Guerillas in July!
We're connecting, interacting, celebrating our lives together as artists! Here’s what we’re doing in July.
What is your Quarantine Joy?
Stephen Marotto: Kayaking on the Charles, finding obscure hiking trails away from the crowds, praciting mandolin obsessively (photo above)
Julia Noulin-Mérat: Last week I got to see Aliana and Mike for 15 minutes and it was AMAZING to see each other in person. It was the first time I had seen anyone in person, besides my family in 3 months, so it felt extra special and even more a propos that it was with the Guerilla gang. I also had a blast connecting with everyone during our live stream of Heart of a Dog. It was a fantastic evening with great virtual company.
Brian Church: Music documentaries on Amazon Prime; just finished Ken Burns Jazz as well as docs about Brainiac, Elliott Smith, the Grateful Dead and the Slits.
Lilit Hartunian: I hate just about everything about not being able to perform and rehearse with my colleagues right now, but it has meant that I'm home in the evenings to have dinner at dinner time and take a walk to watch the sun set, which is a new routine that has brought me joy. (photo above)
Tae Kim: Destiny 2 lol
Aliana de la Guardia: We've been spending so much more time outside than usual, and I really love it. Sipping morning coffee on our deck is just the est way to start the day.
Brenda Huggins: Paper crafts! Made with handcrafted paper, washi tape, stamps and embossing, glitter, ribbon...I've been enjoying sending letters, cards and collages to friends and family.
Best thing you drank?
Aliana de la Guardia: Cocktails are a little tricky for me, but I always make an exception for my husband's margaritas. (It's my middle name, after all.)
Brenda Huggins: I started putting soviet-style condensed milk in my coffee (Yummm) My husband is Russian, so little things like imported staples from the local european grocery store in our neighborhood help to Ruskify our pantry!
Tae Kim: I've had to deal with a sore throat for about two weeks so lots of tea but no beer :( Having said so, I've definitely got to appreciate honey much more.
Brian Church: Polar Seltzer Mandarin Orange
Lilit Hartunian: I'm very into taking an afternoon practice break with a matcha latte right now.
Steve Marotto: Child of the Sun by Idle Hands, also my daily cup of ceremony grade matcha.
Julia Noulin-Mérat: finally mastered the amaretto sour!!! the egg whites make all the difference
1 1/2 ounces amaretto liqueur
3/4 ounce cask-proof bourbon
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. rich simple syrup
1/2 ounce egg white, beaten
Garnish: lemon twist
Garnish: brandied cherries
What are you exploring in our craft?
Aliana de la Guardia: I took another class from Movement Theater Studio called "Ensemble Director." It's focus was creating and devising work while physically distant. It was really fun and gave me some interesting ideas on how to teach physical theater online.
I also attended SITI Company's "Day One" training and conversation event. SITI Company training is the most intensive form of theater training I have received. It's become my main vocabulary for working and creation. Revisiting it - it's comfort and discomfort - are always meaningful for me in my approach to individual and ensemble art-making.
Afterward there was a conversation where Anne Bogart spoke and posed many hard questions, as it's our job as theater-makers to ask. Her focus was on "Resonance." The resonance of a moment. an experience with in the context of what we create. These ideas posed are always troubling and emotional, especially now, but still I left feeling uplifted and feeling like I was a real part of a community.
Artist exchange is ore important than ever, and now with increased use of technology, easier than ever!
Brenda Huggins: I directed a zoom opera with Boston local company Opera del West that will premiere online on July 2 at 7pm. It is a hilarious adaptation of Mozart's The Impresario with a new libretto by Dan Shore. What a wild adventure to transform a live artform into a zoom video project!
Julia Noulin-Mérat: I am catching up on European opera companies and watching their live streams. Some great work I never had time to experience before.
Lilit Hartunian: I'm taking time to do some very careful technical work right now on my violin playing, and have come up with a dream 3-day cycle of exercises that I always start my practice with, and make me feel really in shape whenever I'm with the instrument!
Tae Kim: Still Op. 101 and 106 by Beethoven. These two are enough for the summer, some would say lifetime...
Stephen Marotto: I am trying to learn a new instrument, the octave mandolin. I've been playing some movements from the Bach Cello Suites along with trying to learn the G Minor Violin Sonata. Also playing some folk & attempting to learn bluegrass.
What are you experimenting with?
Brenda Huggins: Developing the curriculum for our first Guerilla Lab that begins the week of July 13 is quite the experiment! So excited to bring together multidisciplinary artists to explore writing scripts for opera. Here is a fun interview with Keturah Stickann about the Lab on her new "Words First: Talking Text in Opera" podcast!
Brian Church: Getting back into inking my son's comics
Stephen Marotto: I recently recorded 5 movements of Saariaho's Sept Papillon, which Aliana & Deniz used to create an accompanying visual performance.
Tae Kim: With the aid of technology global music sharing has been much easier. While I believe sharing my art globally is important, the humanness of the physical community can not be understated. How has Fenway, the city I live in, changed through this pandemic (walking around cheerless Fenway Park during this summer has been a hollow experience to say the least)? How is Boston suffering/surviving during this difficult time (in May, while on my walk to Central Square I distinctly remember how deserted everything was... even when I saw people around, their darting eyes seemed to confide our mutual fear to this invisible reaper)? If anything this pandemic has taught me, I have to start local: reflecting the everyday struggle, "painting" the empty experience, and hoping desperately for a better tomorrow in a city I've lived in for most of my life called home.
Aliana de la Guardia: I have been meditating on the questions "what is opera," "what is the experience of opera to me" and "what is the experience of opera to us as an interdisciplinary ensemble?" Anyone can look this question up and give a quick answer, but really the answers should not be easy. An whatever we come up with has to be authentic to our our distinct art-making. For me, it's simple: extraordinary storytelling through theater and music.
This month I collaborated with Deniz Khateri and Stephen Marotto on a shadow theater piece with the music of Kaija Saariaho to see if we could create an opera with out words. Can the instrumental music alone serve as the text or narrative?
This method of working is a little different than our usual commissioning process, because the piece "Sept Papillons" already exists.
In addition to this, we questioned whether it was possible to create something spectacular in just our living rooms? Well, I think we did. We will premiere it in August at our backyard party!
I've also developed a Guerilla Lab gear towards ensemble performance for anyone who wants to learn! Even though it's taught via Zoom, we can still foster artist exchange and connect as ensembles online. I can wait to try this out!