Thursday, July 4, 2013

Wringing Out Light Performers

Breath & Bone/Orts Performance presents: 

Wringing Out Light: Poems & Prayers
 
1805 W. Alabama, Houston, Texas 77098

Friday, July 19, 2013, 7:30pm
Saturday, July 20, 2013 7:30pm
Sunday, July 21, 2013, 3:00pm

Admission: pay what you can

St. Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Sienna, George Herbert, John Donne, Teresa of Avila, and several more visionaries and poets are represented in this program of poetry and performance. Let the words of these mystics draw you to a place of contemplation (and maybe some rejoicing).



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Rehearsals for Wringing Out Light are humming right along. One night soon, I need to remember to take some pictures to post of the rehearsals . . . 
Today, I thought I should introduce the performers. Briefly: 
Donna Meadows
 Donna Meadows

Donna has worked with me on every Breath & Bone event that wasn't just me performing solo. She has a long history in the Houston dance community and has enthusiastically jumped into anything I was doing. 

So if you were at Hope Stone Studios last fall for Jill Alexander Essbaum's Necropolis, or at the Photobooth on Montrose for ShadowPlace, you're probably well familiar with Donna, at least in regards to her work with BB/OP.

Bridget Lois Jensen
Bridget Lois Jensen

Bridget is a first time performer with BB/OP but I've known her for a few years now. She is active in several communities around Houston, both religious and social justice oriented. A track coach by profession, you can also find her in community gardens, rallies for fair treatment of immigrants or against the death penalty, and who knows what else. 

She started working with me a couple of years ago on a project based upon the Desert Fathers, which got interrupted by personal crises (and it's a project that isn't so much dead as dormant but quietly still developing). She's expressed interest in performance for a while and I've been watching for when she might be able to work with BB/OP. And here we are. I couldn't be happier. 
Roy Brooks, II
Roy Brooks, II

Roy was another person involved in that Desert Fathers project. Shortly thereafter, he started a PhD program in theater and performance and I figured my chances for working with him were past. 

Then he contacted me a couple of months ago and said he'd be in Houston this summer, did I have any projects he might participate in? 

Well, at that moment, I was recovering from my surgery and just beginning to think about what the next project might be. His note kind of kicked me into gear and, again, here we are. I'm quite thankful for his reaching out and getting me going again---even if that was his purpose for contacting me! 

Patrick Flannery 

For the first time, I've engaged a musician to participate in a BB/OP program. I go to church with Patrick and I've seen him carry around his guitar and heard him talk about his passion for playing (and his wife's comments to similar effect). This was one of those situations where he was in the right place, standing where I was looking. I admit, I had never actually heard him play before, and he offered to audition for me. I said, "If you can improvise and you've played in front of people before, you're what I'm looking for." I also don't often choose collaborators that freely, but somehow I knew Patrick would be a good fit. He's rehearsed with us once, now, and my gut feelings have been proven correct. His playing is going to add a wonderful layer to the evening. (And I need to get a shadowy photo of him, I guess . . .) 

And there's me. So four of us performing the words and movement of the poems, one guitarist adding some aural layering to it. 

Next time, I'll talk a bit about how I've gone about staging the poems, the traps I discovered in taking on this project. More soon. Thanks for your interest and share with your friends!

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