Stage One

Over the next two days, we'll be shooting the runaway camp sequence under a maple tree in the columbia river gorge. Here Alex, Fawn, Devin and Emily try on their costumes, artfully distressed by Lydia Rosenberg. On the chalkboard, a mirror drawing by Devin and Paul from Lab rehearsals. Above, a drawing led by the 'wild child', below led by the 'scientist'.
I'm excited to see the choreography/actions in the location, in makeup and costume, with the drifting smoke of a campfire... the opposite of the Lab which now has a fresh coat of white.

Mnemonic narratives

Today in band practice we continued building stories around three of our songs. Because the songs don't have many recognizable landmarks, these stories are helping us to keep track of where we are and how to shape the voice. We listen to different versions and build the ideas together, sketching in details. For example:

The Tunnel

Two sisters seduced by a disgusting slimy slug

Standing on the slug, two sisters telling secrets

Hit the drums – hit the sides of the tunnel

Sighing sleepy pleasure

Trying to stay awake

Letting it go – getting seduced by aliens once or twice

Drum leading

Through the intestine

Take off child suit

Inhaling whisperings, back and forth

Build the melody by giving the next note

Then A: Ha… trading notes

Slug talk

Truth or dare

Listen to the crackles

In the Lab

Alongside the Runaway Camp rehearsals, I have been working with Paul Montone and Devin Lucid as the scientist and wild child in rehearsals for the Lab. Whereas the runaways play games, these are a series of "tests"... slow exchanges of voice in demonstration and imitation. The correction of body posture, the marking of lines on a chalkboard, focused and careful. There’s something beautifully simple about these humanist exchanges – the intensity of duos and solos.

Yesterday we tried working with recursive structures - video within video - using last week's rehearsal as the instigator for further chains of mimicry. I hadn’t previously thought of including a television in this section (it’s not exactly period accurate for Jacques Itard circa 1805) but I've always been a fan of the "Droste effect" and I like the stripped down, "video art" feeling of simple black and white footage playing on a television monitor. These chains will instigate additional actions among the live performers.

We recently visited the maple tree where the runaway camp will occur. Dicky Dahl brought his camera and we taped material for the opening credit sequence.
Here is the music for that opening section, which makes it like a kind of "theme". This will be one of the few places where fully-composed recorded sound is matched to moving image.

Blade2 by Seth Nehil