The Quarry Project Update
June 28, 2020

QUESTIONS
How does an ensemble ride this out together and arrive on the other side resilient, cohesive and filled with creative energy? Will we be able to complete our project in the way we envisioned? Will we have the insight into a different and equally fulfilling conclusion? Will I be able to let go of one in order to allow for the other? What is the best practice at this moment?

A THOUGHT
A friend who lives in Quebec wrote this, which really helped me make meaning of the anxiety, the fury and the deep well of sadness I feel:

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, there is a place they call the bardo - that state of existence that holds us in transition - in the between - when we are asked to endure & surrender in order to move from what we have known into what we are being led to know. Surely this is what we must be living & feeling in this unforeseen yet very real time.

A DESIGN, for now, a first step.
This past month has been spent in conversation with ensemble members, planning for the “extra” year, and implementing the first steps. The focus for the year is to deepen our relationships and discover all we can about ourselves and this project. These investigations will form a strong ground for whatever comes in 2021.

As part of this “extra” year, I realized I wanted to spend time this summer with supporters and ensemble members, one or two at a time, just floating out on the water of this majestic place, allowing for thoughts, feelings and questions to arise. To that end, we launched a small stage into the quarry. I have had six excursions to date with more to come through July. It is a unique way to become familiar with one another and what has drawn us all to The Quarry Project.

The photo above was taken by Leslie Anderson during her “float”. She has been on this quarry numerous times right from the start and is intimate with the surroundings. Yet, I watched as she found unseen aspects that captured and surprised her. Yes!

Another way we are enlivening this project during this “extra” year is to share what we are up to whether it is directly or indirectly connected to the project or not. Here are two stills of a film Alana and fellow CHAIR dancer Willow are creating for an abandoned parking lot.

And here is a short film Leslie and her daughter made of a flying costume; such giddiness in the midst of turmoil and change.
https://youtu.be/Sa1Cn_x68jc

Daily, we are reminded that everything is political. COVID-19 immediately created a petri dish of circumstances. Out of that, some artists have become highly political while others have made radical shifts of trajectory. Site specific work has taken a big step forward as artists, unable to access stages and more traditional platforms, create for and perform in public, private, vastly big and painfully small spaces “never intended” for performance. They are working under unconventional, uncomfortable conditions with limited resources. They draw from their outrage, their fears, their awareness over what is happening globally and locally. That petri dish of factors has given new voices, new directions to the creative process and energized so many in a myriad of ways. Indeed, within this distressing situation lies beauty and a wise path.

With love,