Performing | Shearwater Productions

Artists and Aging

March 11, 2013

This past weekend, I met a man who is a jouster (sigh!). I had been invited to join a joust-training team years ago, but the commute was too far to make it work, and I had been PINING to do it ever since. I have always loved adventurous, physical things, and I do enjoy both sword fighting for stage and horse-back riding. So of course I want to joust, right? Doesn’t matter that I am female, relatively small, or just had a mid-forties birthday….oh crap, maybe that last one does matter. For the first time in my life, I am

A christmas play with mummers in costume

Mummers: Who are they?

January 7, 2013

“In comes I, Old Father Christmas. Am I welcome, or am I welcome not?” So begins many a mummers’ play as they erupt into the room in celebration of Twelfth Night! Twelfth Night, when children and fools are kings, and bosses and adults are fools and children, when the forces of Light and Dark meet in a climactic moment, is the night of the Three Kings. It’s also the event for which Shakespeare wrote a wonderful play…..and which, in many parts of North America and the British Isles, includes MUMMERS. What the heck are Mummers? Wikipedia says “Mummers Plays (also

Raven Brings the Light to the People

December 25, 2012

So many celebrations that begin in late fall and run into dead of winter are about finding (or bringing) light in the darkness, both literally and metaphorically. One of my favorite stories is Raven Brings the Light, of which there are many versions. A beautiful version was performed for Northern Exposure, in an episode is called “Seoul Mates”. (It weaves together a variety of winter solstice themes, and ends with a Raven pageant). Below I have reprinted from Native Online a wonderful version. May your heart be filled with light. There was a time many years ago when the earth was

Holly Adams in her studio recording an audiobook

Veterans’ Day and Armistice Day

November 12, 2012

Whether we have family members of the past or the present in war zones, or live in countries affected by war, Veteran’s Day and Armistice Day focus our reflections, thoughts, research, hopes, actions, wishes, and prayers. Myself, I am drawn to war memorials, war histories, parades, and the stories Veterans and others who have experienced war have to tell. My own brief war-zone experience brought home what I have heard many say: there is no way people who have not been in the midst can understand. Artists, though, can bring us closer, can make us smell the aroma, see the

Why do we love mysteries?

October 27, 2012

I often ponder the question, “Why are we drawn to the mysterious?” From zombies to Agatha Christie, we are sucked in like moths to flame by the unknown. As part of my work, I run Mystery & Adventure Agency and have narrated many mystery novels, so I get a little glimpse into this genre and why it appeals to us so strongly. What makes mysteries so fun and exciting? There is something wonderful and joyous about the opportunity to safely “let go,” whether that means portraying something or someone scary or allowing oneself the latitude of being deliciously, shriekingly frightened.

Don’t Stop Believing: lessons from my adult students

October 19, 2012

“I think, I think, that we should end it with, with a party.” J.T. is the last one to make a suggestion about how our movie should end. This is the third session of “Theatre 101,” an open workshop for adults with a range of developmental challenges, and our group has grown to 10, counting myself, the Coordinator of Recreation Programs for Individuals with Disabilities, and the Specialist in Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. Although I have worked with folks with various challenges and disabilities all my life, this is a pilot project with this particular organization. The coordinator and

Art, History, and the Zombie Apocalypse

September 7, 2012

I am lead writer for the Mystery & Adventure Agency, and we have participated in many events, including co-hosting a fund-raising 5K for arts education in our community. It was spectacularly popular, fabulously fun, and full of people clamoring to dress up and perform, and who paid for the privilege and then felt better afterwards. It was a 5K Zombie Run. But why are zombies popular? One evening I was taking a break with an international publication, and after finishing the article about Mauritania’s Conservation Coast, I turned the page. It was an article called, “Monsters from Mesopotamia.” It was

Rebekkah, my daughter, poses in her princess costume before a show

The Courage of Art

August 18, 2012

Picture if you will, a starry-eyed performer and teaching artist. The year is 1996, and said artist has been on faculty at the Community School of Music and Arts in Ithaca, NY for about a year. A brand new program, Star Search, has a writer/vocal coach and a dance choreographer, but is without a theatre person…. and thus began my love affair with a project I have done, without fail and with supreme joy, every August since. What is Star Search? Star Search is a no-audition, 2-week camp for kids between the ages of 10 and 16 in which we

Doing arts-based learning in an mixed proficiency classroom

Theatre Workshops and Kids with Autism = AWESOME

July 21, 2012

In June, I had the amazing opportunity to work with 3 Tier Consulting (http://3-tier.org/home/ check out some of their amazing blogs and work) and some fabulous kids who are also kids with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. We were doing theatre/dramatic play/acting and playbuilding exercises and games, partly because yes, those skills are what those kids need to analyze and memorize social cues and responses, but also because it’s fun and develops social awareness for anyone! Were they scared at first? HECK yes. Another opportunity to not understand what is going on and feel out of place. Great. But once they

Holly poses in her clown makeup in front of a vehicle at the Abu Dhabi airport

Clowning: some what, some why, and a little history Part Two

July 13, 2012

To follow up on part one, a history of clowning, this little section looks at ‘what is clowning’ and how that was understood early in the history of Islam in the Silk Road countries. What is clowning? The exchange of styles, skills, characterizations and so forth was (and is) facilitated by the itinerant nature of performers. Three main reasons why performing clowns traveled were: *The search for new markets *As part of royal court retinue (they were expected to accompany various court members) *Self-preservation; as laws changed and social pressure increased, it became in the clowns best interest to keep

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