Yesterday, I met with Jenny (I’m talking Hunt & Darton mode a bit now); we had our first activity day. To explain, we decided last month that we wanted more activity in our collaboration, less hard slog, but more opportunities to share physical activity together, of which this experience will feed back into our practice. We decided activity days, once every two months would suit as best, and that we would alternate in who would devise and organise the activity- anything from ditch walking (Holly) to a karaoke session (Jenny). This activity, not only allows us rest bite and the chance to make more of our lives like most that choose to pursue a recreational activity, it also allows us to experience further what it means to be human, what it means to have an activity, and hobby, a physical interest and in doing so what that teaches us about what it means to be human, beyond what we already know and experience and how those outside of a certain activity may see it as rather absurd behavior.
Yesterday’s activity day would focus on songs written by women for women, the majority of which reflect on love. This activity day was slightly more tailored to an up coming performance at a live art festival themed around Music in Norwich in July. After purchasing the top women songs compilation album, we selected lines from the lyrics that we liked, fragmented, ordered, came up with a few moves, my favorite an awkwardly long synchronized backing singer style movement, to no music and we couldn’t quite believe we had created a 7min performance! Not only a achievement in itself, and on reflection allowing us to see these success of these activity days, it also allowed us to work out that we can create 1 minuet of a performance per hour. Good to know!
A more epic activity starts next week. We are heading to Gower to take part in a horse riding week. I had proposed a residency period with Jenny for this Escalator project. With this recent interest in recreational residency and having already spent much time working in a theatre for a performance earlier this year we decided that this residency would be best for us if it were to incorporate some kind of activity. Accidently stumbling on an article in the local paper about a horse riding centre in Wales, we knew this was it.
We have decided to keep a blog during the week, a separate one to this, so look out for it also on AN talking!
