The Social Acupuncture Treatment Has Been Successful

Hi All, Susan here. I’ve read this book twice in the past few weeks. Not because I’m enamored with the book but it takes two readings to get the benefits from the social acupuncture treatment. In the first part of the book the author is just so freaken open about his thoughts on the arts, and does not tiptoe around the topic of the arts and its many failures to make a difference in the twenty-first century. After the first reading I came away believing the reviews that O’Donnell was schizophrenic and did not really care about how his writing affected the reader. Could he be practicing tough love? Is his agenda to unclog the blockages that society has created in artists or the blockages that artists have created in themselves or in each other? O’Donnell’s approach is rather extreme but interesting, and surprisingly beneficial, but it took the second reading for me to understand this.
What is acupuncture? The Oxford English Dictionary describes the word as a system of complementary medicine in which fine needles are inserted in the skin at specific points along supposed lines of energy. I am assuming, that O’Donnell is assuming, that any person who picks up his book is more open minded than to buy into the dictionaries description “supposed lines of energy”. I should let you know I am a great believer in acupuncture. My treatments have included traditional Chinese acupuncture and acupressure, Japanese’s Jin Shin Jyutsu pressure points, and long distance acupressure treatments (separated from the acupuncturist by one thousand-four hundred miles). In these forms of treatments "what happens in one part of the body is reflected in the rest of the body. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of everything in the universe." So my interest in this book was to learn what would come of Social + Acupuncture + the arts.
Basically, O’Donnell begins the book by letting us know all our worries and protesting, and energy spent and invested in making a difference, is wasted energy. From his point of view, the world is just too busy fighting each other to hear the message of let’s just get along. O’Donnell is introducing us to his social acupuncture technique by getting us worked up, and doubting our worth and ourselves as artists. Then he throws in the line to justify how he has spoken to his audience, “Essentially, I’m a twerp, a powerless pipsqueak, strong enough to push around a few of my dazed and less-informed comrades… This angered me but I pushed through his distancing tactics.
There are moments in this book when I hear sad disillusionment in his voice. For example when he questions, “How did I end up spending so much time believing that culture had some revolutionary potential? What was I thinking?” At that point I stopped reading and shouted “What the Hell was I thinking?” When the Trade Towers fell I became obsessed with waking up the public and reaching them by using the tool of the arts. I believed that art was everything and that art had the power to inform everyone and empower everyone and that art could make a difference. Wait a minute I am allowing O’Donnell to get in my head. I believe in the power of the arts. Yet, I do acknowledge THE general lack of support that the arts face. Are we bringing this on ourselves? As an artist and an arts administrator, this is a conversation that I had with myself too often.
O’Donnell forces the reader to understand we, artists, have a choice. We can choose to be powerful or powerless. There was a period in the twentieth century when artists worked as individuals and together and with the public to bring about positive changes. Today, as Nicolas Bourriaud states in his book Relational Aesthetics, it is simply about maintaining relationships rather than building partnerships. It’s easier to mind your own life and live in isolation than become involved with community concerns. What can one person really do? At this point in reading Social Acupuncture, I became frustrated with that question. As an artist, I have heard this question too often. Well, if we look at that from a negative impact, it took only one Hitler to bring the world to a new level of destruction. Where is that one positive impact that can bring the world to a new level of positive growth? Maybe it is not a person that creates this change maybe it is the arts as a whole. Then again just yesterday the political hope of positive world growth was placed squarely on the shoulders of President Obama with his recent Nobel Peace award. Positive growth takes a team.
Thus far, this social acupuncture has been an interesting treatment. When receiving an acupuncture at a traditional office visit, thought is given to the physical, spiritual, and emotional environment. The mood is calming. This is important since the affects can be unpredictable. Darren O’Donnell’s book has not been calming. The author appears to be using the symbolism of acupuncture to rattle our isolated studio cages. He knows that social engagement is difficult to maintain in this busy world but as artists we have a responsibility to get out there and participant in creating connections and maintaining communications with the global community.
Back to Mr. O’Donnell, I was impressed with his walking the social acupuncture walk of implementing the project The Talking Creature, a participatory event examining the art of conversing with strangers in public. This project was implemented in the summer and fall of 2003 in Toronto, Canada. The city was quarantined due to threat of SARS. Although many residents evacuated the area, there were those who stayed behind for a multitude of reasons. O’Donnell had the truly brilliant idea to bring together the public by crossing a an uncrossable boundary. He held five “participatory events examining the art of conversing with strangers in public.” The words used to describe this project are manic, urgent, catalyst, risk taking, energy. All rather dramatic words but talking to strangers is moving the energy. Moving energy is the goal of acupuncture. It was this experience that brought about his writing the play A Suicide-Site Guide to the City, an autobiographical play of multiple situations that came to life over the summer of 2003.
How do you know if you have been affected by a social acupuncture treatment? For me, it has the visual of my handwritten notes on the sides of the pages of the book Social Acupuncture. My writing became larger and larger as I traveled deeper into the book. I became and more and more annoyed yet more focused. Then, I was suddenly right there with O’Donnell. Right there with him in the theater of imagination. Provoking the unexpected. Breaking with theater traditions of maintaining the fourth wall. Providing the catalyst in a safe environment was energy needed to encourage the audience to participate. I was right there with him, the playwright creating an open-ended situation of control/non-control. A potential place/site/community constructed by the artist where trust, creativity, and growth could occur and where the materials of engagement flourished.
Social Acupuncture lighten my spirit by playing with my mind, which in acupuncture terms could be said to have unlock energy that is stagnated, thereby creating harmony!

I like this O'Donnell guy.
Susan

Insider/Outsider...let's talk

Laura Berlage

Greetings all! Hope your finishing touches on packet 3 are going well.

I wanted to ask a question that has been pestering me during this semester of looking at the ethical issues of non-Native artists producing Native inspired art. What do you think the issues behind being and insider and being an outsider are? Why do you think that social structure exists? Do you think it is a phenomenon of cultural hurts, or has it been around as long as there have been people? What does it mean to be an insider? What does it mean to be an outsider? Can you cross that threshold? If so, what do you gain, and what do you lose?

These are all questions I'm interested in discussing. Please respond to the post if any of these spark ideas (or more questions) for you!
Thanks,
Laura

Conversations On Engaged Arts, Nancy V.

Access All Areas, Conversations On Engaged Arts

“Home at Home Are We Really,” By Devora Neumark

“I cannot imagine that peaceful co-existence is possible in the Middle East any more than it is here on Turtle Island. Without a commitment to rectify the wrongs of colonialism and imperialism on both sides of the Atlantic.” (Access All Areas, Pg. 32).
Colonialism and Imperialism has separated many countries and people by the control of others land, indigenous lifestyle, and beliefs thus exploiting the people and land physically, emotionally, spiritually and economically. This intrusion is still going on around the world. I think that instead of getting caught in the past, it might be a time to make changes in the present based on actions of the past. Acknowledging the past and wrong doings to cultures that have and had established roots, values, lineages and lifestyle is what I believe the above quote is expressing. I agree with Devora that shifting ones relationship to the past does embrace letting go of perceptions, acknowledging feelings, and forgiving those that created the disconnect with people, land, place, and home. Yes, it is a symbolic death. A death that is difficult and uncomfortable when self-identity, self-respect, integrity and belonging have been confronted and lost. When self-identity, lifestyle, values, and belonging are in upheaval, briefly or for decades the discontent creates a history of imperialism, colonialism and resentment. This on going colonialism and imperialism reveals the oppression, which can become a forced assimilation that interrogates a person’s ethnic background, religious choice, lifestyle and sexuality.
“So afraid of relinquishing old thought patterns and belief systems that seemed so central to my core identity. I tried to circumvent this process for as long as I could.” (Neumark, Pg, 44). I think that Devora’s words are crucial to healing on so many levels individually, as a community, and globally. But it does start individually, and then the metaphor of the ripple in the pond can become a possible reality one step at a time. Can I/we as part of a global village change belief systems and old thought patterns that keep us separated in a way that provokes fear, which then provokes violence. I believe both fear and violence becomes an ingredient for control in order to mend a broken spirit. Only this ingredient of fear and violence is an illusion. Why is there a need for every thing to be the same? Is gentrification in American communities a modern act of colonialism and imperialism?
I am now teaching a residency in Brownsville, NY, which is one of the five boroughs of NYC. I got off the train and started walking and was shocked that I was the only white person walking five blocks to the school where I was teaching. I was also the only white teacher in the building. I never have felt such a separation before and I have lived in NYC for over 20 years. I was so aware of the separation that it was uncomfortable at first until I started teaching. I was sadly an outsider. Is this separation due to gentrification, racism, or economical status? I think it was all of these issues and I think these separation manipulates and disturbances our psyche. I could feel tension in the neighborhood. I did talk to one of the teachers and asked her about the community. She said, “ This is not my community.” I left it at that. I entered this community feeling very out of place not because I have an issue with difference but because society has placed this insider/outsider mentality within my collective unconscious. I hold compassion in my humanness that we can still be treated equal within the different status compartments we are living in or put in for unfair reasons and false judgments.
I think when Devora speaks of shifting ones relationship to the past; she is speaking the truth on a fundamental humanistic level. Until we can deeply reflect in the truth of the wrong doings to fellow human beings there is no peaceful co-existence anywhere on this planet. I often wonder when the separation will transform between the different ethnic backgrounds and economical status. Can we open ourselves to change in hopes that we can bare the pain of humanity and transform as a global village? Or will our fear, which creates a false sense of empowerment hold us in a pattern of separation that confronts ones race, religion, home, lifestyle and sexual orientation? This confrontation challenges our sense of belonging, which challenges are group and self-identity, which then affects being at home in our mind, body and soul.

“The past went that-a-way, when faced with a totally new situation, we tend always to attach ourselves to the objects, to the flavor of the most recent past. We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.” Marshall McLuhan



“Spaces and Places” by Jules Rochielle

“Interstice: An interstice can be defined as a space between things or parts, especially a space between things closely set; a crack; a crevice; and interval.” (Rochielle, Pg, 102).
If I may, I think we all struggle at times in our lives to find a place and voice in society, community and feeling comfortable within our own bodies. When does taking up space within society become meaningful personally and socially? This is truly the journey of life. Jules Rochielle says that she was exposed to art forms…that were not driven by commerce, but by the desire to create social change. I do think both approaches to the artistic life are valid and need to be acknowledged as an important part of society, history and everyday living. I am personally drawn to art that has a great potential for social change, connection and reflective thought that leads to a creative outcome.
“Our projects explored relevant contemporary issues dealing with racial and inter-racial tensions, violence, class, displacement, memory and belonging.” (Rochielle, Pg, 105). I am personally interested in all of the above situations and issues that can affect community life and personal life. The short documentary Collective, which I am doing for this semester, connects to memory, environment and lineage. It has been fascinating to hear about people’s values, lineage, and memories around the art of hanging and doing laundry in relationship to culture and life. It has also questioned my lineage, and stimulated memories of family in my own life. I have found that listening to people that I have interviewed that the memories of doing an everyday task that has a commonality to our humanness shapes values, morals and sense of belonging within family, community and culture.
“Creating opportunities for access within communities is shaping these spaces, inspiring stories, and connecting people to each other and to place. These stories map social and cultural demographics of space, mobilize community through shared experiences and reinforce senses of memory and belonging.” (Rochielle, Pg, 106).

“The problems facing the world today cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” Albert Einstein
(Lukensmeyer, J. Carolyn, Dr., Measures and Milestones, Citizen Engagement, The Conference Proceedings. pp, 33-34).

Work Cited:


Marshall McLuhan, Think Exist, 1999-2009,

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/marshall_mcluhan/
Citizen Engagement, From Measures and Milestones: The Conference Proceedings
pp. 33-40, published 1997, http://www.kltprc.net/books/mmconfproc/Chpt_4.htm

A New Creative Community

Hello Again,

See, I told you I had a few posts for the evening. Hope I'm not overwhelming you with my responses. :)

Navigating a New Creative Community

Artistic work done collaboratively and in the public for the public has and continues to be an evolving canon of work. Since the rise of the Post Modernist era, artists have been finding ways to integrate art back into daily lives to find ways of connecting meaning to the world in which we live.

Arlene Goldbard brings theory, practice, and social development into the forefront with A New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development. Goldbard’s work traces the roots of her own artistic/culturally-focused practice while connecting with practitioners across the globe in a process that she coins as “Community Cultural Development”.

Goldbard’s work breaks down the barriers between art as a commodity and art as a vehicle for social change. She discusses the need for active community and cultural development through the arts. She speaks of the desire that many artists have to create awareness through their work.

In her introduction, Goldbard recalls a dream that she had in 1968 where she was painting a picture that could put a stop to the Vietnam War. When she awoke and tried to recreate the image on the canvas, it had disappeared. She recalls her feelings of frustration and helplessness. It was at this moment that she realized the power behind collective dreaming. A dreaming that when united could shape and change the world. This dreaming was a way of collaborating to develop culture through community. She writes, “One artist’s dream cannot end a war, but when enough people dream together – when enough people have a taste of wide-awake dreaming to create critical mass – who knows what might happen?” (Goldbard 14)

This notion of collaborative-dreaming, connecting to community and banding together to bring social change through our artistic practices is where I find voice in Goldbard’s work. This is something that I am extremely passionate about in my work. I truly believe that if we find ways to connect with community using our artistic practices and abilities, we can promote a shift and change in our world.

I am interested in community-based work as a way of understanding the world in which I live. I am interested in listening to people’s stories and opening my own mind to these experiences and vantage points. I am committed to being an observer of these narratives and lending my abilities to bring it into the public forum.

I believe that through this type of community-based artistic approach, we can heal together and learn how to live openly and honesty. That is why I think that Goldbard’s explorations are so important to the development of our socio-artistic world. She writes, “…Who has not heard the frequently repeated assertion, ‘In Bali, there is no word for art; everything they do is art’…” (Goldbard 103)

That quotation speaks so intimately to me. As I continue to grow ad explore through my artistry, I see the correlations between my practice and the world in which I navigate. As time progresses I see more and more blurring of the lines between art and life. I used to, and still sometimes do treat them as separate entities; but as I refine and explore, I find the connections to my art in my everyday life. That is why I am so interested in using my abilities to promote the kind of cultural development that Goldbard speaks of.

Goldbard talks of the importance of this kind of cultural development happening in communities of oppressed people. It is here where this type of work resonates the most and is most effective (in my opinion). By collaborating with persons who have been squelched, and providing them with an open ear, heart and methods and/or tools to create can start a very meaningful dialogue; a dialogue that opens a door to understanding and growth.

Goldbard connects the theory of her practice to two monumental Brazilian theorists, Paulo Freire and Augosto Boal. Freire, and educator and Boal, a theatre practitioner both facilitated practices dealing with oppressed persons. Freire brought his work to light in the book titled Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Boal brought his forth in Theatre of the Opressed. (Goldbard 117)

These theories create the foundation of Goldbard’s exploration of Cultural Cmmunity Development. Freire’s theories around literacy shaped the views of oppressed individuals taking their power back. Goldbard summarized the main themes of Friere’s work as, “…without the ability to read and write – to comprehend and interpret the modern world- individuals become objects of others’ will, rather than subjects of their own history.” (Goldbard 116)

Boal’s theories take similar themes and put them into theatrical action and discourse. Goldbard discusses the most influential aspects of Boal’s practice, Forum Theatre. This process embodies collaboration by blurring the lines of actor and spectator. All of the participants are actors as well as spectators.

This approach allows the group to have an active dialogue around the issue that they are facing (whether it be social, political, or personal). Out of this conversation comes the creation of a skit around this issue. This compliments the discussion and allows the participants to have a dialogue through the improvised action that ensues throughout the collaborative theatrical experience. (Goldbard 118)

I align with these theories and practices. I identify with the oppressed from my own personal experiences. I am a person who has been squelched in the past. I have encountered situations where I felt like a complete outsider in society. My experiences with oppression date back to when I came out as a gay man and then got more complex when I re-defined myself as multi-faceted queer person (loving and being attracted to people – not gender).

This identification process was and still is filled with constant struggle. Trying to live in a society that is structured around labels and categories is not an easy place to navigate when you don’t fit nicely into a category. Through these interactions and struggles, I always found my solace in my art. It was the only place where I was completely safe.

Through my theatrical practice I was able to lend voice against the oppressors that I faced in an environment that was safer than the “real world”. I find this vehicle to be one of the most healing and opening processes I have ever navigated.

By engaging in this kind of theatrical dialogue I have been able to open my own heart and share the stories and experiences that are important to me; the stories that were squelched both by the community in which I lived and my own personal barriers or resistances.

This is why I wish to be in an artistic dialogue with as many people and communities as I can. I want to be able to find ways to bridge gaps of understanding through theatre. I want to perhaps foster this process with others so that they can feel the holistic power of the arts.

Goldbard quotes Maryo Gard Ewell and writes, “The true ‘people’s theatre’, as I see it, will be the creation for the community of a drama in which the whole community may participate…” (Goldbard 114)

How true this is! The arts are a way of giving back to the communities in which we live and serve. It is a constant exchange of dialogue and energy. As Goldbard explores throughout her work, it is a way to connect the world. It is a way to bring people together and proactively assist in developing a global community of understanding through the arts.

Participation

Hi Gang,

Below is the essay I wrote about "Participation" for my first packet. I must agree with Laura - I had a difficult time getting through this book; but feel that I was able to get some real good worth out of it.

Collaboration: Intersections with Participatory Art

In Participation: Documents of Contemporary Art, Claire Bishop weaves together narratives and explorations around the meaning of art that engages and is collaboratively created. This series of essays on the theories and practices of participatory art inspire an excellent dialogue around the purpose of art and its abilities to connect community and engage in active discourse.

There has been much discussion around the audience of art and whether art is created to emulate life or vice versa. There has also been much discussion around the separation of life and art. Peter Burger theorizes that art and social praxis can be integrated in society. He states:

For an art that has been reintegrated into the praxis of life, not even the absence of a social purpose can be indicated, as was still possible in Aestheticism. When art and the praxis of life are one, when the praxis is aesthetic and art is practical, art’s purpose can no longer be discovered, because the existence of two distinct spheres (art and the praxis of life) that is constitutive of the concept of purpose or intended use has come to an end. (Bishop 50)

This notion is fascinating to me. As a performance artist, I strive to find ways to engage my art with society. My art is geared towards social involvement and collaboration. There is no question as to whom my art is serving; it is serving humanity. It is a living, breathing entity that can change with the cues of the audience. It is part of the community. it is an active dialogue. It is a complete collaboration.

The thought of art in our world as a way to serve humanity is an enlightening and exciting concept. That is what I feel modern art and participatory art movements are supporting.

We have an innate need as a species to co-exist with the art we create. This co-existence allows the art to take shape and form our thoughts, feelings, and community. That is why Burger’s work is so relevant. If we strive to make connections with our art into our everyday lives, we’ve answered the important questions of what our artistic and social purpose and intent are. For me that intent and purpose is to serve the community in ways that promote and encourage active exploration of self and social awareness.

In my opinion, the focus of art as a social tool, weaving together many different ideas and mediums has allowed us to make much progress in our craft. For example, before coming to Goddard I was set on only being a theatre practitioner. Once I started the MFA-IA program, I started to become enlightened and open to the possibilities of branching out in new artistic practices.

Suddenly, I was not confined to one medium or mode of artistic investigation. I was able to start to take my socially conscious practice and evolve it. Suddenly, I was working in a more interdisciplinary sensibility. I was interested in trying my hand at different mediums of exploration and weaving them into my current practice.

This is what I think the future of art is. It is about constantly finding ways to connect with people and discovering new ways to interact artistically and personally.

Collaboration has always been at the forefront of my artistic practice. Interdisciplinarity is the new road I am embarking on to find new mediums and modes of connecting to the communities in which I serve.

By connecting life and art, it is possible to bridge gaps of understanding through collaborative means. By making art a social practice, it allows us to live and breathe art throughout our daily interactions.

This socio-artistic responsibility is the bridge between life and art. It is how we can make a difference and find meaning throughout the human experience.

Using Art to Engage in Social Discourse

Building off of Burger’s theories around art and social praxis, it is important to look at what artist’s are doing to bridge these two worlds. One excellent example of this is the work of Adrian Piper. Piper used her “Funk Lessons” practice to explore racial issues within the white community, while teaching the basics of funk music and dance to the participants.

Piper used this technique to spark a dialogue and expose her audience to a cultural experience that was foreign to them. This end result of this practice was a collaborative performance piece of funk dance.

Piper used this medium as a way of connecting the participants to black culture and the issues that related to the exposure of this social idiom. Throughout her collaboration with these groups of white participants, there were many intense reactions to the content and themes. Piper writes:

The intimate scale of the dialogue permitted a more extensive exploration of individual reactions to funk music and dance, which are usually fairly intense and complex. For example, it sometimes elicited anxiety, anger or contempt from middle-class, college educated whites: anxiety, because its association with black, working-class culture engenders unresolved racist feelings that are then repressed or denied rather than examined...

(Bishop (Kwon)(Bishop)(Bishop)133)

The above is an excellent example of how participatory art can engage discourse and become a healing vehicle. Through the exposure of a specific art piece or practice, we can collaborate with diverse groups of people and find ways to progress socially.

As Piper illustrates through her “Funk Lessons”, the participants were able to collectively get to a space of catharsis and start to process the intense feelings they were experiencing while being exposed to the cultural elements that induced their reactions. (Bishop 133)

This is most excellent. This is why I create work that engages collaboration within community. I am committed to creating work that asks the audience to be part of the exploration in hopes that it will open their minds and allow them to ponder or progress socially. It is my hope that through my art I am able to promote a space of critical discourse on the social theme in which I am presenting or living with my audience.

Participatory art is a socially responsible way of exploring the cadences of human struggle. It is a way to interact in a collaborative space to create and learn in ways that speak louder than words. It is a way of living artistically and socially. It is the bridge between art and life.

Social Acupuncture

Hi Gang,

So sorry for the long delay since my last communication with all of you. It has been a hectic few weeks. I just closed a fantastic run of "The Producers" and have been trying to get caught up on everything. :)

I have logged on a few times in the past few weeks and must say that I am really enjoying the conversations and writings I have encountered. It is so wonderful to be part of this group.

The talent, thoughtfulness, and mind expanding is running amok on our blog - this is GREAT!

Tonight I will be posting a few of the essays I wrote around some of the readings we have been exploring.

Please feel free to give me any feedback (if you desire - no pressure - just as Darren O'Donnell sets up his audience interaction).

I hope that you all are doing well and that your "packeting" goes well. Let's keep up these fantastic conversations.

Here's my essay on "Social Acupuncture":

Poking and Probing Social Acupuncture

Darren O’Donnell’s work Social Acupuncture is an excellent source for theatre practitioners looking to communicate and connect with audience. His experiments actively explore ways in which to engage audience and community in meaningful discourse while not focusing on the need to dramatize or “create” theatrical situations.

I find O’Donnell’s work quite inspirational. I have been struggling with the way in which to engage audience and collaborate in a dialogue that transcends the theatrical event. I have been stuck at a fork in the road of creativity. I have felt bound to a traditional practice that is dying to be set free into a more meaningful, experimental practice.

When I started reading the words of O’Donnell I felt immediately connected. I felt aligned with the need to use my artistic abilities in a way that could engage. I asked myself, “How can I achieve this lofty goal of promoting social change through my artistic practice?” “Why do I want to engage in dialogue or expose my audience to issues that are important to me?” “What is the payoff in this kind of artistic expression?” and most importantly, “how do I challenge the way things have been done in my formal training of representational theatre?” “How can I innovate my practice to find open and honest dialogue and collaboration?” “How can I make this practice not about ‘me’ or my ‘craft’?”

That last question seems to resonate the most with me right now. Being that theatre is an art form that can and a lot of the time does promote self-centeredness and an over abundant ego, it can be extremely difficult to get to a space where you can remove self-indulgence from theatrical practice.

I think the reason for this is, as theatre practitioners we are taught methods of interaction and falsified realism through our art. What can happen is that when we get really good at this, we can sometimes struggle with shutting this ability off; or, on the other hand, we receive so many accolades in response to our refined skill and craft that we let it get to our head.

How’s that for self-indulgence? By no means am I saying that my craft and/or skills are better than any other theatre practitioner; I am trying to frame a sensibility that I find rampant and problematic with the collective theatrical craft.

I think perhaps this is why I have been interested in working with inexperienced performers. I have found from my own experiences that the more inexperienced performer is more open and willing to take chances. My collaborations with such actors have afforded a deeper connection and collaboration than I have had with some more experienced performers where the ego gets in the way.

At times I have been able to find a collective honesty while working with these actors. I know this all sounds like a lot of generalization; and it probably is; however, I think there is some truth in this. This is not to say that I haven’t had amazingly open, effective, honest, and devoid-of-ego experiences with more tenured theatre practitioners – there is just a rawness that is appealing to me when working with performers who have limited experience. I think this is why I am interested in collaborating with diverse communities and creating work together.

With that being said, I have often struggled with how to approach this. How do I step away from the traditional ties that bind me within my art? How do I get away from me (the traditionally trained actor longing to be in theatrical dialogue with community) and create completely openly, honestly, and collaboratively?

I found many of these answers in Social Acupuncture. O’Donnell’s work has opened a gateway to a world of possibilities for my artistic practice. His framing of theatrical expression through the metaphor of Chinese medicinal practices makes so much sense. This Eastern way of healing and O’Donnell’s use of the art as an apparatus for probing social wellness and discourse is exciting!

O’Donnell writes, “What theatre is really about – like any other form – is generating affect and that’s it.” (O'Donnell 19) This notion reminds me of the driving force behind what makes me a theatre practitioner – I want to feel, think, and bare witness to how others feel and think. The only way I know how to do this effectively is through my art. It is a gateway that opens a door to understanding.

What I have questioned frequently within my practice is how to keep this dialogue alive. How can we keep the candle of interest lit? How can we truly make a difference? Until I read of O’Donnell’s techniques of Q&A and The Talking Creature, I was feeling stale within my technique.

I have used my formal training in theatre; a training that embodies created characters that recreate emotion and react to predetermined situations. Though I have found that the traditional practice of theatre has opened a dialogue; I have often pondered how I could take a step further and move into a deeper space and dialogue.

I got very excited when I read of O’Donnell’s engagement with his audience. I felt that his way of interacting and getting to know his spectators was a brilliant way of breaking down the fourth wall. By engaging in conversation with the spectators he was able to bring a personal connection to the performance.

The gentleness of his interaction was something that resonated with me. His audience does not need to respond. His audience is in the driver’s seat and can either take the driver’s or the backseat in his theatrical vehicle. Wow! What an innovative way to mitigate vulnerability and gently encourage the dialogue and interaction. This is the power of theatre in action!

O’Donnell writes, “…the need to divide the experience into ‘part of the show’/’not part of the show’ reveals the desire to keep art locked securely in a category that is ‘not life’.” (O'Donnell 55) I think that this singular statement is the heart of his artistic philosophy. Art should be a breathing, living entity that serves all participants. Art is life and life is art. As basic as the notion sounds, it rings much truth to my practice and me.

O’Donnell partners traditional Eastern medicinal theory to a contemporary western theatrical practice that finds its roots in traditional aesthetics. By reframing and articulating these artistic metaphors and practices, O’Donnell is challenging the way in which we communicate through our art.

He has successfully created a practice of life-infused art that encourages us to look deeper and maintain connection through our theatrical sensibilities. These socio-theatrical experiments and practices have inspired me to branch out in the way in which I use my craft to encourage dialogue.

O’Donnell has opened a can of artistic worms for me; one that encourages me to branch out in different directions and actively explore community through a socio-theatrical and engaging practice. This new facet of practice will continue to open doors and bridge the gaps between life and art.

A thrilling ...interdisciplinarian--and my new project

Hi folks, Ju-Pong here with another link to an amazing speaker, Margaret Wertheim. I called her an interdisciplinarian because she does not call herself an artist, though what she and her sister have created is certainly art. I discovered the Institute for Figuring a couple years ago when I was surfing the net learning about cocheting natural forms. But I had no idea what a viral phenomenon it had become. This is a wonderful talk, and I think very related to social acupuncture and community engagement. Margaret Wertheim talk

Also I wanted to share what's become of the Abstract that I posted in August. I proposed it for the conference of the Association of Research on Mothering in Toronto and got accepted. But they didn't have room for me in the embedded conference on the gift economy, so I had to revise my proposal quite a bit. I've posted what I came up with on my blog. Please check it out, pass this around and send me leaves! Ju-Pong's blog

By the way, you can view several of my videos if you scroll down, down, down.

Hope all is going well with you,
Ju-Pong