First thing's first: I am involved in an self-titled performance project called The In Between People. Directed by Andy Yanni - we're asking a whole lot of questions, exploring life, magic, and the power of humanity.
"The In Between People is currently exploring the affect that children's stories and their universal messages have on audiences of all ages. The self-titled project, The In Between People, is a performance that uses The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein as a launching point, and creates an extension of this story through performance.
We are combining personal stories and experiences with this universal message to find a new meaning in the interaction between people and performance. We are creating a theatrical experience that focuses not on any one of these stories, but the universal through-line of what it means to be human and every person's struggle to truly define who they are. "
If you haven't backed this project yet, please do so (I know cash is sparse, but the support is priceless regardless of how much you donate). Head over to our kickstarter by clicking this link. It would mean the world to me to have you back this project. We are also posting on our company blog - I'll update the link with the blog once we go public. So I figured - for now, I can use my own space to hammer out some thoughts that I'll will be sharing with the company/ensemble members at the other blog. With that said - here I go...
On Life and Orange Juice...
Two major questions we have been asked throughout this process are: Why are you performers of life? What is the spectacle of the human life?
I think that in order to fully answer these questions - and bring you along for the ride - I need to qualify some language (I understand that language is inadequate at describing the indescribable - but I'll go ahead and try anyhow). My answer seems simple and is the same for both: Life is magic. But to further expand on this, allow me to explain myself.
I firmly believe that as artists we have the inherent ability to perceive, tap into, and reflect Concentrated Life (which I'll note by capitalization, Life). This is what we're doing with The In Between People. What do I mean by Life? Think Orange Juice. Have you ever made Orange Juice from frozen concentrate? You have to peel back the plastic around the lid, squeeze and shake (and sometimes microwave) the concentrate so it'll schlop out into your pitcher. Then you add cup after cup of water, and mix it all around until the concentrate has dissolved and you've got Orange Juice. ("And it's much easier with a Quick Stir Pitcher from Pampered Chef!" As Mom would say).
All too often Life becomes diluted. Cup after cup of stress, money, work, gain, loss, etc can dissolve Life into life. In life we just go through the motions and are rarely, if ever, taken out of it. All we can taste is the Orange Juice of life. And most of the time it tastes just fine - there are times that it leaves the worst taste behind. When I was younger, I always imagined taking a huge bite out of the frozen Orange Juice concentrate. That little, frozen cylinder had so much potential behind it. What an intense sensation, a flavor explosion it would be! Cool and incredibly sweet and tangy, almost to the point of being overpowering - magical even. I never did take a bite of it - because that isn't the "right way to make it."
What we're doing with The In Between People is the reverse of making Orange Juice, the opposite of life from concentrate. We're trying to un-dilute the human life, we are trying to serve up Life and all of it's potential. We are inviting our audience to tap into Life, to take a bite and get a soul-full of magic. To see the potential that Life has, and the unspeakable beauty that comes with that. The spectacle of the human Life is the magic of potential. The concentrated Life is what you find when you remove everything that dilutes this potential. The raw, full-flavored Life is magic. And as performers (as artists from all mediums) we are here to remind ourselves, and all who come to our art, of this magic. I am a performer of Life because Life is magic. And Life is magic in the spectacle of potential. (And in turn, this makes artists powerful).
I'll wrap this all up with a short anecdote:
Everyday I have the same route I take to walk to work from the Subway. After my 35 (45 if I'm not so lucky) minute commute, I get off at my stop, head down 8th street and toward Washington Square Park. The other day, while walking down the east side of the park, the sun struck the water bottle I was drinking from and a droplet on the edge of the bottom was illuminated. I stopped. The droplet radiated light - almost as if by catching the sunlight and refracting it, the droplet now had the energy to create it's own light. I was transfixed. Would the droplet hang onto the side? Would it fall? Where would the light go? The potential of this gleaming droplet was magical. The beauty, the spectacle of it took me out of my routine. It made me stop and fathom nature for a bit. After the droplet finally let go and fell to the ground, the light went out but wasn't gone. And I walked the rest of my route with a smile, full of wonder.
That's all for now.
With plenty of love and big giant hugs,
-Ky
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