communal creation.

Summer is just around the corner and in this mini-series we ask our artists to reflect on the our philly production - FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT - from this past spring. Next up is visual artist and death doula, Lindsay Luna, writing about their first Vice Versa project.

Creative collaboration feels so important, especially in times of collective chaos. Collaboration is key to sustaining a healthy community and I believe creativity is the foundation of our culture. Creatives are story tellers, speaking the truth through imagery, metaphor, color, movement, and sound. Co-creation and improvisation have been an integral part of my practice since attending art school. Our collaborative performance “Freedom of Movement,” felt so natural, inspiring and moving for the artists and audience alike. The idea of having our audience as integral participants in the performance felt exciting and challenging as we brainstormed how to pull it off. 

It was a dream collaborating with Vice Versa, Dan and Asia. We met twice online, as we are scattered about the country, however most of the preparation and unfolding of the content itself happened when we came together the Friday before and Saturday of the performance. When all of us were together in the same space, cohesion of our ideas naturally flowed and quickly took form. As we planned, we had no idea if the audience would participate or understand our wordless prompts and gestures. We embraced the unknown and the mystery, as we invited our audience to do the same. 

I was amazed and in such gratitude of how the three of us brought this idea to life. It was like we were solving a puzzle both during planning and the performance. I learned to let go of how the conceptual aspect of our message would be perceived and leaned into embracing the unknown. A large part of the magic of our collaboration was trusting in the spontaneous unfolding of events. We created a playful space where everyone could be free to express themselves and connect to each other non-verbally. 

Each of us has a different creative practice and background. My creative practices are in multidisciplinary visual art including sculpture, painting, drawing, installation and performance art. Much of my work is fueled by my spiritual and magical practices, as I am also a holistic wellness coach, psychic medium and identify as a Witch. Collaborating with two multidisciplinary musicians presented a unique opportunity to learn from each other in how we approach our craft and collectively present an idea.

In some ways, this performance felt like an exciting, creative social experiment. We approached the formation of our ideas more with questions than with concrete answers. One of the main prompts we gave before we entered into the liminal space that evening was that attention is currency. We invited them to embrace the mystery. Afterall, magic is simply intention with a focused direction, breath and action. I feel we created an energetic container for folks to fall into the mystery of the moment together. 

The performance took place at The Perch in Philadelphia. The space was prepared with three different colored shapes on the floor, four upside down stages with rolls of yarn connected to the legs and an array of instruments. Our introduction included a few words and an invitation to embrace the mystery. We had legends that served as connection points to the shapes and colors on the ground. I began chanting a sound while pointing to a shape on the legend. The audience quickly responded by joining in with the vocal toning (a magical practice) and jumping into the correlating shapes on the floor. 

Next, we passed out two ropes, connecting participants by holding on to the rope from where they were. This is where the improv really kicked in. At some point everyone was tangled in these two ropes, and the task was to work together to unfurl into two circular formations. Spontaneous laughter was abound, a wonderful compliment to the playful nature of our creation. Another legend prompted the two groups to move around the space in the shape of an infinity sign while chanting a sound that correlates with this symbol.

The final invitation was to pick up the balls of yarn connected to the legs of the upside down stages to form a sort of web, a cat’s cradle. I feel it’s safe to say this was a crowd favorite and the crescendo of the performance itself. Everyone began weaving a colorful web around the space and each other. Folks tossed the yarn across the room, wove Dan, who was playing the piano into the composition as well as Asia who was playing the Accordion in the center of the space. There was drama, excitement, playfulness, surprise and awe as we joyfully constructed the web. People were crawling on the floor, hopping between the woven threads, entangled in the colorful, communal creation. 

When the music came to a stop, scissors were presented and passed around. Everyone helped to cut the cradle we encompassed ourselves in. We created the constriction, we freed ourselves and each other from our own creation. The energy was palpable, we were connected as one. It was incredible the degree of intimacy the thread of events invited everyone into. The memory and imprint of this unique coming together will continue to inspire me. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Vice Versa and everyone who came out to the performance that evening.