Good morning again.
Day two of this new blog, and I relish the wonderful familiarity of sitting here in the same spot on the sofa, coffee in hand ready to write. This ritual has come to mean a great deal to me, and has a consistency and continuity that feels good.
Its funny when I wake up early spontaneously I begin to understand what is precious about 5am. Its the calm.Others are sleeping soundly and all I can hear is the sound of the birds and the occasional car passing. The milk float that has its own familiar sound quietly stops at 6am on the dot to leave the milk. We decided to support the local dairy some time ago, and in our own small way contribute to its sustainability. So many of the so called "small" people have been trodden into the ground by the big bully boys that so many of us happily support with our pounds without a second thought for the most part.
The early morning offers a space of grace, uninterrupted by phones, emails or people. Its a time that I have always loved. Before this new journey into blogging it was the time I would write my private journal, or read a book. So starting a new blog I am still a bit surprised that I have anything more to say! But I also know that these are the foothills. And I am excited to share the modest miscellany of things I have learnt in this strange artistic space in which theatre erupts.
When my daughters were small, it was also a place of respite from the daily machinations, demands and pressures as well as the inexpressible joy in bringing up and nurturing my children. It was and is my time. We all need it and we all do it in our own unique ways and at different times. This is so important in our lives, our families and our work.
The other secret is that when I wake up, I want to write but have absolutely no idea what it will be about that day. A lot of people have asked me how its possible to write 1000-1500 words a day, a small essay in effect. Again I don't actually know the answer to that. But I can hazard a simple guess, that I have come to a place in my life when I find I have a great deal that I would like to share. Its some kind of bigger purpose maybe, not that I think I am a source of all knowledge about theatre! In fact the more I make it, the more mysterious it becomes to me, and the more humbling!
Over the past few months in making the pantomime, I have been reminded profoundly about how things emerge spontaneously from the imagination.
And not only my imagination of course but those of all my collaborators, Its the mix of a shared vision and the amazing team of creative people who add to, improve and make it work.
The imagination is an incredible gift. It lifts us up. It connects us with the source of all things.
As Johann Wolfgang Goethe said "Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness and genius has magic in it."
I have always found that inspiring, particularly in moments in which I feel I have temporarily lost contact with the source my own imagination.
I am so often surprised when people boldly announce that they have no imagination! This even happened with one of my wonderful actors on Cinderella. I wonder where that has come from? Whether we know it or not we are all hardwired with an imagination. It is not the sole territory of the "artist" or the "creative". How could it possibly be?
Imagine for a moment if that were the case? It would mean that we would never build dreams or plans, for holidays, homes, jobs, children? We would never be able to live in any space but the physical, but then how could that exist in our modern lives without someone imagining it first. I do not believe for one moment that it is possible to live without imagination! See what I mean? Did you imagine for a moment living without imagination? Did you succeed?
Imagination is in our DNA, fact. We are born to create our own lives and fulfil our purpose, and yes of course horrible things happen to us all, but we survive them by imagining something other. How did Nelson Mandella survive 27 years on Robben Island, or Primo Levi in Auschwitz? If you haven't already its worth a read of these two remarkable men. And Terry Waite and John McCarthy in Beirut? How did they all survive what was an unimaginable loss of human rights?
I doubt that there is one simple answer to this. But I can be pretty certain that imagination was in the mix somewhere. And collaboration in imagination too which is so vitally important in making a dream happen.
So maybe it is just the case that artists accept and embrace their imaginations more consciously than some others, but we don't have a monopoly!
Making theatre with writers, directors, composers, choreographers, designers, actors and children creates a huge well of imagination, a source of magic and possibility.And with this the love and generosity that leads potentially to something special that reminds us of what it is to be truly human amidst the pain and suffering that is also inevitable in our lives.
Imagination is a gift as important as the food that comes from the earth, and the love that we feel for those closest to us. Its also free!
Enough for today I think. I will get to the simple and the sacred as and when they arrive in my imagination.
If you got to the end - thank you!
Director's suggested exercise of the day.
Inviting imagination
Find someone you don't know that well. Sit opposite each other on chairs or preferably on the floor. Have a chat, and as you do so look at each other's body language and facial expressions. Listen to their voice at same time as concentrating on what you are talking about. Build rapport. Then one of you is invited to imagine a special place, either somewhere you know or somewhere you imagine for the first time. Take it in turns, one of you simply visualising the place, the feel, look, sound, smell and taste. The other one just watch openly and simply. Notice the changes in body language, facial expression, breath, colour of skin and anything else you observe. And then let your mind float until you too get an image and share with them what you see and what you feel from them. Notice how much you have picked up, and then swap over. Spend a few minutes after the exercise sharing what you experienced.
Day two of this new blog, and I relish the wonderful familiarity of sitting here in the same spot on the sofa, coffee in hand ready to write. This ritual has come to mean a great deal to me, and has a consistency and continuity that feels good.
Its funny when I wake up early spontaneously I begin to understand what is precious about 5am. Its the calm.Others are sleeping soundly and all I can hear is the sound of the birds and the occasional car passing. The milk float that has its own familiar sound quietly stops at 6am on the dot to leave the milk. We decided to support the local dairy some time ago, and in our own small way contribute to its sustainability. So many of the so called "small" people have been trodden into the ground by the big bully boys that so many of us happily support with our pounds without a second thought for the most part.
The early morning offers a space of grace, uninterrupted by phones, emails or people. Its a time that I have always loved. Before this new journey into blogging it was the time I would write my private journal, or read a book. So starting a new blog I am still a bit surprised that I have anything more to say! But I also know that these are the foothills. And I am excited to share the modest miscellany of things I have learnt in this strange artistic space in which theatre erupts.
When my daughters were small, it was also a place of respite from the daily machinations, demands and pressures as well as the inexpressible joy in bringing up and nurturing my children. It was and is my time. We all need it and we all do it in our own unique ways and at different times. This is so important in our lives, our families and our work.
The other secret is that when I wake up, I want to write but have absolutely no idea what it will be about that day. A lot of people have asked me how its possible to write 1000-1500 words a day, a small essay in effect. Again I don't actually know the answer to that. But I can hazard a simple guess, that I have come to a place in my life when I find I have a great deal that I would like to share. Its some kind of bigger purpose maybe, not that I think I am a source of all knowledge about theatre! In fact the more I make it, the more mysterious it becomes to me, and the more humbling!
Over the past few months in making the pantomime, I have been reminded profoundly about how things emerge spontaneously from the imagination.
And not only my imagination of course but those of all my collaborators, Its the mix of a shared vision and the amazing team of creative people who add to, improve and make it work.
The imagination is an incredible gift. It lifts us up. It connects us with the source of all things.
As Johann Wolfgang Goethe said "Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness and genius has magic in it."
I have always found that inspiring, particularly in moments in which I feel I have temporarily lost contact with the source my own imagination.
I am so often surprised when people boldly announce that they have no imagination! This even happened with one of my wonderful actors on Cinderella. I wonder where that has come from? Whether we know it or not we are all hardwired with an imagination. It is not the sole territory of the "artist" or the "creative". How could it possibly be?
Imagine for a moment if that were the case? It would mean that we would never build dreams or plans, for holidays, homes, jobs, children? We would never be able to live in any space but the physical, but then how could that exist in our modern lives without someone imagining it first. I do not believe for one moment that it is possible to live without imagination! See what I mean? Did you imagine for a moment living without imagination? Did you succeed?
Imagination is in our DNA, fact. We are born to create our own lives and fulfil our purpose, and yes of course horrible things happen to us all, but we survive them by imagining something other. How did Nelson Mandella survive 27 years on Robben Island, or Primo Levi in Auschwitz? If you haven't already its worth a read of these two remarkable men. And Terry Waite and John McCarthy in Beirut? How did they all survive what was an unimaginable loss of human rights?
I doubt that there is one simple answer to this. But I can be pretty certain that imagination was in the mix somewhere. And collaboration in imagination too which is so vitally important in making a dream happen.
So maybe it is just the case that artists accept and embrace their imaginations more consciously than some others, but we don't have a monopoly!
Making theatre with writers, directors, composers, choreographers, designers, actors and children creates a huge well of imagination, a source of magic and possibility.And with this the love and generosity that leads potentially to something special that reminds us of what it is to be truly human amidst the pain and suffering that is also inevitable in our lives.
Imagination is a gift as important as the food that comes from the earth, and the love that we feel for those closest to us. Its also free!
Enough for today I think. I will get to the simple and the sacred as and when they arrive in my imagination.
If you got to the end - thank you!
Director's suggested exercise of the day.
Inviting imagination
Find someone you don't know that well. Sit opposite each other on chairs or preferably on the floor. Have a chat, and as you do so look at each other's body language and facial expressions. Listen to their voice at same time as concentrating on what you are talking about. Build rapport. Then one of you is invited to imagine a special place, either somewhere you know or somewhere you imagine for the first time. Take it in turns, one of you simply visualising the place, the feel, look, sound, smell and taste. The other one just watch openly and simply. Notice the changes in body language, facial expression, breath, colour of skin and anything else you observe. And then let your mind float until you too get an image and share with them what you see and what you feel from them. Notice how much you have picked up, and then swap over. Spend a few minutes after the exercise sharing what you experienced.
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