We recently completed our first cycle of the WonderSlow project: 15 hours of continuous performance by Dandelion and friends dedicated to explorations of slowness. There was so much learning for me in this grand experiment in regards to:
- slowing down
- immersive performance
- inclusive community
- safety and risk
- letting go of control
- moving through and past distraction, boredom, resistance
- levels of trance-states
- meditation
- pushing past beliefs about limits of energy and abilities
- setting up conditions for magical things to happen and then letting them arise in their own time and manner
- and so much more
I’ll be processing this for a long while, and plan to write about it more down the road.
For now, here’s a video tour of the event:
(link to video if needed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFBi5aaJpN4 )
And what I wrote as an introduction to the event:
The Origins of WonderSlow
by Instigator and Co-Director Eric Kupers
WonderSlow
began with a big green sign. The sign has the word “Wonder” on it, and
originally referred to a town in Oregon by that name. But through the years,
the sign came to mean so much more to my family, and eventually sparked this
community performance.
began with a big green sign. The sign has the word “Wonder” on it, and
originally referred to a town in Oregon by that name. But through the years,
the sign came to mean so much more to my family, and eventually sparked this
community performance.
My account of the story of
the “Wonder Sign” has no doubt been shaped by my many tellings and retellings,
as well as my own biases and desires. I offer this to you as one possible way
to enter into the WonderSlow performance today.
the “Wonder Sign” has no doubt been shaped by my many tellings and retellings,
as well as my own biases and desires. I offer this to you as one possible way
to enter into the WonderSlow performance today.
In the 1960’s my parents
were passionately involved in the American counterculture. They were
particularly active in left-wing, progressive, political movements—and I think
they believed that some kind of revolution was coming soon to this country, to
change it for the better. Their passion led them to many demonstrations,
organizations, meetings and artistic beacons of hope. They loved the poem “I am
Waiting” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and particularly the lines speaking of
Ferlinghetti waiting for “a rebirth of wonder.”
were passionately involved in the American counterculture. They were
particularly active in left-wing, progressive, political movements—and I think
they believed that some kind of revolution was coming soon to this country, to
change it for the better. Their passion led them to many demonstrations,
organizations, meetings and artistic beacons of hope. They loved the poem “I am
Waiting” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and particularly the lines speaking of
Ferlinghetti waiting for “a rebirth of wonder.”
One wintery night they
were driving back to Los Angeles after picking up my uncle at Reed College in
Portland, Oregon. Out of the snowy darkness, in the middle of nowhere there
suddenly emerged a big green sign that said simply “Wonder.” I can only guess
at what a potent moment that was. This must have seemed like a sign from the
universe, a confirmation of faith, a symbol of deep connection and meaning, a
revolutionary battle cry. My dad and uncle jumped out of the car and my mom was
the “getaway driver.” They unscrewed and took down the signs that it turned out
were on both sides of the road, jumped back in the car and drove home.
were driving back to Los Angeles after picking up my uncle at Reed College in
Portland, Oregon. Out of the snowy darkness, in the middle of nowhere there
suddenly emerged a big green sign that said simply “Wonder.” I can only guess
at what a potent moment that was. This must have seemed like a sign from the
universe, a confirmation of faith, a symbol of deep connection and meaning, a
revolutionary battle cry. My dad and uncle jumped out of the car and my mom was
the “getaway driver.” They unscrewed and took down the signs that it turned out
were on both sides of the road, jumped back in the car and drove home.
After that fateful night,
my uncle took one of the signs and my parents kept the other. My mom says that
they would use it as a kind of barometer for guests in their house. They hung
the sign as “found art” in the living room, and based on people’s reaction to
the sign when they entered the house, my parents would know whether or not they
were of like minds.
my uncle took one of the signs and my parents kept the other. My mom says that
they would use it as a kind of barometer for guests in their house. They hung
the sign as “found art” in the living room, and based on people’s reaction to
the sign when they entered the house, my parents would know whether or not they
were of like minds.
Eventually my parents’
Wonder sign was passed on to me, and I hung it in my bedrooms in high school
and college—the sign remaining a testament to creatively embracing the unknown.
And then at some point the sign was put into storage.
Wonder sign was passed on to me, and I hung it in my bedrooms in high school
and college—the sign remaining a testament to creatively embracing the unknown.
And then at some point the sign was put into storage.
A few years ago I
discovered it again. It now sits in our backyard, just outside of the Dandelion
rehearsal studio. I love the sign. It’s heavy and awkward and very simple. And
it gets right to the point, “Wonder.” That’s it. No population numbers for the
town of Wonder, Oregon – no instructions about how to practice the techniques
of wondering – no indication that anything else matters outside of this basic
commandment.
discovered it again. It now sits in our backyard, just outside of the Dandelion
rehearsal studio. I love the sign. It’s heavy and awkward and very simple. And
it gets right to the point, “Wonder.” That’s it. No population numbers for the
town of Wonder, Oregon – no instructions about how to practice the techniques
of wondering – no indication that anything else matters outside of this basic
commandment.
The aesthetic of the sign
as it decayed seemed to call out for a performance piece to arise from this
artifact of a fertile, forgotten time. It took a few years for dreams of the
work’s shape and structure to percolate. And now it has turned into something
that reaches far beyond this one story, this one poem, this one sign.
as it decayed seemed to call out for a performance piece to arise from this
artifact of a fertile, forgotten time. It took a few years for dreams of the
work’s shape and structure to percolate. And now it has turned into something
that reaches far beyond this one story, this one poem, this one sign.
The spirit of my parents’ hopes
and dreams, and the instruction to “wonder” has encouraged me to experiment
with large-scale community performance in a way I never have before. It has
pushed me to question my notions of time on the stage. It has evoked a
curiosity for me in what possibilities lie in long periods of waiting.
and dreams, and the instruction to “wonder” has encouraged me to experiment
with large-scale community performance in a way I never have before. It has
pushed me to question my notions of time on the stage. It has evoked a
curiosity for me in what possibilities lie in long periods of waiting.
I’m very interested
through WonderSlow to investigate
further how performance can be a ritual of healing, grounding, connection, new
ways of seeing, waking-up and spiritual practice. I am inspired in the creation
and implementation of WonderSlow by my parents, Buddhist meditation practice,
the work of Anna Halprin, Contraband, Andy Goldsworthy, John Cage, Merce
Cunningham and the courageously creative group of collaborators participating
today.
through WonderSlow to investigate
further how performance can be a ritual of healing, grounding, connection, new
ways of seeing, waking-up and spiritual practice. I am inspired in the creation
and implementation of WonderSlow by my parents, Buddhist meditation practice,
the work of Anna Halprin, Contraband, Andy Goldsworthy, John Cage, Merce
Cunningham and the courageously creative group of collaborators participating
today.
WonderSlow was created with support from the City
of Oakland Cultural Arts and Marketing Program, the Clorox Foundation, the CSU
East Bay Department of Theatre and Dance and a Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grant.
Special thanks to all the performers and volunteers, Jim Macilvaine, Luiza
Silva, the Oakland Acupuncture Project, Essential Balance Bodywork, Theatre of
Yugen, Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater, A.V.I.D. and all of you joining us
today.
of Oakland Cultural Arts and Marketing Program, the Clorox Foundation, the CSU
East Bay Department of Theatre and Dance and a Theatre Bay Area CA$H Grant.
Special thanks to all the performers and volunteers, Jim Macilvaine, Luiza
Silva, the Oakland Acupuncture Project, Essential Balance Bodywork, Theatre of
Yugen, Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater, A.V.I.D. and all of you joining us
today.