Day 3 of Finding Your Voice workshop in Solo

We are having such a good time! I am in heaven here. These amazing women are hungry, fun, appreciative, alive, brave... I am soooo grateful to Ines Somellera and Sari Madjid from Theatre Koma for making this happen. I have such a giant family of sisters now...

Day 1 workshop on Finding Your Voice in Solo, Java

Well actresses from all over Indonesia arrived today and a few more arrive tomorrow. I am honoured and excited to get to see what they have prepared tomorrow. This evening I saw a performance at the location where we are rehearsing... a few pieces- one from a village in Java, very traditional and fun to see, a troupr of amazing boys and a small musical group. This location is a series of gorgeous joglos in this extended forest/garden in the city. SO far, I have just asked them a whole lot of questions, trying to get to know what they do, their training, what kind of performance work they do- tomorrow will answer a lot of questions! Seeing them perform willl say so much more! I can't wait!

Workshop I am teaching at Lemah Putih in Solo begins tomorrow

This is the studio I am teaching in starting tomorrow with actresses from all over Indonesia. I am more than honoured, excited and curious- as there is so much unknown i am headed into. I so hope I can offer something to these people that is of value to them. I have planned a workshop inspired by work i have done on several projects over the years, and this feels like an answer to many prayers and much hard work and investigation. In 2007, I performed in Jakarta. After I performed many young Indonesian women came and asked me- 'How do I find my voice' through various translators. It was so surprised and moved by the question. It was not what I expected and I had no answer. How could someone from Canada, who grew up with a feminist painter mother, have anything useful to say to these women, from Indoneisa? From such a different culture? and how could I not answer the question? It made me realize that, yes, I do have a voice, and I have had the opportunity to use it. I had a responsibility to answer this question. I went back to Toronto and spent three years studying Tahirih's poetry and her life. A woman who unveiled herself in Iran in 1840. I knew this woman, her life and poetry, who had a courage I can only study with awe - could maybe help me answer that question with some integrity. And miraculously, thanks to Ines Somellera, here I am. Giving a workshop in Indonesia to professional actresses from across this country. The workshop is called 'Finding Your Voice'. Please pray for us. We need all of our voices.

director or no director for solo performance work? and if yes, when?

In the end I always need an outside eye for my work and there are times when i am just not ready for that... I have gone back and forth with this over the years. Sometimes with a group of people I trust to come in at various phases, sometimes with one person dropping in from time to time, sometimes with a full time director. sometimes with a dramaturg as ourside eye -no director, sometimes dramaturg and director... my last dramaturg suggested i consider NO director for awhile and this was good advice. I was getting confused, too many cooks in the studio... and I lose my center.

But the new show with three people, the solo that became the musical trio? That was hard. I had to go in and out and I sacrificed a lot; mostly really due to time. BUT, as a good director knows YOU HAVE to sacrifice some things, often many precious things... and that is not bad. SO i am happy to look at the video of the last show and see that, yup, i sacrificed some things, it is clear what they were, some of them we can get back next rehearsal/performance phase, but it worked without them for THAT show.

Thank goodness for video and patient colleagues.

Tech rehearsal and walking in the woods

Trying to learn that even on tech days, when there does not seem to be enough time, one should take a walk in the woods... thanks to Lisa I did that today. I have been very focused as usual. My husband said that if I found someone who worked as rigourously as I did he would eat my sons hat... he may have to... Lisa may be that person! I have met others, but being here, in this little German town - far from any of my other responsibilities I was able to indulge my desire to focus... and well

I love it

maybe I am an art nun...

we do our workshop performance tomorrow and video the show... and we will see how the audience responds

and if I can remember my lines...!