Saturday 27 July 2013

Water bear Water bear what do you see?

Week 1 and 2 completed.
Stories written and shared.
The writer has been writing, we (the performers) have been writing, dancing, playing, speaking...

We devising this piece, and entering a process of no return.

FEAR, STRUGGLE, RESILIENCE, SURVIVAL, DETERMINATION, EMPTINESS...

THIS IS A WATER BEAR:



These Extremophiles can survive extreme conditions.
This is beautiful.
I would like one.

I WROTE THIS IN ANSWER TO SOME QUESTIONS POSED ABOUT DYING, IT IS JUST A STUDIO EXERCISE:

I WILL DIE
I WILL DIE
And when I leave what will I leave behind?
A two bedroom flat, with my half eaten breakfast on the table next to my morning mug of tea, and the unopen bank statements piling up on the sideboard?
Will the sheets be crisp and fresh and recently laundered, or still warm and full of the smell of me and many a well slept night of dreaming?
I want to leave my children behind, I owe them to the future and the future to them. And if I have done any good, said any good, lived any good, pleased someone, loved someone, helped someone, held someone, listened, touched or witnessed, may that be left behind too.
May others enjoy what I have enjoyed, over and over and over again.
Keep sucking at it till its dry
I WILL DIE
I WILL DIE
And when I do, let others rejoice, “She is dead!”
I owe you that, I owe you no suffering.
I owe you nothing, I leave you nothing.
Burn the bank statements and the bed sheets, wash the bowls and the cups.
And please just bury me in the earth, and let the earthworms nestle, the vultures peck out my eyes, and the maggots fester, till I am all used up.
For my deeds have all been done.
I WILL DIE.
I AM NOTHING.
AND I WILL DIE.
                                                                                                                                                            



THIS IS AN EXTRACT FROM SOME WRITING ON FEAR:

.... Paralysed by love. Paralysed by fear. Holding fear. Seeing fear in front of me. Being fear. Urgh. A pain immense like serpents squeezing the blood flow to all your arteries, forcing your heart to panic and pant like a tired dog. A dog. He’s having heart palpitations. I feel like a dog. One of those dogs that people buy as presents for Christmas after years of yearning, and are so excited, elated and euphoric about but then inevitably discard and send back to the dogs home with teary goodbyes once reality sets in. Shit....






Annoyances... a studio stream of consciousness

Pass
Fail
Distinction
Guns that don’t shoot
Knickers that don’t fit
Dog shit on the pavement
Too many cars on the road and the people in them
Parents, in general
People who claim to be shy and then draw attention to themselves
Supermarkets, consumerism and adverts about weight loss
Fabrics that old people wear
Lazy teenagers and their push-up bras
New Look, Peacocks, M & Co
Mass excursions to peaceful beauty spots
Preachers
Extremists
Attachments to anything or anyone just “because” and not for love
Bus fare inflation
Men that grab you in bars
Men with girlfriends that grab you in bars
Men with wives that grab you in bars
Cats
Plastic
Facebook
Cosmetic surgery
Racism, sexism, homophobia, agoraphobia
Photos in drawers, boxes, on cds, hard-drives, anywhere but in albums
Big brother
My little brother starting an argument just for the sake of it
Clever people that break your heart
War
Rules
7 out of 10
8 out of 10
10 out of 10





Friday 5 July 2013

Why is she running?

I went for a run yesterday and a four year old child in a pushchair said as I passed, "Mummy, why is that lady running?"

I wanted to say, "because I love to run!" but I didn't, because it felt slightly mental and also I wasn't loving running much at that moment!
I was more curious to see what her mother might say in response.  It's so interesting that a young kid would view running as a strange and rare occurence for a grown up to be doing. Her mum was a little embarassed and said quietly "She's just running. Um, er,  you run sometimes don't you!"

Imagine the world in a future where the need to run decreases to such an extent, and maybe even walking becomes rare, or moving at all becomes unnecessary.... How little will people need to move to survive?
 We can already order groceries and almost everything we could possible need direct to our homes. There is a new phone app which enables us to have a lover at our front door within minutes- so no running involved in that game anymore!




Communication Research

'Communication research'  from Greig Cooke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fHVfh5C9UUE


I think it's supposed to be me and him in conversation. 
Well, I think it went quite well, and we seem to be capable of listening and understanding each other.