We are now working on our showcase piece. As always, I wish we had a lot more time and money in order to fully realise the potential of the fantastic ideas the group has come up with.
We will be performing between the Fountain at the International Park and some steps on the way up to Cerro do Marco, one of the low hills that sit right on the border. Ironically, we'll be right outside the Rivera Theatre, but not going in. This has nothing to do with not being able to use it as a venue, let me make that clear, but rather because we wanted to do site-specific work and use the borderline itself as our space.
We are tired. We are also hungover, I'm not going to lie. People keep inviting us for brilliant dinner parties and wine tastings (gotta love the small town celebrity life). We are arguing more as it's natural that at this stage people get more passionate about their ideas. We are worried as the project heads towards its end and we start thinking about what comes next. Some of us are going back to the dayjobs, some of us are going forward to other performing jobs and some of us don't really have a plan. I have received my letter of refusal from the UK Border Agency, informing me that I don't fit the Arts Council England's criteria for an Exceptional Talent visa and therefore can't return to Scotland after this. In a twisted way, I'm glad that this happened during this project. Firstly, because I am surrounded by people who love and support me, otherwise opening that letter would have been a lot messier. Secondly, because I still have something positive to focus on for a few more days. Thirdly, because it's beautifully ironic. I haven't let the news sink in properly yet and I want to be able to finish this project with some good energy. Next week won't be kind to me when I take my fellow Explorers to the airport in Porto Alegre, wave goodbye and stay behind.
This has inevitably influenced the work we are developing now and this afternoon we'll be working with the characters and pieces that came about this week as a result of the whole process and recent events. Gwen has created this lovely character that we have called The Free Spirit of the Border. Eli is working with a bunch of local school children to create an orchestra of makeshift musical instruments. Louisa and Alice have been preparing installation pieces with movement, poems, paint and kites. Jessie is going to embody the struggles one goes through at border control, and Sarah has created a powerful warrior inspired by Antigone who will show the opposition between natural and man-made borders.
The next 2 days and a half will be of constant, solid work. I've given the girls some time to elaborate on their pieces earlier this afternoon and I'm now off to see where they're at and help smooth transitions and solve problems. We are tired, we are hungover, we are arguing and we are worried. Is it worth it? I'll leave you with an image (taken by local photographer Juliana Freitas) from last Saturday's barter session and you decide.
We will be performing between the Fountain at the International Park and some steps on the way up to Cerro do Marco, one of the low hills that sit right on the border. Ironically, we'll be right outside the Rivera Theatre, but not going in. This has nothing to do with not being able to use it as a venue, let me make that clear, but rather because we wanted to do site-specific work and use the borderline itself as our space.
We are tired. We are also hungover, I'm not going to lie. People keep inviting us for brilliant dinner parties and wine tastings (gotta love the small town celebrity life). We are arguing more as it's natural that at this stage people get more passionate about their ideas. We are worried as the project heads towards its end and we start thinking about what comes next. Some of us are going back to the dayjobs, some of us are going forward to other performing jobs and some of us don't really have a plan. I have received my letter of refusal from the UK Border Agency, informing me that I don't fit the Arts Council England's criteria for an Exceptional Talent visa and therefore can't return to Scotland after this. In a twisted way, I'm glad that this happened during this project. Firstly, because I am surrounded by people who love and support me, otherwise opening that letter would have been a lot messier. Secondly, because I still have something positive to focus on for a few more days. Thirdly, because it's beautifully ironic. I haven't let the news sink in properly yet and I want to be able to finish this project with some good energy. Next week won't be kind to me when I take my fellow Explorers to the airport in Porto Alegre, wave goodbye and stay behind.
This has inevitably influenced the work we are developing now and this afternoon we'll be working with the characters and pieces that came about this week as a result of the whole process and recent events. Gwen has created this lovely character that we have called The Free Spirit of the Border. Eli is working with a bunch of local school children to create an orchestra of makeshift musical instruments. Louisa and Alice have been preparing installation pieces with movement, poems, paint and kites. Jessie is going to embody the struggles one goes through at border control, and Sarah has created a powerful warrior inspired by Antigone who will show the opposition between natural and man-made borders.
The next 2 days and a half will be of constant, solid work. I've given the girls some time to elaborate on their pieces earlier this afternoon and I'm now off to see where they're at and help smooth transitions and solve problems. We are tired, we are hungover, we are arguing and we are worried. Is it worth it? I'll leave you with an image (taken by local photographer Juliana Freitas) from last Saturday's barter session and you decide.
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