June 26th, 2015
Last day!!! I said goodbye to Lisi, who went home to Berlin this morning. Its been an amazing trip to share with such a kindred spirit. She was a great ambassador to Europe. My last show is a 12pm interactive performance for one audience member: Interruptor by The Stranger Gets a Gift Service. I’m super lucky to get a ticket. My last show at the awesome Alfred ve Dvore Theater. Performance notes below. After the show I take my incredibly lucky and overjoyed ass up to the castle. I walk through the royal gardens on the way. There is a predatory bird exhibition just, ya know, happening in the garden. Get a great up close look at some eagles and owls. I checked out the castle and made my way back down to Old Town to stock up on Becherovka and buy a few Czech nicknacks for my fam. I catch one more talk at the PQ called “The Light Library”. Its moderated by a german guy who is compiling a library of light in the form of photos and artifacts. His guests are the lead designer for Philips (crazy), one of the directors of the Bregenz Opera (crazy), and Dan Jones, a Bafta-award winning sound designer. A few interesting things i learned- according to the Philips guy, the lifespan of an LED diode far exceeds their energy efficiency classification life expectancy… Diode technology is staying the same, but the way it eats up energy is changing. This also means that the technology is now progressing pretty much solely based on its efficiency rather than its quality. This is a big design problem for them, because light becomes more efficient, we can use more of it, and we use it in a less exciting and evocative way… and its still the same old diode. Its better for the environment, but its less beautiful. This is TOTALLY in line with what i think about Fluorescent and LED tech. Im glad its on their minds. He also talked about “the end of life” for these products, and that the ease of their dismantling and recycling is built into the way they are designed. I would love to know more about this… if thats lip service… etc. The Bregenz opera lady gave us some insight into the creative process at the opera. She actually seemed somewhat dismissive of the designers and how much they bitch about how hard it is to design for that stage. My impression is that the concept- a huge floating stage with a house for 6,800- is actually sort of a gimmick- its more spectacle than it is “serious art”, but THATS KINDA COOL. Like, why the fuck not? Seeing that stage is definitely still on my bucket list. Listening to the sound designer, Dan Jones, talk about his work i had another: “I wish all my colleagues could be here right now” moment. I especially thought about Rob Kap and wished that he could geek out on this lecture with me. On my last spin around town before bed, I took a few more pics of the sights I’ve been seeing all week. Endless cobblestones, shop windows filled with nesting dolls, bohemian glass and tiny bottles of absinthe. Trdelnik, oh trdelnik…how motherfucking delightful you are. But America calls. Not only has the supreme court legalized gay marriage all over the country today, but I have a ton of work waiting for me! I keep seeing birds without my birding partner and its just not as fun! I have an early taxi to the airport. I might do one more closing blog post while i fly. If i do, its gonna be sappy and super duper gushy about the PQ…
Performance Notes: The Stranger Gets a Gift Service’s Interruptor
I arrive at the theatre a few minutes early. I wait in the cafe, and the really sweet box office guy offers me coffee and biscuits. I read the program, which gives instructions about how to proceed once I enter the space. Its hard to tell from the publicity or this program what exactly is going to happen, but I know that its interactive, one-on-one, and Im totally psyched. When they are ready for me, Im lead above ground so that i can make a grand entrance into the theater. As i descend the stairs, a large desk is glowing in the center of the space. There is a projector and a camera suspended above it. The work surface has tons of little boxes of supplies and treasures. I take stock. Markers, paper, beads, rocks, jewels, scissors, matches, do-dads, bobbles, tape, string, ribbon… gorgeously arranged like Im sitting at the desk of a scrap-booking god. Headphones. When i am ready, I put them on and place my hand on the white work surface. Soon another hand appears next to mine. Mine moves, hers moves. Sometimes she is copying me, sometimes countering. The headphones allow me to hear every little scratch she makes at her work surface. I start laughing because its so thrilling. Im an a non-verbal communication with a stranger. We share the work surface, so we can both see what the other person is doing, and every image we create is overlapped with what the other person creates. Its virtual communal collage. Its like a dream come true!!! Throughout the show one of us will up the ante, or take the initiative to “change topics” or just start a new visual idea… create a new motif or action to respond to. The stranger shows me the boundaries of the game in very subtle ways. I want to get personal, ask her questions, but she is very good at re-focusing the communication and remaining strangers to each other. But we are still talking about ideas and sharing something very intimate, albeit anonymous. The performance lasted 45 minutes, and it went by in the blink of an eye. I really really want this show to come to Philly. The ideas I saw today will stay with me for a long time. YAY Stranger!!!