pool '63: as best as I can remember it

"Devised theatre (also called collaborative creation, particularly in the United States [1]) is a form of theatre where the script originates not from a writer or writers, but from collaborative, usually improvisatory, work by a group of people (usually, but not necessarily, the performers). This is similar to commedia dell'arte and street theatre such as busking. It is never distinguishable from improvisational theatre but by the time a devised piece presents itself to the public, it usually has a fixed form: the improvisation is confined to the creation process, and either a writer, a director, or the performers themselves, will have decided exactly what is to be included and the running sequence." [Wikipedia]

[pool63-blog]

Loading up the bus.

Okay, first off, I apologize for the dorky sound I am making, if I knew how to pull it out I would; it just happens to be a common vocal phrase I use to acknowledge my daughters when they are overwhelming me with affection. In this case the response is to my ten year old daughter who had come and wrapped her arms around me because I was about to leave and spend a whole week in a far distant land. Looking back at us packing the bus now, I can still feel the excitement and anticipation of realizing that we were truly on our way to Mexico City for what promised to be an adventure of our lifetimes. My understanding is the students were tasked with paying for travel expenses which they did very well with producing four encore performances in the beautiful Cuesta Performing Arts Center (thank you Cuesta College!) and engaging in an aggressive fund raising campaign requesting donations from family, friends, and members of our local community. Needless to say, our gratitude and appreciation for our local community is profound and humbling, and as one of those who also benefited from such amazing generosity first hand, I can personally attest to the life changing impact this experience will have on the rest of our lives. So thank you thank you thank you all once again. More photos and videos to come. Steven Boothe

[pool63-blog]

Hello, my name is Steven Boothe. I am a father, husband, son, nephew, cousin, friend, volunteer, and co-worker at Cuesta College (computer technician), who practices living as art. Being a friend of artists, leaders and students alike, I eventually wind up among them and seemingly become part of their adventures.

"pool '63" is just the latest example. If we go back just four weeks ago, I would have had no idea I was going to be joining together with this extraordinary group as they travel to what I now know as FITU2014 at UNAM in Mexico City.

Don't get me wrong, I love the arts, I love plays, I love the faculty, students and staff of Cuesta College, but our little family does not have the kind of discretionary funds or a surplus of time for me to spend both money and time documenting such an extraordinary story. My immediate hope was that I would be able to source someone who was both all of those things in addition to being talented enough with recording and telling a story that I could be happy enough to know someone was going to be dedicated to this cause.

Well, as it would wind up, I would be the one who goes. Not that I would be unwilling at all, but that I know of how big a job this would be for someone who has not attempted to do anything like this in a very long time. Yes I have some cameras and technical skills, but this story is one that I cannot help feel is much bigger than any one of us actually.

So I can and do celebrate the fact that I have become a part of this story. It has all happened very very fast -- overwhelmingly fast at times, and profoundly emotional all over the place at nearly every step of the way. Now we are back and the challenge is still there for me to recall this story. How all 24 of us gathered to catch a bus one late afternoon and become part of a pan Latin American theatre festival at the flagship university in Mexico City for the next week, well is just bewildering and glorious.

It all happened so fast. I swear it feels like a dream and yet here I am, awake and aware that this is real, that we did go down there and we did meet all of those incredible people, that we did work our asses off and we did feel great about it, and that we do want to come back and that we do have close ties with these beautiful people and that we do love and look forward to our next involvement again. I personally hope we can provide a bridge of sharing and connecting. I'd love to be here and let others know of the beauty and love of those we met and worked with around Mexico City, and I would love it if we could some how make the same invitation for our dear friends to visit here some day too!

That's all for now. I am really excited and yet I must balance time energy and thought with the other responsibilities and matters of necessity too as well. So I will sign off of this new and rambling long-winded first blog post for now with the affirmation that I will be back to add more tomorrow.

Lots of love,

Steven Boothe