2003-04-09

To whom it may concern:

I would like to submit a proposal for a performance to occur on the evening of May 16th, as part of the expace project #002 occurring at the Knitting Factory. In the spirit of the project, the performance will reveal a new model of social negotiation with a special focus on roots in the past. By examining repeating motifs in poetry, song, or story, we legitimize our stance or opinion. We educate ourselves.

This piece will generate material from such Middle Ages text as The Knighthood of Sir Lancelot (Mallory), the romance of Tristan and Isolde (Gottfreid ), Dante�s Divine Comedia, and the love letters of Heloise to Abelard. I am using these medieval stories because I am interested in the consideration of holiness, and the actual problems that it creates in real life.

My performances are a concoction of traditionally separate performance �types;� monologues, dance, and music are woven together. Regardless of the performative terrain, the aesthetic persits. Each art form can be related to a particular character from a story. For example, Tristan was a magnificent Harpist who could enchant the kingdom of Ireland with his harmonious strum. I will play my own harp (acoustic guitar) in an effort to engender the famous musician.

With the current U.S. actions in the Middle East in mind, I look to the Middle Ages as a time consider for precedent and knowledge. There is the obvious example of the Crusades in the Holy Land. However, I also feel in my life and its experiences that we are entering a sort of medieval time period, in which we are shrinking collectively as a nation from our glorious past, from the duties that have been assigned to us, and to the overwhelming maw of an uncertain future. This seems to be a good intersection to consider the personal and political challenge, in that we can only make the big changes (in the environment, in global relations, etc.) one person at a time.