03/30/11: Intertext - Spring Training Plan

For the Spring, I plan to continue several elements of my Winter training practice that were working well:

• Weekly sessions (video-recorded and blogged)
• Overall structure (Contemplative Practice, Warm-up and Open Training)
• Working with a physical point of focus
• Working with songs

In addition, I’m adding several new elements to the work:

1) Warm-up Sequence Formalization: In hopes of an increased sense of regularity and rigor, my warm-up will now be a specific series of actions (or modes of action) accompanied by a music playlist. This is the order of actions and their approximate length:
---> Free movement (9 minutes)
---> Balanced stillness in tree pose (7 minutes)
---> 50 Jumping Jacks (3 minutes)
---> Body Scan (1 minute)
---> Slow motion Cross of Space (6 minutes)

2) Material Development Time: Rather than writing a “Tiny Imaginary Play” at the end of each session, I’m adding another segment in which I’ll work on specific material for a performance piece. Unlike the free-form, non-goal-oriented space of Open Training, I'll have a provisional plan for how to use this time each week, but also remain open to what arises in the studio.

3) Additional Training: I plan to seek out group training opportunities over the course of the spring. In the interest of consolidation, I’ll record some details of those sessions in this blog as well.

02/25/11: Solo Training Session #7

Embarrassed about the amount of procrastination involved in actually getting to the studio today. Relieved the room is available. Looking forward to exploring some of my new internal sensations of what this training is about. Pleased to be here. Pleased to be documenting myself being here. Feeling confident and happy.


CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (7 minutes):

Meditated in half-lotus against the wall, room dark, eyes open, facing the mirror.

WARM-UP (20 minutes):

Long-form sun salutations, breathing deeply.

Sang "When the River Meets the Sea" a capella in front of the mirror while doing "infinity arm circles."

100 jumping jacks followed by body scan to find body part to work with today. Found my xiphoid process (aka metasternum, the cartilaginous end of the sternum which attaches to the diaphragm muscles and is related to breathing).

TRAINING (35 minutes):

Almost no speaking for the entire time.

Yoga poses to stretch region around xiphoid process.

Extensive work with mirror.

Explored shoulder and arm choreography. Right angles.

Drew blue dot on xiphoid process to isolate it more clearly.

Worked shirtless for a time in order to have access to xiphoid process, was slightly uncomfortable and switched to a small scarf around my breasts.

Mime-type exercises including pulling an invisible rope through my body.

Explored grotesque faces and body positions, particularly invoking archetypes of old men and women (like Pantalone character in commedia)

Explored soft and hard facial gestures, which led to a few words about gender and embodiment.

Camera ran out of memory, last 5 minutes unrecorded.

Short, extreme emotional experiences characterized the (unrecoreded) end of the session - confusion and anger. They subsided as soon as the alarm sounded for the training's end.

NOTE-TAKING (5 minutes):

Sat in studio. Took brief notes about session and found I could not remember very precisely what had transpired. Decided to watch session video to recreate notes (this plan was later foiled as an error occurred and the footage was lost). Wrote Tiny Imaginary Play #7.

1/14/11: Solo Training Session #1

Afraid to begin. Annoyed at my constant procrastination. Wondering why I am doing this at all. Fear of narcissism and wasting time. Fear that this is the wrong time to do this, too late or too early, or not under the appropriately auspicious stars.

Contemplative Practice (10 minutes):
Sat in child’s pose. Made low, long sounds. Tone resonance is nice in the studio. Body feels achy, sick, lethargic, cold. Floor is very cold.

Warm-Up (10 minutes):
Too achy to be very physical. Worked feet and ankles mostly. Sang “The Water is Wide.” I don’t know the lyrics so I make up new ones. Created a game with myself about improvising lyrics.

Free Improvisation (30 minutes):
Mostly on the floor. Mostly with eyes closed. Room grew darker as session went on, quite dark at the end. Lots of crawling on belly and singing while in fetal position, or what I called “june bug pose.”

Speech about moment of psychic release that follows lovemaking and the attempt to find that full surrender elsewhere in life. Speech about being afraid to fall asleep the night before for fear I’d stop breathing in my sleep. Two releases – one desirable, the other terrifying.

Made up a song and a character that sings it – an old Black Jamaican man. Sang in an unfamiliar baritone voice that felt good in that room. Glad that no-one can see me. Sang “Hey ho, nobody home” in this same character.

Looked at hands to check and see if I was dreaming. This became a dance. Finally at the end I was able to dance – free movement, hips open, still very contained but at last I was a creature with feet and not just a june bug.

Very appreciative of the privacy of the space. Being alone feels safe and strange.

Note-taking (10 minutes):
Had idea about creating “tiny imaginary plays” after every session. I will post these on my other blog "Parapraxis" and link to them here. Voila, Tiny Imaginary Play #1 (click here to read)