performance | Shearwater Productions

All of us in a fourth grade figuring out the gestures together!

April is Autism Awareness Month

April 9, 2012

This is a call to parents, caregivers, and educators with children on the Autism spectrum to encourage and embrace performance practices, and to Teaching Artists to tweak their practice to maximize the success of these students. Theatre is a terrific way for children with Autism to have a structured environment in which to learn and practice interactive social behaviors. Moreover, the process of learning basic performance concepts revolves around unpacking and identifying gestures, body language, and subtext. The ideal environment for any kids working to memorize social cues (‘cues’ is a theatre word) in a safe, scaffolded context where they

Fun and Dreams: the creation of “Last Stand at Sunset Pass”

April 4, 2012

This week I have decided to sing the praises of doing something crazy and seemingly beyond reach for the love of doing it. And somehow making it work out. A couple years ago was a particularly stressful time in my life, and I wanted more than anything to be in an action-adventure film, to play a part in a movie where, after the going got tough, my character found a way to save her damn self instead of being rescued. Preferably after an awesome fight sequence. Yeah, and I’d also like a pony and world peace, right? My awesome husband,

Performance for Discovery & Transformation: Bali Intro

March 29, 2012

As you probably know, I believe profoundly in the ability of performance to spark and facilitate discovery and transformation. As artist and teachers, sometimes our own arts practices need a boost of Discovery & Transformation as well! I recently came across a Bali module I had created for schools, and looked at the introductory concepts with my “right now” eyes. Although I continue to use large paper and topical imagery in my regular practice, I had forgotten the importance of ‘the swirling river of spirit’ and the idea of everyone as participant, even those we do not see, even those beings

Girls from a secret school in Kabul in 2002

Clowns on the Silk Road, an introduction

March 21, 2012

My Master’s Thesis was called “The Search for Indigenous Clown Forms in Afghanistan” (of course it was), stimulated in part by participation in a humanitarian mission to Afghanistan in February of 2002 with the the Italian military, an Italian film crew, and approximately two dozen clowns, mostly Italian. My passion for Silk Roads clowns continues unabated, and lately, people have been asking me more about them. Thus, this blog entry! This is an excerpt (sadly made slightly ‘rumpled’ in tone in my attempt to cut words) from a paper I presented at a Silk Roads Conference in Australia. It also

Holly with her son Chris riding camels in Egypt

Shout-Out to Students Going into the Arts

March 14, 2012

There’s a lot I love about being an artist. So much that I can’t get it all in one place, but I do want to put a few things out there about what being an artist means to me—and how that can apply to you. Practical Advice Being an Artist is in many many ways like every other business: if you only sell one product, your business will fail. If you are a shoe saleswoman and all you sell is aqua-marine stiletto slippers, your business will fail. If you are an artist and all you sell is performing other people’s

Blog

April is Autism Awareness Month

Fun and Dreams: the creation of “Last Stand at Sunset Pass”

Performance for Discovery & Transformation: Bali Intro

Clowns on the Silk Road, an introduction

Shout-Out to Students Going into the Arts