Theatre with Naturally Derrived Emmergent Strategy @apothe-turgy - Tumblr Blog

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Something about the Berkshires!

Grandmas and inter generations

Rewilding Michael m

Friendship, Sisterhood

Sibling ship in SitP’s What You Will

Retreat, retreat;

Identity shifts like a rock in a shoe

Or pocket.

#actf26

Hello, midwinter. It is cold, long; dark, early; and quiet, throughout. The stillness — maybe it comes from the death passing around.

In this time, I’m making food, cleaning, and caring for my loved ones. I get the vaguest of feelings that this is the unspoken reason I am here. It’s odd to feel like the doll that they used to play with in their childhoods, be the pottery they were never allowed to touch, the vision of their minds of a dutiful maid or something.

I don’t want to feel this at home. I won’t allow myself to be in a workspace that makes me feel like any of it.

#wontsweepthehouse

I’ve always been taught to leave a place better than you found it, passing on the “Leave No Trace” Principles to the campers of Wildlands Conservancy. This concept is in contention with we must “leave our mark”. And I as someone who holds contradictions like a playground, am thinking on the contradiction when revisiting a past home.

Last week I was invited back to my alma-matter as I serve on the Alumni Board of Color of the Theatre & Dance Department. I arrived to Homecoming and was met by familiar faces who aged, completely new structures that reminded me of other buildings’ neglect, and as feeling of “I am one drop of this institution’s legacy”. In that I find a sense of nostalgia, anger, nihilism — and yet overall optimism. I founded clubs, made my first adult friendships, and loved this earth. I’m unsure who remembers me or if TSOC still exists, but I am comforted that the campus knows me. The hill remembers me hiking with heavy books, the grove remembers me inhaling autumn, and the quad shines down on more homework picnic parties.

What about legacy in art? Is it to be remembered forever? Is it to exist forever? I thought that was the beauty of “live”, it is fleeting, and only that audience can capture that moment. Does it matter who remembers it when the lights go down or the reviews stop coming? Why else make the work, unless we want to remind ourselves we matter, that we’ve left a mark?

I’m comforted that any small mark I make, is mine.

October 21

#spotmymark

Colonization — we see it on maps in the ways lakes and seas have been divided, how names are put into non-indigenous languages, and how ledgends get lost to the margins… its a war on what was once there.

Decolonization can happen anywhere at anytime: in my lexicon, on my mother’s fridge, in the spaces I travel — I am an opportunity to repopulate.

#you are because i am #decolonialism #theatre activism

Money making the world go round. I am dizzy.

It is dissonant collecting collegiate notes that equate to $200k+ of tuition.

It is upsetting think about my worth in a friendship being compared to $15k.

It is disappointing, spending six hundreds of dollars for less than three days for a conference

With all these values, I’m unsure if my work is that same value as my pay.

#dramaturg #paytransparency #money

I’m having a hard time understanding my place as a culturally specific artist. Maybe this comes from my adoptee experience, only being placed where I am because other forces make it so. Maybe it comes from the generation of artist that I am, who advocates for themselves and their boundaries. Maybe it comes from being a visibly Asian Femme and not wanting to be anything more than me.

That and some all add up to this: walking the line of being Asian American and capitalizing on it. How I present myself at Opening Nights, how I prove that I am capable of working on something other than Asian art, how I want to always uplift fellow Asian artists while not knowing anything of their migrant experience.

I resent that I feel like I’m being pigeon-holed; am I even being so or am I making my own fences?

I’m growing into my agency and going where I want to; feeling how I want; and being an artist as I want.

#asian american artist #almost birthday thoughts

Hello and Goodbye April

As the spring comes and peaks, I’ve been thinking about the elements of spring and how change comes. For this season, please credit the wind, warmth, and rains.

During Cherry Blossom season I was in New York. Reminded by how much I love this city and the sense of nostalgia the feelings were feeling! I was having a sense of loss for who I was here, who I could be here, and who I am because of this city. I was also moving through feelings of confusion, disillusionment, and disgust in the treatment of the city to its humans and vise versa: in hostile architecture and poop bags in trees. What are theatre’s hostilities and littering and how do we break out of the slow co-devolving of a place, including theatre?

I was in Queens for the National New Play Network Showcase of Readings with my Producer in Residence Cohort, representing InterAct Theatre Company. As we watched new play readings, it reminds me of the sense of “beginning” that comes with the new play life. And how a reading is just like the bud: a physical manifestation of all the rain and warmth’s invocation for growth of a seed.

Greatful to have been in community, appreciative for this life, and enjoying the spring — may May be flowerful.

#theatre #dramaturgy #NNPNPIR #new york

Happy Worm Moon in Libra ft a Lunar Eclipse on an Earth Ox day!

This phrase is just a mishmosh of so many beliefs, ways that humans make systems of classification to understand the super/natural world around us. How they inform how I move through this world. I'm trying to learn from Native American & Folk planting traditions, Astrology's self-agency, and Traditional Chinese Medicine of my blood-kin. These systems I use in application to theatre: in understanding who the heavens are in Shakespearean worlds, in emboldening myself when there is a flood in the theatre and the show must go on, and in fidning the pace I want to work in order to sustain my identity as an artist.

Sooo, lets break it down

/ Worm Moon / comes from the the Southern Native American tribes who notice how in this time of the seasons, earthworm castings appear as the ground thatws. This moon of March also has other names including: Crow (NNAt, the crows who signal the end of winter), Death (European, the srtat of spring signifying the end of the old year and the start of the new), Lenten (E, corresponds with Lent); full moon of Purim (Hebrew, that marks the Jewish deliverance from a royal death-decree) or Holi (Hindu, the month of Phalguna and the victory of good over evil with the start of spring); Māgha Pūjā (Buddhism, the creation of an ideal and exemplary community; aka Sangha Day, Buddhist All Saints Day), Medin Poya (Shri Lanka), Mid-Sha’ban (Islamic, eigth month)

/ (full) Moon in Libra / comes from the positionally of the full moon in the sky. This area of the sky is designated as the Libra House, the seventh in the European Astrological Zodiac. Libra is about balance.

/ Lunar Eclipse / is a solar event where the Earth is between the sun and the moon, casting Earth's shaddow and redness onto the moon. There are many beliefs of the Moon being attacked/eaten, a product of mathematical patterns, and the potential for salvation.

/ Earth Ox day / is the description of the March 26th day, in the Fire Rabbit Month and Wood Dragon Year. These are all Traditional Chinese classifications of the zodiac's animal and element that can be applied to years, months, days and hours (akin to European astrology)

How does our perspective imapct how we view the passing of events? Does the moon's phase cycle wax on and off in the same way in the southern hemisphere? With so many ways of thinking, which does mine fall into? How do we find peace in the dichotomy of information? What about theatre's cacophony am I discerning and distilling?

As promised, here are some sprouting seedlings in honor of the beginning of this eclipse season!

#dramaturgy #plants #ecofriendly #linguistics

Seeding Szn

The Cold Moon has passed and the sun is visiting for longer each day. I'm in a place of recovering from this winter. It has been long, tiring, and dark. I miss a lot of things these days: my family, my boyfriend, my bike... And I'm thinking about how an idea becomes tangible. Something to miss.

When does a family come together? How can love grow between distance and time? How does freedom feel in my bones? I'm amazed by the sheer amount of audacity it requires to keep hope alive, to believe in life, and to let time grow.

I'm excited for the seeds I'm tucking into the soil: pawpaw, echinacea, wild philly seeds, and so much more. Seedling pics coming soon (fingers crossed)!

And the big dreams for my artistic practice -- of creating a playspace, a celebration, a ritual. I am seeding them right now with intention and have so many questions:

- how does an artistic team come together?

- how can trust and respect grow in the pre, during, and after of a project?

- how does success feel in art?

Im amazed by the audacity it takes to be an artist in any capacity.

#theatreadmin #producing #dramaturg #always questioning

Happy New Year: where its actually the same season

I'm just feeling grateful to be keeping the learnings from past years close to my 2023 heart and feeling like I've actually embodied them.

Now, its about recognizing the trends from last year, making those into goals, and keeping that focus. The ideal is that what I'm building on this year is what 2025 me will need. But who's to say what this is, how to plan that, and letting go of my planning-reflex.

I'm thinking about that as I embrace the theatre Aug/Jun cycles. Its entertaining to witness how the changing of the Gregorian Calendar impacts the emotional-energy of the office. And how our last year's energy is still propelling the new year. How do office members not burn out, keep building on what they're learning, and have a sense of accomplishment?

#bye #calendar #2024 #burnout?

FAT HAM by James Ijames at the Wilma Theatre

A round of applause for the cast, crew and whole production team of this play! Knowing the critical attention the script has recieved, the excellence of The Wilma as a producing house, and the actors as members of the Philly Theatre Community, I was not surprised to have witnessed such epic work. Don't get me wrong, I laughed, leaned in, and was shook by this piece; yet I was not unprepared to be taken on this joyous journey. What was the surprise was being with such an amazing audience.

On tuesday morning, myself and other industry attenders were amidst 150+ 7th - 11th graders. These students were with each character, taking in the story, and rooting the narrative on. They sometimes didn't get the Shakespeare references, but I didn't totally understand the usage of the fourth wall in this production. In thinking about the kind of theatre I want to be a part of, it's this: creating a space for audiences to tell JUICY to eat that candy bar!

In my traditional assumptions of educational outreach and theatre, it is seen as a sense of volunteerism that theatre host students. And as aå program, Wilmagination, is showing me how students can deeply impact a production. I recognize part of this magic was from how this theatre invited young-audiences to be here. In understanding that this may be people's first play, in understanding the attention needs of 21st Century adolescents, and in addressing that this play is for Black Queer Celebration, Wilma owned that there is mature, NSFS (not "safe" for school) content and gave expectation that these topics be respected.

These students we're only adding to the production, but to me. I could tell the actors were loving these kids, I was loving these kids -- allowing myself to emote and react honestly to this work -- without the social obligation of "being a good audience member". I am thankful to be a part of a theatre ecosystem that can be so impactful and hope to continue this work.

#theatreeducation #youngaudiences #HamLet

NOVEMBER. What a busy month: putting the class garden to bed, processing the harvest from the summer's sunshine, and readying for the winter

Im really feeling how the seasons and the daylight affect my sense of security and therefore preparedness. I now wake up early in an attempt to savor the sunshine, meditate under the moon, mourn for the things that have turned to dust, and sometimes run to feel my feet on this earth... From flitting between supplimental jobs (whose paychecks I will squirrel away), liana has found joy in playing with friends with and without paws; education in working for the AAPI+ Phila Film scene; and reward from fortifying my theatre ~network~.

Im balancing this work with feelings from witnessing second-hand violence: the killing of civilians in Gaza, the injustice of meat/dairy industry, erasure of history and culture due to gentrification, environmental racism. The rage and dissonance I feel is confusing -- it feels as though my work in a non-profit theatre must continue while my rage is babysat at home; it feels as though the seasonal scarcity a 501c3 feels within the grant cycles, audits, budgets, and etc. valid excuses don't allot for these feelings.

As I'm reframing losses of 2023 into inevitable yet redirect-able and slow-able processes, I want to understand theatre and preparedness. I'm asking: how does theatre prepare for scarcity, how does theatre honor others' scarcities, how do we theatre-makers move through the dissonance of global scarcity?

#grad #buildyourhomeapothocary #i so little #theproblemsaresobig

Me and a dear pal went to All Things Go, an outdoor, two-day music festival set at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. The lineup ate, the fits were fitting, and the vibes were so good.

We decided to shelter at a nearby campground, rather than booking a hotel. Between me and the ground was my sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, the tent floor, and the footprint. On the second night, snuggled into my decade-old sleeping bag, I was reminded that "this is the closest I've been to the ground in a while".

I could feel the Earth warming me -- being source -- feeling the softness of mulch and could picture where each raindrop fell outside. And though my child-hood fear of the dark told me there was a dog/bear outside my tent, I felt such a deep comfort from the earth.

HOW THIS RELATES TO THEATRE...

People that go to an artist/ band whose songs they know, a live event can become a choir. On the other hand, people may not know all the words to a play, especially when its ~new work~ that requires an openness to a communal adventure. So why do people attend live music that they're unfamiliar with? Its free, its in the same venue they are, its advertised well… So how do we get people to attend new plays that they're unfamiliar with???

Because new work is a communal journey, trust of the guide (the production/ producers) is required. Here is how the campsite made me feel safe/ comfortable: clear maps, noticeable signage, and walkway lights at night. What are those elements in relationship to a theatre/ production? And depending on how comfortable we want our audiences, we can offer other amenities like wifi, a sauna, well maintained bathrooms.

What makes live music worth all the fatigue, overpriced food, and risk of heat exhaustion is my love for the art and the EXPERIENCE itself. How do we make theatre an experience -- do we plan outfits, celebrate our artists, and have a source-place to lay our heads after a show?

PS: please enjoy the sounds of the Cherry Hill forest at 05:19 am

The wee morn.m4a

#gratefulforthislife #livemusicismychurch #lightinglivemusic #livecinematography

Pls see:

PRESENTED BY GROUNDWATER ARTS AUTHORED BY ANNA LATHROP, ANNALISA DIAS, RONNEE PENOI, AND TARA MOSES We acknowledge and thank TCG and the

Pause when you need. Archived Notes app: writing with thumbs 81623

#ecoturgy #dramaturgy #nature #metamorphosis

As I’m taking this time to balance rest, rejuvenation, and productivity, I think about the “acts of god” that are alluded to in the contracts i sign. And monday was one of them: flooding. The amount of water on Vermont was awesome. Rain flooded highways, shut down amtrack, made a town square a waterway.

I am unsettled by my ability to drive through it all — not really knowing the town im in, nor staying for long. But as i was driven away, i thought about the mold that would creep into foundations, the shifting of caskets in the water-logged hillside, and the bridges that would eventually have water under them again.

This power — is something that i felt but couldnt explain. And i want to be a part of art that is such a force.

#contract #negotiation #arts advocate

What does collaboration look like in a garden? In a forest? In theatre?

#collab

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