.

I rode my bike to the first one - my favorite - and had to wait about 20 minutes for the owner to come back. He never responded to my email and when the assistance tried to find it on the computer, she was unable. I had my computer with me so I just sent it again. I toured the gallery for a while and heard a loud voice at the front desk. I figured that was the owner and introduced myself. He was high energy and was half listening to me and half communicating with a friend visiting from out of town. He was excited that he just sold a painting to Chad Lowe and needed to share. This made it very difficult for me and he was not really listening nor giving me much option. I just stared at him for a moment, said thank you and left. I was not exactly sure what happened, but basically due to a ceramic show going on in May, he was not able to give me any exhibition space. So, he was telling me no. And to be honest, I really didn't want to hear it.

I moved on to the another gallery and spoke with another assistance before the head of the gallery got out of her meeting. She was much more open and we discussed possibilities and dates. Better yet, the assistant suggested I apply for a local arts grant. I need to read it over, but I believe they give upwards of $5,000. So, that would be sweet.

There are still a few other places to try and I may still go back to my first and favorite place and see what's really possible.

I look forward to our meeting next Friday and created an exercise for the group that I will video tape. It may be good for the exhibit or it may be entertaining blog viewing.

Set backs or no, we are on the path for a very exciting project.

The Journey Begins

2008-09-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Today was our first meeting of the Dada Project. Of the 29 people interested in the project there were 10 that showed up. We did two exercises that were on the quiet side. It allowed more quiet contemplation, but the energy was there. I am excited to blow the roof off the subject and really start getting our hands dirty.

As I anticipated even with Dada there needs to be structure, so that's my top priority. Getting some spaces and dates together to pose to the group. We need to have a time line so we know for how long we can be crazy and then when we have to start making some decisions. Our next meeting is Friday the 3rd and we are going to bring some artistic ideas to the table as well as a bit of education. I think most of the questions on the table will be answered and then of course, a whole new set of questions will arise.

I have also invited all 10 attendees to blog, so hopefully you, our dear readers, will start to get different perspectives and hear other voices.

"We should burn all libraries and allow to remain only that which everyone knows by heart. A beautiful age of the legend would then begin."
--Hugo Ball, journal entry, Jan. 9, 1917, Flight Out of Time: A Dada Diary [1927]

Impatience...

2008-09-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

I met with the fantastic text and movement artist Celeste Miller and told her about a few of my ideas around the project - the letter writing section where the audience would deliver letters from one performer to another on request, the sound poem out of war and some of the rotating visual arts stations.

She was very complimentary and this got me super excited.

Can we start now??!!!

First Meeting Scheduled

2008-09-09T14:47:00.001-07:00

I went to the department yesterday to find space for the first meeting. I'm afraid that Wright 220 will be too tight, but I would prefer to be in a conference room with light and tables, rather than the Arena that's dark and icky. I have 27 people (including myself) who are interested. I'm curious to know the attrition rate.

I spoke briefly with Jon Rossini the other day in the green room of Wright Hall and said that I probably will not be performing in this project since I will need to administrate over 20 people. He said something along the lines of "administrate Dada?" And that rang a little bell. Am I controlling this process too much or rather will I?

I wonder if we should set some structure and then just let it all go. I'm interested in trying lots of chance things, but think it would be helpful to also rehearsal some of the more historical sections.

With the end of Second Summer Session this week and my trip to Atlanta on Friday, it will probably be a moment until I catch up. I hope to have some down time in the dirty South where I can work on Dada a bit. Oooh, perhaps a trip to Dad's to see what research they have from The Zurich Plays.

The List Grows!

2008-09-01T08:36:00.001-07:00

I get a little giddy every time I think about the possibilities of this project and the fact that I have a list with 22 (!!) interested people. I finally have students or faculty from all departments that I targeted except Technocultural Studies. They each have a mix of experience and knowledge about Dada. Some of them have something specific to share and others are just ready to jump and participate. I need to embrace that rather than think about it as an administrative nightmare. I will head into the department tomorrow to check out some space and confirm the time and space for the meeting. Once I meet with the majority of group I will have a better plan of attack.

I have a good idea of what I want from this project, but the truth is that with 20 others involved we may wind up with something completely different. And that's okay. Actually it's better than okay, it's collaboration.

Today is a day to do laundry and work on my thesis, but tomorrow I'll jump back to Dada.

I Just Couldn't Wait!

2008-08-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

So, I have been staring at those 7 emails in my outbox for a week now and just couldn't take it any longer. I sent those puppies out and got responses from 3 departments (German, Film & Art) letting me know they passed it on and then another 5 emails from interested parties. One (but perhaps 2) from German, one from Film, and one from Design. I am super excited. I am scheduling a meeting to gather with all interested students and faculty members on Tuesday, September 23rd in the afternoon. I also asked Jade if she could be there.

I did a bit of research in the library on Monday and have been reading a book on Dada Performance. I need to head to the Natsoulas Gallery tomorrow to see again if they would be interested. If not, I'm sure we can find a place on campus. I think I need to do a bit more work on my thesis this week, but I'll move back to Dada on Friday.

Another One Gone

2008-08-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I got an email from Anna Schumacher letting me know that she is taking off fall quarter and therefore will not be available for rehearsals during fall quarter. I am trying not to be down about it, especially since we have not really started things yet. She did let me know that she completed 2 of the mail tasks and sent them on. So at least there's been some activity. I am currently at the library and was going to do some thesis work, but think I will do some Dada research instead.

The cool thing about Anna being in NY and her possible continued interest in the project is the mail aspect. We could continue to play with correspondence through the mail like the Dadaists did. There also may be some NY tasks she could do on my behalf. Or perhaps, we switch. She play NY and I play Paris. But she may not want to continue her involvement from so far away. We'll see.

I will send the emails to all of the departments in 5 days, so hopefully I will have a few more people on my team in a week or so.

Reenergized!

2008-08-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to produce a Dada Cabaret for many years now. I hoped to complete it with Clint Thornton and The Center of Puppetry Arts before I left Atlanta, but alas there was not time or energy. So, I applied for and received a bit of funding through the Department of Theatre & Dance and its Three Penny Project program. I hand picked a few actors and spoke with a few musicians. I also met with Edward Dickinson in the History Department, Matthias Geiger in the Studio Art and Kern Holoman in Music at the end of last Spring quarter.

I have been doing a bit of research over the summer, but nothing truly dedicated. I gave the actors tasks at the beginning of the summer, but have not seen any come back. With the lack of interest and response, I put the project on the back burner. However today I drafted an email to the Graduate and Undergraduate Advisors in 8 departments - Art, Music, Film, Design, German, French, History, & Technocultural Studies. I will send it on September 1 and hope to get at least one person from each department.

I will continue to update with stories, findings, theatrical ideas as we go. And will open the blog up to my collaborators come fall. Welcome to the new journey!