Motions Melded...

Though the performance was definitely a fun experience, I must say that I am a bit relieved that it is over - and quite impressed that we pulled it off.
I was almost expecting something to go terribly wrong during the concert and not be able to connect with the other two locations.

I think that all of the transitions and scenes themselves went pretty smoothly. All in all, I think it was a good experience.

Stuff's Happening...

I finished my sound score over the weekend and (I think) I'm pretty much finished with the video component as well. I still need to do some more space-diagraming with my two lovely movement volunteers, but that isn't too complicated.

I really like what I have done so far. It's pretty intense. Some parts are a bit overwhelming, but I want it to be that way.

I guess I'll see on Friday during tech how it all looks together in the space.

Taking Shape...

SO much work being done.
Currently in the works, I have a video, a sound score, and a choreographic structure.

For the live movement component, I just need bodies on stage. I hope people will actually volunteer to help.

The video is a bit of a mix between images and footage. I'm including stop motion, memorial pictures, arial footage, and pictures.

The sound score is a mix that I compiled of songs and quotes. Bush, Reporters, found sound, etc. I think it's going to be really cool.

"Zero" to Text in 60 Seconds...

I have to say, I was very impressed with our demo on the ipad garageband last week. I insisted that my dad get it for his ipad so I could play around with it.

Onto more important topics. I've been doing a lot of observing out my window. Now, for most of the population, this would simply be "people watching." Nope, not in my case. I'm ground zero watching.
Actually, more often than not, it's ground zero hearing. I'm constantly being woken up by construction sounds - banging, drilling, digging, yelling. It's annoying to say the least - especially at 3am.

I would LOVE to use this as inspiration for a piece.
I want to use some of the footage/ pictures of this site that I have gathered so far and maybe pair it with a poem/piece of original text. It's so weird how, whenever anyone mentions ground zero, I just think of not being able to sleep through the night. Other people probably have trouble sleeping through the night at the mention of 9/11...but for very different reasons.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but my current apartment overlooks the site of ground zero. 24 hours a day, there is construction going on. Cranes still digging up dirt, cement trucks constantly churning and paving. Yet, 10 years later, it still appears to be a huge hole in the ground. From the street level, you can't see anything. There are walls enclosing the space - leaving most people who walk by confused and curious. Quite frankly, I am a little more annoyed than most people would be because the construction keeps me awake throughout the night.
Regardless, I have a plan that relates to our performance.

I want to set up a camera on my window sill, and just record some of the construction that is going on there. Just observing. Most people don't get to see this action - only the memorial itself and the monuments. I think it would be really cool to have movement, music, or images of the memorial juxtaposed with this footage.

Unescapable Memories

I was in 7^th grade. It was a typical Tuesday morning. Our days, in an Orthodox Jewish School, began with morning prayers. At the end of the period, a teacher stood up in front of the room – boys sitting on the right, girls on the left, separated by 4 long dividers. He told us that both of the Twin Towers had been hit. I, a very sheltered soul, did not know what was going on. My mind had trouble comprehending the severity of a terrorist attack. We filed into the library to watch the news coverage. Students in the lower grades were not told of the event – only the 6^th-8^th graders. I felt empty, though still confused as to what the commotion was about.

I remember standing outside of the lockers on the 2^nd floor during our break between classes. Only then did I remember that my dad worked in New York City. I panicked for a brief moment. I figured that I would have heard if something bad had happened to him. I had not remembered it at the time, but he had actually worked in one of the towers a few years early.

We had been getting phone calls all day of family friends with whom we had lost touch, wondering if my dad still worked downtown.

The rest of the school day was a blur. We may have had an assembly to discuss the events. If we did, I was not focused.

I did not really understand how serious the situation was until I got in the car after school. In the midst of trying to explain to my 9 year old brother what was going on, she mentioned that my dance classes for the evening had been canceled. That’s when I realized that this was something really, really bad.

At home, we spent the rest of the evening glued to the tv. The same footage was played on every news station over and over again. No new information – but still, the urge to watch.

Apparently, I had said something to the effect of, “Now I know what Israelis feel like every day.” I was finally starting to identify with the events.

For a while I was scared. The news stories did not change much, but they still made me nervous.  I think the biggest adjustments that I made were in the airports. That was a clear sign that America had been hit hard.

A couple months after 9/11, I went apple picking with my family and some friends. We were walking through the orchard when we heard the distant rumble of a plane. Everyone stopped. We searched the sky. All air activity had been suspended. This was the first plane any of us had seen for weeks. We wondered how long it would be until that sound was normal again.

Every day I feel like I see the after effects of 9/11.  My bedroom window overlooks the memorial, ground zero, and the fire department that lost so many of its fighters. It was easier to “avoid” the after-effects when I was living in Massachusetts, or even Connecticut because I was distanced – both physically and mentally. Now, it confronts me, and I am forced to confront it. 

Fast Forward

So much happening lately. Working/Seeing last week's performance was definitely interesting. It was really cool to see the different artists working towards one central goal. I have always enjoyed working in theaters. It's not necessarily something that I would do as a career, but it's something that has been interesting to be a part of.

I can't believe we're thinking about the December 9-10th performance already. There are so many talented people in the class, I think we could do something really cool. I think it would be great to do a music/film/music collaboration.