It’s been a busy few weeks what with all the stuff you can see in A London Persuit. So what have I been up to since my last post?
I had a performance at The Betsey Trotwood curated by the very friendly Kate Wiggs. I knew nobody there but it was all very friendly. I made a bit of a mess! Expanding my vocabulary of actions revolved around doing things with popcorn. Sealing myself off in my studio space before the event I noticed the amazing sound popcorn crunching under my shoes. I proceeded to do this at the show, making a circle to the sound of the opening of Carousel. Everyone seemed to enjoy the performance and commented particularly on the smell the popcorn made. If only I could get a microwave there, then the smell would fill the space. Portability aside, it would be good look at other objects and how to use them with the audience for future performances.
I will be meeting with Sylvia next week. It is not one of the sessions I have booked with funding but will be a chance to show my work and ask questions on being a performer and performance practice. I sent these three questions in advance:
1) How did you become commissioned by Spill Festival and what was the process of making the work? Did you have an idea in development before being asked or did you begin after?
2) How do you create new performances? do you plan a budget and outcome from the beginning of a project or is the process more intuitive? how does this affect your time schedule and working methods?
3) How do you work out a sum for the fees incurred in making a performance?
I also sent some footage via dropbox. I spent some of my time this week jumping through dropbox hoops to acquire the space to send the footage. But it is away. Good practice, I know.
Another thing to mention is the slight sense of panic I felt upon realising that the second part of funding for this project, the No Strings Attached Scheme, is open for applications. Assured I am on the mailing list to be notified when the scheme opened its process, I found out quickly this was not the case. The reason this happened as far as I am aware is a job shift: someone else is in charge of the applications. Fortunately all I needed was my laptop to give all the info for the phone interview. But it just goes to show you need to watch application deadlines carefully.
