An eventful year of puppetry, performance art, spoken word, and workshops in '06, with old favorites reprised and new ground covered in all three areas. '07 is looking likely to be just as productive and stimulating.
Puppet Ballet and a Comic Turn
In '06 the Buzzoplex crew launched for the first time into puppet ballet with a yet another Buzzoplex production, An Evening of Marionette Theater, including a brand new puppet/life-sized human rendition of Petrushka, with excerpts from Buzzoplex favorites, the puppet operas of Don Giovanni, about the notorious (and unrepentant) 17th century ladies' man, and the classic doomed love triangle, Pagliacci. The show debuted at Cyrano's Off-Center Playhouse in April, then hit the road for a pre-season Memorial Day weekend show (with workshops) in the Pier One Theater On the Spit in Homer.
One of my favorite moments in the ballet had to be the moment when the 'man behind the scenes', puppet designer, builder and producer extraordinaire, Buzz Schwall, finally emerged on-stage sans puppets to take a comic turn with me (as the Evil Wizard) dressed as the triumphant (and Nerdy) hero, Petroushka.
Naked Times Two?
How many times in one year would you expect a fifty-three year old man to be asked to take his clothes off in public?
I would have said '"Never.'"
Oddly enough, in between performances of 'Evening' I was asked by Asia Freeman of the Bunnell Street Gallery in Homer to reprise a spoken word piece I had done as an Out North Under 30 performance in 1989, ‘Naked: Portrait Of The Model As A Middle-Aged Man’.
I shaved off my evil wizard beard from Petroushka (and my hair) and took off my clothes in Homer in April. It seems there had been a series of art exhibits there featuring the unadorned human form which had generated a good bit of local controversy, and the post-performance discussion was lively and spirited, and alone may have been well worth the journey.
Odder still, I was asked again to reprise an excerpt from 'Naked' at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center in October for the Gene and Jay Go Away bash, as two of our most daring arts presenters, Gene Dugan and Jay Brause, were warmly sent off on the occasion of their retirement from Out North on a world ranging gallivant.
Gene and Jay, you will be missed.
Workshops, Workshops, Workshops...
February of '06 found me in the Healy, Alaska School System on a one week Resident Artist style Mime and Spoken Word Intensive, in preparation for their annual dance performance program Bodies in Motion.
In the late Summer and Fall, I put together a performance project, Super Happy Adventure Fun Time, with a crew of talented youth who came through the Covenant House Alaska community. A group of some my performing artist friends who have been pulling off some of the most unique performances in this town for years acted as artist/mentors for the workshop sessions. Artist/Mentors included Angela Ramirez, Duke Russell, Yngvil Vatn Guttu, Kima Hamilton, Kokayi, Mark Muro, Gwendolyn Bradshaw, and Mike James, This project was sponsored by a 2006 Artists’ TOPS Partners stipend from Association of Alaska School Boards and Alaska ICE in cooperation with Covenant House Alaska.
For the fifth year, I went out to the Valley with a team of Slam Poets to do our day long Poetry Slam Workshop, followed by school-wide Poetry Slams in the afternoon, in eight High Schools and Middle Schools in Alaska's Matanuska/Susitna Valley School District. This year, a core crew of myself, Kima Hamilton and Jessie Scholz, were joined by guest poets, Bruce Farnsworth, Kima Hamilton, Peter Porco, Mark Muro, and Angela Ramirez.
In November, a visit to my brother in Seattle gave me a chance to visit the school program he works with, Project Hope, and do a day-long Performance Poetry workshop.
