Category: Residency

Matthew Kupakwashe Murrell’s Residency: Week 3 Report

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If anyone who knows me when it comes to writing, I can be very paranoid. In art I don’t believe anything can reach perfection, but the chase to unattainable perfection is a journey to become greater at what you do. Some may see that as destructive, but if you reach the top of the mountain where else can you go? Forget reaching moon, stars and clouds, I prefer to prove Pluto could still be a planet.  So as I enter my final week, I’m still in slight disbelief that my residency will end in a matter of days. Boy, when time flies, it flies! I didn’t get everything that I wanted for my script, but however I am satisfied for what I have as a first draft. A story has been developed, my scene objectives are clear and characters have some depth. I’m still going to work on the script beyond the time frame of this residency. A lot of work I have to do. The journey was a rewarding one and I’ve grown as a writer as I should.

One part of the week I did some extension and cleaning on scenes. The way I wrote the story, was by just writing scenes and puzzling them together. Every scene I asked myself ‘what is the metaphor?’ thinking of different ways to tell the situation. I realize my scenes were fairly short, not sure if that was a good or bad thing, but I got my point across without being didactic or repetitive, so I guess that’s not too bad. Plus, I’ve been writing pieces how I would personally direct them, that way I have a security blanket of being organized, precise and the work is tight. Of course, that direction and script can change! Which is ok, it has more room than 8 bedroom house for improvement.

Now for the second and final part of my residency which is preparing to showcase my work. With that, I would be showcasing my third strength, my directing skills. For those who don’t know the first, that would be acting (some think I’m a stronger writer than actor, doesn’t matter, I love both).  So I will be doing two excerpts of two scenes from my latest project ‘The Brightest Red’. I prefer the number 3, I have a thing for the trinity, but the spirit of the play isn’t finished, so wunna getting 2! So I won’t give out too much information about the two scenes but I will tell you this much, the scenes will have actors, poets, singers and dancers. I just hope I’m not being overzealous, which I don’t think I am. There was some difficulty in casting, as usual. Transportation would’ve been the issue for most people. Some people wanted to be a part of it but other things would’ve hindered the opportunity. I know most would ask why not people from Yardie Boy Theatre, I usually look and scout other talents, and if we work well, and everything gels together, then I’ve added to the production company. So far my cast comprises of Levi King, Kim Weekes, Adrian Green, Deevon Clinton, Dorhonda Smith, Ashley ‘Skittlez’ Garnes, Joseph Volney and Teila Williams. I’m currently in the process of trying to find a male dancer, one who can mirror Levi.

This week, my theatre family from Jamaica Quilt Performing Arts Company (QPAC) performed on a Jamaican morning show, Smile Jamaica. They did their award winning piece ’73…….?’, a piece about the Tivoli Gardens massacre which took place three years ago surrounding the extradition of kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. I could easily say this was one of the pieces that inspired the style of directing I have been experimenting with for a year now. A multimedia piece with dance, song and acting to tell the stories of a tragedy that marred Jamaica in recent history. What I love about this performing arts group, is that when I did my research for documentaries about the massacre, everything that I came across would’ve been overseas documentaries, local or international news media. These young performers to my knowledge were the only ones I saw documenting this catastrophe. The voices of the people, from their stand point. The voices of the people, the victim’s story, they didn’t allow for anyone else to tell their story. Large up Rayon McLean, Nadia Roxburgh and the talented members of QPAC. Another artist in action, hailing from Jamaica, Randy ‘Kreativ Aktivis’ McLaren, who is doing his part documenting the Armadale tragedy, where 6 young Jamaican women perished in a fire by bombing in a government industrial school. His work like mine is pushing for an inquiry for justice for the victims and their families.

In approaching a festival where creativity is becoming scarce and true lyricists have their work cut short by CBC, reformatted by NCF or little to no air play on radio stations for their stance on pertinent issues in Barbados, we need artists to remain strong and not buy into the bullshit for a silver sand dollar but rather in the interest of headucating the masses. Last Friday, I heard the music from the Cavalcade which was slated down the road from Fresh Milk, ah well…there goes my peace. Not that I don’t engage in Crop Over (I barely do, but I love some of the music, don’t get me wrong), I’m just not into tourist art or a bastardised culture for money making purposes. My favorite part is Pic-O-De-Crop, because I love it when artists can attack powers that be, but as I said before, muzzles are now an accessory. We seem to love to put on a show for tourists as well, a fairly coonish show at that. Never liked the concept of tourist art, we love to give them flying fish, without the Bajan seasoning (pick sense from it, nuh!). Ah well, lemme not go on a tangent.

Remember people, May 30th, Fresh Milk! Come and support Marla (Happy earthday!) & Conan as well as yours truly in ‘The Brightest Red’.

“…A purely materialistic art would be like a tree which is expected to bear fruit without flowering and to sacrifice grace and beauty for mere utility…”

“A well informed public opinion is essential to the growth of political and social awareness. Only he who is informed can comment intelligently on his nation’s development and only by such comments can errors be corrected and progress stimulated”

-Emperor Haile Selassie I

Marla Botterill and Conan Masterson’s Residency: Week 3 Report

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JerRadIt is always a pleasure to meet artists and see their work, last week we visited a couple of studios and also spent a lot of time in our own studio at Fresh Milk; we managed a balance of work and play. We began week 3 with a jaunt to the south east coast with artists we met at Fresh Milk:  Sheena Rose and Versia Harris.  After exploring a couple of beaches we visited Sheena’s studio.  She had a number of projects to show us and her excitement is infectious.  Versia showed us a couple of her imaginative animations. We enjoyed looking at their past and current projects and hearing about their future plans and were impressed by their work ethic.  That evening the four of us went to Oistins for the famous fish market, ate an amazing meal and were joined by other FM artists Alicia Alleyne, Shanika Grimes & Mathew Kupakwashe Murrell.  It was a truly memorable day.

Joscelyn Gardner arranged our second studio visit of the week with Akyem Ramsay at Gun Hill. We had the chance to see his work already in week 1 when we toured Mervyn Awon’s collection, so it was great to see more of it.  There is always something exciting about seeing active work-spaces and a wide range of projects.  We had a morning of stimulating conversation and viewing a mix of both 2 and 3-dimensional works and his inventive tools.

Our own studio has been productive, we continue to build puppets and have started to learn more about their respective character traits.  A few of them are anxious to be introduced so we’ve included a brief description of four of them below:

Nancy Pillow:  You never know where you’ll find her, but she will find you.  She’s always watching.

Bargo:  The constant worker-bee.  Bargo longs for a moment free from work to play.  Bargo also wishes to grow in size, to fit better into the world.

Jer-Rad:  Never at work, always at play.  Really wants to become a professional beach bum.

Speight:  A self-taught dancing machine.  Currently mastering the “6:30” and “wukkin-up”

We took the puppets with us on fieldtrips outside of the FM studio as well this past week.  Joscelyn took us to St. Nicholas Abbey where we explored the buildings and grounds and shot some short videos with the puppets.  The next day we went to Bridgetown.  Jer-Rad was anxious to get to the beach (we will blame him for taking us there) so we spent a few hours at Carlisle Bay.

We also had a fun night out with Annalee and her friends.  Her dogs continue to be our daily companions and self-appointed guardians.  We find it hard to believe that the end of our residency is fast approaching.  We have grown accustomed to the sounds of the singing frogs and the heat.  We are enjoying the food & have done some “souvenir” shopping at the grocery store as we’ve become fond of Bajan pepper sauce.   A lizard visits us daily for a share of any fruit we have with us for a snack.  We’ve been given fig bananas, mangos, fresh coconuts, baked goods, meals, drinks, tours, catalogues & pendants.   The people we’ve spent time with here are generous in many other ways as well, they give you their time, share their stories and recommend their favourite places and activities on the island.  The community around FM is supportive and provides an excellent platform for the experimental way we have been working during this residency.  We have one week left.  The final week includes a visit to the caves and a presentation of our puppets and videos at Fresh Milk on the evening of May 30th where fellow resident Mathew Kupakwashe Murrell will also be reading from his play.

 

 

 

FRESH MILK XI

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On Thursday May 30th at 7:00pm, local and international resident artists Matthew Kupakwashe Murrell, Marla Botterill and Conan Masterson will share works produced during the recent Fresh Milk Residency programme.
 
Matthew presents a reading of an excerpt from “The Brightest Red – The Life and Death of I’Akobi Maloney” and Marla and Conan showcase their collaborative video shorts and puppets.
 
The artists will speak about their residency experiences which will be followed by a Q&A session.
 
The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the residencies, view the artists’ blog entries below, and see our About page for directions to FRESH MILK. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates!

Matthew Kupakwashe Murrell’s Residency: Week 2 Report

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IMG_0480[1]I remember as a student under Sonia Williams, she said that creating art is like satisfying your God complex. And the more I go into the work that I am doing, creating a piece despite the story being told before, I have my own vision of it. Adding layers and layers to the piece satisfies my God complex. I don’t want to add any “spoilers” to my work, but I think I’ve found the structure and formula to tell my story and every day of research and reading excites me more to this creation. Listening to Maggie Maloney in the documentary and talking to her personally, she has such a poetic way of speaking. Her words and inflections have to be duplicated and not modified in writing the script, so natural and poetic. Listening to her talking about her son and the memories, and then continuing to read, gave me the impression of Isis and Horus or Jesus and Mary Pieta. Therefore, the ancestral conversation between mother and son as a spiritual African concept should be embedded. That said, I am making it the story told through the eyes of the mother, son and the soul of the movement, a holy trinity. The most memorable play that I know that deals with this concept is ‘Shepherd’ written by Rawle Gibbons of Trinidad, in which the story centres around the struggle of the Spiritual Baptists and rise of new dispensation within the movement.

This week I was grateful to receive a book about Rastafarian Theology. Only few chapters into the book, and already I have more appreciation and respect for one of our Caribbean indigenous spiritualities. The history I was always informed about, the theology and struggle for acceptance is another. It always had me wondering why we as Caribbean people frown upon spiritual concepts that are not foreign and that are ours. I mean, I know why! Christianity and Islam were ‘forced’ upon us and defined our socio-economic status for hundred years, our tongue, ideologies and culture washed from our brains and forced to morph into a belief of ignorance. Not just Rastafarianism, but Spiritual Baptist, Revililism, Shango Baptist and many others. I hope we recognize and respect them as our cultural thoughts and spiritual connection to our heritage, even if we chose another spirituality to believe in.

Thursday evening, we, Fresh Milk artists were the host for 15 students from the University of Northern Kentucky. Telling them about my residency and what I was writing about intrigued them plenty. The students seemed genuninely interested in what I was writing about. The story about I’Akobi Maloney captivated these young thespians and started conversations about injustices or hate crimes against minority groups around the world. For other students, what interested them was the religion of Rastafarianism. Of course the obvious image for them would be that of Bob Marley, but what is it? Is everyone who has locs a Rasta? Who do they believe in? The students were also interested in Caribbean theatre, two young women came up to me to ask me specific questions about it. I honestly feel we are still defining the concept of Caribbean Theatre, as wonderful and amazing it is. They never saw or read any Caribbean plays. On the top of my head I listed a few – my favorites, of course. The two girls also asked me what was the difference between Caribbean plays and American plays, to which I said ‘the culture’, when you travel around the island and everything new and amazing you find in the way we live, talk, interact with each other, our music, our movement, and if you find it different from when you are in the US, then that’s the difference. I find it interesting that despite the fact that our young people may be bombarded with cultural intrusions from the US, their students were very interested in who we are. Be true to yourself; people find you more interesting when you are you.

At the end of a productive and art full filling evening, we the artists hosts, myself, Mark, Sheena, Marla, Conan, Versia, Shanika and Juan…eerr I mean Ewan! went to Mojos. One thing I love, is hanging out with artists, no other people stir up stimulating, enjoyable and entertaining conversations like artists do. Oh, yeah we took the Canadians (Conan and Marla) to Oistins. I’m not a fan of crowds, so I won’t comment much about it except that I’m sure Marla and Conan appreciated the culture.

So the plan for week 3, complete the book, which by the way is entitled Rastafari Theology: From Garvey to Marley. Add the extra scenes that contain a hopefully warm ancestral conversation of the holy trinity. Keep writing, keep thinking, keep being grateful for all small mercies.

“…Spirituality is not theology or ideology. It is simply a way of life, pure and original as was given by the Most High of Creation. Spirituality is a network linking us to the Most High, the universe, and each other…”

― Emperor Haile Selassie I

Marla Botterill & Conan Masterson’s Residency: Week 2 Report

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Puppet3Day/Night

Above/Below

Leisure/Work

East coast/West coast

Rain/Sun

Wake/Sleep

There is a strong contrast between the night and the day here.  The contrast is not just one of light, though this contrast is severe.  In the day the sun is blazing, but the darkness falls early and quickly, cloaking the island in darkness.  Was there a moon the first week?  If there was, we didn’t see it.  The sounds and smells change; it is almost as if they are two entirely different places.  There is a mystery to this island; it is felt most keenly at night.  Perhaps we feel this contrast more being in the country and away from the lights and traffic of the city, but we feel that mystery, pulsing around us like the oceans and enveloping us in the darkness.

In conversations with the people here we’ve learned of the caves beneath us.  As fellow resident, Mathew Kupakwashe Murrell pointed out to us, the whole island is formed over limestone caves.  Is this a space where are puppet characters could come from?  Have they bubbled up from the dark, damp, mysterious caves beneath to the lush, sun-filled land above?  How long have they been here?  How have they evolved to live on this island?  They are taking on characteristics of the vegetation, animal, insect, bird and amphibian life above, but there is an unnerving quality to them, they come from that place of mystery.  In the past two weeks we have jointly created a small ensemble of puppet creatures that will continue to grow but now we must listen to them, hear their stories and take them out of the studio and allow them to explore this island where they come from.

We had our own chance to explore this week, we were taken on an island tour by Joscelyn Gardner, the love of her homeland is palpable and contagious.  A collector of stories herself, she shares a combination of local history and personal anecdotes with us.  The tour turned into a double-night sleepover at the family’s cottage on the Southeast coast, where we had a mini-vacation and also experienced the deluge of a tropical rainstorm.  The rain comes as quickly as the night, you fear it will never stop, but it can leave just as abruptly and replaced once again by the sun.  The rugged Atlantic coastal landscape is such a contrast to the manicured calm of the Caribbean west coast; Fresh Milk is conveniently located in the middle of these extremes, a rural, hilly centre point.  We want to take our puppets out into these contrasting landscapes.

The platform at Fresh Milk continues to be a hub of activity and a place of networking and interchange.  We are finding our days are becoming more productive as we begin to feel at home here. Though no matter how hard we try, we cannot wake up early enough to start the day as early as the Bajans do!  On May 16th FM hosted ‘A Performative Moment’ with Northern Kentucky University and we were happy to be included with the past and current residents of FM and to be given the opportunity to briefly present our individual and shared practice.  Even though Annalee and Katherine are both abroad, we feel very looked after by the people (and pets) of Barbados.  Winston Kellman dropped by FM one morning to return a book and see our progress so far.  We had an interesting discussion about Barbados, we focused around the night/day contrast and as he left, he wished us “many more sleepless nights.”