Protestant

I wish I could get to the library and run this down a little more thoroughly, but according to Wikipedia he was a member of the Protestant Ascendancy growing up.

Tibetan Sand Mandalas

This stems from a discussion I had with Taibi, and later developed with Aubrey, about the format of our performance. Coming out of talking about permanence vs. impermanence and the idea of ecology, we're starting to think of the performance as a form of Tibetan Sand Mandala.

We're starting to come to the conclusion that whatever groundplan or design we develop should be brought into the space, and set up as the beginning of the ritual. At the end of the performance, the set is deconstructed again and given away to the participants.

Dan and Aubrey Meeting Notes

Some notes/ideas. Also brought from his previous meeting with Taibi that he shared with me:

-Manadal Monk Art: A kind of art made by monks with sand. After they make it they ruin it or undo it in some way.        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala

 (Looks like a badass well to me) 

- Ecology of the play, the musician brings in items for the set and they are given to the audience as a parting gift. It is more than a gift, it is a memento, a reminder. A reminder to do what? What ever they take acts as a reminder to wake them up to their lives. A momento but more importantly, a seed.
- The dance done by the guardian actually is the well. It is the thing that is immortal. ( I don't totally get this, butI dig it)

On to Sound Design

What is the function of the musicians in this play?
A sort of narrator. In a hierarchical web, they are between God and the Guardian and a little to the left.
Narrators? What kind of narrators?
What is an Arbitar?

a person empowered to decide matters at issue; judge; umpire.

a person who has the sole or absolute power of judging ordetermining.

They are Priests. They are spiritual facilitators.They are arbiters of spirituality in time.
They help us to expereince. They teach us how to be revert so they can expereince the play?
We strongly feel that these musicians look and feel like Erik Ehn. Three of them.
When these musicians stop singing, the world around them freezes. ( Dan says this..I still dont get it)

Some questions we tossed around

What is the most climactic moment in the play for Dan?
The moment the Guardian gets the Young Man to leave.
Something I reminded Dan of that we both find interesting is the line where the old man says, "There is no bird" We don't know what that is, but for me, it lifts this play into another dimension, questioning the audeince about what real in time and space.

What is the quietest moment in the play for Dan?
After his 4th unit of dramatic action in the play.
"Come to me, human faces"


Do we ever subvert the purpose of the musicians, or the musicians themselves? 
Dan wants the Musicians to basically teach the congregants/audeince to be reverent in the space and believe. They Musicians fail at this. This is a subversion at the top of the play that sounds fun. 

What is the sound of the function of the play for Dan? 
Dan really digs the Meredith Monk stuff and I am going to look more into some Bobbi Mcfarren and "watermelon Man" by Herby Hancock. He is still really interested in when the beat drops in this play. I love that idea. Thinking more about the ecology of the play and that these musicians have instruments what are the instruments? Are we interesested in a Zither? We are both interested in repurposed objects that are also instruments, like blowing into a bottle, using your voice, body percussion. I am going to look into this more.

First Round Playlist for Hawks Well

Meredith Monk – Prophecy
Meredith Monk – Hey Rhythm
Meredith Monk – Cow Song
Crystal Castles – I Am Made Of Chalk
alt-J – Interlude 1
Meridith Monk – Panda Chant Ii
Zoe Keating – Updraught
Professor Liang Tsai-Ping – Winter Raven's Sporting Over Water
Professor Liang Tsai-Ping ... – Old Monk Sweeping the Buddhist Temple
Professor Liang Tsai-Ping ... – Freedom March
RJD2 – The Proxy
Aesop Rock – Boombox Apocalypse
Kudu – Black Betty
Paul Simon with Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Homeless
Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Hello My Baby