Each gemstone is unique with a special color, birthplace and story.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
The Vision Emerges
For our first foray into some of the art and theater happening in Colombo- Marcella went to the Goethe Center (the German Goethe Center is one of the more active non-Sri Lankan cultural centers in Colombo, it seems) for part of a project called ‘Moving Out.’ Moving Out was the culmination of a 6 week project that brought numerous European artists together in Sri Lanka to work in the jungle side village of Hikkodura. There was a panel discussion (Jake- one of our collaborators from Floating Space Theater was a panelist) about the importance of engaging audiences and community in artistic work and various performances over three days- at the Goethe Center, at Mount Lavinia Beach and at the University of Visual and Performing Arts. There was a fabulous Argentinian (though now based in Barcelona) street performer named Adrian Schvarzstein whom we made a great connection with, a very unusual and interesting performance artist from Scotland named Alex Rigg, a brilliant theatrically dynamic movement artist from Copenhagen named Kit Johnson, a fella from Germany who makes giant- life-sized origami (he made a lifesized boat that he attempted to sail into the Indian Ocean while we watched) and a Viennese visual artist who was integrating her perception of light on the island with text from Nietzsche. The work was all inspiring and engaging. The project is called ‘Suradura’ and is primarily funded by ‘INSITU’, a European organization committed to engaging in and bringing art to public spaces. The person behind this ten year running project is Neil Butler.
On February 10 we had our first in person meeting with some of the coordinating members of the Colombo International Theater Festival (CITF), Gaya Nagahawatta and Lohan Guneweera. We had a lovely chat (at a place called ‘The Commons’); getting to know each other a bit, gaining a better understanding of the history of the CITF, of their vision for this year’s festival and how we will fit in to the CITF 2015.
This year, there will be performances by companies from Russia, India, Bangladesh, Korea and Sri Lanka.
ARTFARM will be the lead workshop presenter. We are the first American artists to participate in the Festival. The Festival runs from April 3rd – April 9th, 2015. So far, it looks as though we will be offering a workshop throughout the week with a set group of 15-20 participants. We will have support from translators, as the participants will likely be Sinhalese and Tamil speakers, with some English speakers.
We will begin with a full day of workshops, then three shorter days, then a final full day – all with the same participants- leading up to a share for the rest of the festival. The workshop will focus on generating new, issue-oriented work in ensemble. We have requested that the group be as diverse as possible with regard to age, ethnicity, language, level of experience, etc., hoping to have a working ensemble that reflects the many different cultures of Sri Lanka. The country is just 5 years out of a thirty year long Civil War, and there are many unresolved issues and unsolved but age-old challenges.
We have also been asked to lead a single workshop during the week of the Festival for ‘anyone who wants to join’ that is in attendance on that day. Dic will be leading an “Introduction to the Red Nose Clown” for this one and Marcella will likely lead some morning warmups. In our meeting, we brainstormed about panel discussion topics, and we will also be on a panel likely about International Artistic Exchange and Funding, as well as bringing devised work to performance level.
A few other pieces of evolution:
We met with a woman from the American Center/American Embassy. She is the Cultural Affairs Officer to Sri Lanka and the Maldives named Dawn Suni. We met on her suggestion at a funky organic/bio/artisanal-style outdoor place called ‘The Good Market’. It was an unusual ‘eco-conscious’ spot with locally made crafts and foods- that was mostly frequented by Westerners/ex-pats. We updated her on goings on, how we got here, what we do in the States and what we are doing while we are here in Sri Lanka. She asked if we would lead some workshops in collaboration with the American Center. We are navigating with Dawn the possibility of teaching a 4- 6 week series with theater students at the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo as well as a 4 week series through their ‘Access’ program in Negombo, which provides programs to low income students ages 13-16 who are trying to learn to speak English. This is all very exciting. Dawn has also offered the use of American Center space during ‘regular hours’, and is also looking into acquiring an American flag for us to display as part of the Colombo International Theater Festival. The American Center has just heard about the CITF, so this seems a great additional connection.
Starting in the beginning of March we will begin to work in the Studio about six hours per week with Floating Space Theatre. This regular training/rehearsal together will continue throughout March and April; initially we will alternate leading sessions, familiarizing each other with our work styles and techniques, and then we will step together into the Undiscovered Country. The intention is to create a new piece together which we can present as a workshop performance in early May.
Also- we are seeking rehearsal space for our time with Floating Space. In addition to asking Dawn from the American Center, we asked Safeer, the founder of the Colombo International Theater Festival. While Dawn offered, we can only use her space during the day, and some of the Floating Space members teach during the day. Safeer has two spaces- one is 10×20 and one is 20×30, and he has generously offered us use of these spaces! CITF and Floating Space do not have a history of collaboration, so this may also be an interesting bridge-connection.
HOORAAH!
Our other primary collaborator, composer Gayathri Khemadasa, has been performing in the United Kingdom since we arrived in Sri Lanka, but we have been planning electronically. She returns to Colombo at the beginning of March; our collaborations with her will include both teaching and performing together. We will be perform as part of an evolving piece; ‘When Caged Birds Sing’, in theory at a University and at a gallery- alongside an exhibit of a Cambodian photographer. We are also planning three weekends of working in rural communities with Gayathri. Details TBA!
So it seems that we will become very busy throughout March, April and up to our departure on May 17. Bearing this in mind (plus the fact that we had to move out of our initial apartment, and our new house in Colombo won’t be available until late February) we decided to use the last half of February to travel and increase our understanding and experience of Sri Lankan culture outside of Colombo. On February 11 we took a train to Kandy and in addition to visiting the Temple of the Tooth during a Puja (which is a theatrical event- if not a remarkable exercise in ‘people management’, in itself)-we were able to attend a performance of ‘Kandy Dance’. This is a very traditional training in a specific style of dance. In Sri Lanka, there seem to be many styles of dance specific to the island regions from which they come. Kandy Dance is one- but is additionally among the top two styles of dance- Kandy and Bharatanatyam. The female Kandy Dancers are remarkably decorated in their costuming, hair, jewelry and makeup. The dances represent many stories, histories, mythologies, spiritual journeys and peoples of Sri Lanka; primarily Sinhalese and Buddhist in origin. In addition to the very specific hand, head and eye movements that both genders communicate, some of the men train in spinning very quickly, spinning and leaping very quickly in a circle, synchronized back flipping, fire eating and fire walking. Quite a spectacle.
After two days in Kandy we spent a few days exploring ancient Buddhist sites in the central part of the island: the 5th century palace Sigiriya which is spectacularly positioned at the top of a 600 foot high boulder, partly decorated with beautiful, well-preserved and well-endowed frescoes of dancing goddesses; and the ancient capital Polunnaruwa, featuring vast ruins of temples, palaces and monasteries, the climax of the day three immaculate giant Buddhas – one sitting, one standing, one reclining. Breathtaking.
From there we headed to Kalkudah, a Tamil-dominated beach area on the East Coast which suffered greatly in both the Civil War and the 2004 Tsunami. The area is just beginning to recover, and we were among the few westerners visiting and certainly the only Americans. We learned a lot here about what the war was like for Tamil people – the loss, the fear, the running and hiding, deaths of family and friends, the terrifying crossfire between the Sri Lankan Armed Forces and the rebel Tamil Tigers. We stayed for three nights, and our host Sathish spoke movingly and from his heart about the past, present and future of this area and the Island. We left yesterday feeling that we are beginning to better understand the complex forces still very much at play in this little island in the Indian Ocean.
Today we are in Arugam, a Muslim village in the southeast with crashing waves which is popular with surfers. Not our scene, but it is also the place to hook up with a safari in the local national park. An extended and close up interaction with a giant-tusked elephant was the highlight, but the whole adventure was a thrill…hundreds of birds and mammals in a stunning natural setting. Here, again, we spoke with a man, Rasool, who spoke of the devastation of the Tsunami- saying, ‘There was nothing left. Everything was gone. The long hair of our girls would get trapped in the huts- and they would die right there. Our people never take their clothes off- always stay covered- and their clothes would get caught- and they would die. Some people ripped off their clothes and we all ran and ran and ran… So many dies.’ He also spoke of the war with people having their arms…and heads ‘chopped off’… and of bombs- like the one that hit a public bus with 45 people on it- including his mother. Here, in this ‘surf’ scene, people trying to move on- to make a living- a life… but under the surface- it is not far to find the sorrow, grief, -unimaginable horror, really- and suffering.
