It is over. Let us discuss. 20% pictures/80% words

Well the first "revamped" Snip-its went off without a hitch!

Now you ask, what does New Jersey and corruption have to do with it?

Well everybody likes to hate on New Jersey, and corruption is a running trend in art/dance history. No, there is more to it than that.

...I felt a bit like this lady before Snip-Its this past week.

IMAGINE THE TITLE reads "(Bull shit myth) AKA Performer/Audience Balance Rule"

IMAGINE THE STAGE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCALE reads "Audience Gives: $0 admission, their Thursday night, beer donation, a subway ride to Mascher, their feedback, enduring of awkward moments and weird silences"

IMAGINE THE STAGE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCALE reads "Performers and Lauren and I Give: decently rehearsed work that is somewhat substantial, entertaining, conceptual, interesting, etc., beer for the audience, a band to make things less awkward (oh crap...the band dropped out), decent enough marketing that enough people come so it doesn't feel awkward, and maybe some free cookies from the bodega around the corner"

So either way, I found myself worrying that this scale wouldn't be even...that people may not get enough bang for their free/buck. There are so many ways that we define a successful show, and I think that this "performer/audience scale myth" has a lot to do with it. It creeps into so much of the art that we make, and before we know it our art comes out looking like a screwed up child of this weird Lady Liberty/Justice/Fairness. The art comes out looking metaphorically like the lady above: with a lukewarm cherub smile, robed (like Isadora Duncan) and barefoot (as if to say, "look ma, NO ShOES!. Oh look how modern and daring my dancing is), and our art defensively caries a sword so when we get stupid feedback from stupid talkbacks we can defend our product by saying "No audience member X, I don't think my piece would be better if it had a narrator and if I cut the silence section. And by the way, you weren't supposed to "get it"..."

BUT to my great excitement, Snip-Its was a great first step for me in letting go of my worries about producing a show that is "worth it" or "good". By putting all those expectations aside, Megan, Lauren, Annie, Laura, myself, Tristan, Josh, Curtis, Zach, Christine, Steve, Mauri, Gus, and a few other names I am forgetting were able to blur the lines between audience and performer and actually just hang out like normal people and talk about art and life and such. Three ideas were danced out, and then there was lots of talking and beer drinking interspersed and following this. It went exactly as I hoped it would.

Thanks to all those who made it happen. Thoughts/comments/words??? Blog about it.