EMPAC was my first residency and I don't think I was prepared for that type of immersion. 15+ hour days? Yipes! But in the end the tech was there and the script and structure was there (big ups to Sarah Gancher!). Honestly, though, by the end, there wasn't much of my mind there. Let's just say I'm glad to be home and resting peacefully.
One of my favorite (and harrowing) moments was our brief showing for invited guests and fellow resident, Dimitris Papaioannou, who was working on his new piece, Primal Matters. Papaioannou is a Greek avant-garde choreography who choreographed the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He had some amazing input for our show and talked to us about the use of the "ridiculous" in our piece. Such a gracious and insightful man. We were all lucky enough to see his work and help him in return with our comments. Something that was very moving for me was to hear his own frustration with his work and where he felt it was failing. To see such a well established artist have doubts about his work put me at ease with the doubts that I have about my own work with Hand2Mouth. It help me recognize what it means to be an artist and what comes with the territory, that we will always have those moments of doubt and they are what push us forward. I am thankful to EMPAC for creating an environment where an exchange like this could occur.
On a side note, the perfect storm that created EMPAC's coffee shortage while we were there was having a Greek choreographer and a Portland, OR performance troupe at the same residency. See you in NYC!
