you heard it here first... this is where we post new things, rant about life crap & pick what colors we like best.

We performed this past Dec 13-15 as part of "The 800 lb Gorilla in the room…what we're not talking about " at Ruth Page Center for the Arts with some really cool artists such as Cristal Sabbagh, HIJACK, LiveWire, & 3 card molly. The evening was produced by Mordine & Company Dance Theater who also performed. Breakbone's "datastarve" performance featured company members Jyl Fehrenkamp, Tabitha Faes, Tina Gillis, Molly Grimm, Atalee Judy & LeAnne Vancil.

I sincerely feel fortunate that my company was part of an evening that actually did try to "say something" (although I figure I will not be invited back next time...), I am left feeling a bit empty with the entire process and should just stick to producing my own productions for the meantime. Now, while I am not a person to kiss ass and tell, I feel that before you hire a 38 year old woman with a blazing red mohawk who defiantly runs her own company as your Production Ass, you might want to go through your list one more time and find that "yes" wo/man you always wanted. When things did not go as planned or agreed upon and words were exchanged, telling me that I am "self-centered, pompous & one dimensional" is not anything that really injures me - so get a new vocabulary or figure out what really pushes my buttons.

To run a successful event you need ONE thing. You need communication. Barking last minute orders and changing your mind affects the entire flow of the production and if you think that my 10 years of experience is nil - I have learned at least this much (compared to some people who have 40+ years on me and should act accordingly). Schedules change and even slow a production down, but it is truly best to have everyone on the same page and updated with the changes so that they are not having any "violations of expectations". No one is perfect (and I am far from this) but I know that miscommunications will happen and not everyone can be appeased. Live and learn from it.

Once the show was up and running, it went well and the artists all found their groove. Audiences were diverse ranging from college types to gray hairs and we were impressed with how many stayed afterwards for the post show discussions (usually people run out of the theater). For the Breakboner's, we were the last on the program to perform, so it was difficult to stay warm, but they are real troopers. The ladies dug in and gave excellent performances as well as enjoyed their rockstar personas. We had some funny pictures we took backstage and some other memorable oddities: mysterious scalp bumps, paint stuck in hair, bruises in places where the sun don't shine and skirts that would not stay in one place!

Moving on:
The evening hosted post show discussions every night after the performances where the audience was invited by a moderator/facilitator to lovingly barrage the performers with their burning questions. Questions ranged from the "process the artist uses" to one audience member "needing clarification on subject matter". Maybe it's just me, but I do not enjoy these and from my observation neither did the poor audience members who were cornered into commiting an hour after the show to banter away discussing work, that for the most part, didn't really need discussion ABOUT the artistic process or needing clarification, but ABOUT the topics and issues the works presented fearlessly onstage. Such things as THE IRAQ WAR, HURRICANE KATRINA, OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN, OUR SOCIETY'S OBSESSION WITH TABLOID HOOPLA, & MISAPPROPRIATION OF COPYRIGHTED WORK.

So don't get me started on what we're really not talking about. Dance is still fluffing about with its "layers and layers of vaguery" (B. Bramman)