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THERESA B. - INTERVIEW #9
HOW TO ENGAGE: WATCH by clicking the video up top (or visit YouTube), LISTEN by clicking the audio link below.
THE BREAKDOWN:
0:00 - Squatting in the academy with a Richard Foreman poster. (A new journey begins)
7:30 - Finding genuine community in art/creative worlds can be quite hard.
9:30 - *THERESA B.* Who is this glorious human? (Art Space Maker)
16:00 - Vital Joint (and the poopoo room).
20:30 - Multidisciplinarity (and other ways to confuse people).
28:38 - New Play Machine vs. An Experiment in Newness.
35:00 - The building blocks of making space. (Yards & Tables)
45:00 - Kansas - NYC - Kansas (and all the beautiful things they have built).
55:00 - WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK. But where money come from?
1:04:00 - What path do you want to be on? (Let’s pull over and laugh/cry about it.)
1:15:00 - The ultimate portal and coming home to yourself.
DEBRIEF:
There are a number of people who I have encountered in my life that I believe to have met for somewhat fated or soul-mate-esque reasons. These are people who may come into my life for a brief moment or for an extended period. The duration of our time together is not really what matters. It’s about a certain kind of energy, quality, timing (?). There’s something undeniable about them, whether I like what that is or not. It just is what it is and I’ve gotta deal with it. It sort of feels like they are there to help uncover another section of one’s life puzzle. This can be explicitly “good”, or “bad”, but mostly it’s just like, “how interesting that THIS is the terrain that I must reckon with” (a new reveal for the unavoidable next phase in the journey).
That is the kind of human that Theresa has been for me. I actually have a sneaking suspicion that they’ve been that kind of person for a lot of different people. After all, they have given so much of themselves to the people. Now, however, it is time for them to get a bit of that back - for their next phase.
I met Theresa two years ago. I was introduced to them via email as a kind gesture after having been rejected from a performance based development lab I had applied for. Our chance meeting was compensatory I guess. A consolation prize. Turns out however, to be the best no of my life. A no that, in reality, was a yes in disguise. That’s kinda how it goes for me most of the time. It’s annoying but I’ve come to accept it.
I’m not going to tell you anything else about Theresa. It’s all in the interview. But I will say this about them, or really, about what they have shown me, by simply being the powerhouse that they are. Which is, that if you value genuine human creativity and the evolution of arts and culture (which requires true risk/experimentation and at one point used to be the what made New York City so important - and cool) then you need to SUPPORT IT otherwise it will not survive. There’s a lot that goes into what that support requires but MONEY is uh, you know, a big part of it.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge that I’m a hardworking, stubborn, idealistic, often naive, and sometimes pretentious asshole who is allergic to institutional authority and in love with the human power to turn our gross insides into magical outsides for the betterment of our shared world. That is what Theresa has helped me see (and accept) about myself and that is probably why we get along so well. Thanks for that puzzle piece man, at least now I know we're in it together.
THOUGHTS & THINGS: (Theresa Takeover Edition)
*Written by Theresa B.
If in NY, Theresa would be attending…
AT THE BRICK:
This is a project that I was developing with Chad since we did a Quick n Dirty together at Brick Aux in 2023! Chad is a fantastic writer and a very fun human being. The cast is outstanding and includes Matthew Antoci, one of my personal favorites.
I got to meet Nick last year when he came to NY from London and did a little residency with me and The Brick. I was so delighted by him as a performer and collaborator and he could sing Oliver! with me at the drop of a hat.
I love going to experience things that are not theater, and ?!:New Works gives SO much of that in one wild festival of new works. I started it in 2016 at Silent Barn. Then it went to Vital Joint. Then to The Brick. And it will live on, creating new, strange nights of performance!
AT HERE ARTS CENTER:
I have been very lucky to see this show develop over time - first Quick n Dirty at Brick Aux and then ?!:New Works at The Brick Theater and then at Loading Dock as part of The Exponential Festival. It is such a treat!
AT LA MAMA:
This combo of collaborators is like a dream I had... Jerry Lieblich writing and Paul Lazar directing and Jess Barbagallo with Jenny Ikeda onstage together... dreams come true?
Theresa Reading Recs…
My friend Harold Lehmann got me this book, and I am finally getting to read it now that I am in Kansas with time to read! Every page is landing on my soul and sitting there.
When it came out during my time working at The Strand, I gobbled it up. Maybe around 2009 or 2010? It includes An Unsuccessful Play, which I did many times and is just one hot page of people vomiting.
Theresa Listening Recs…
This is the ambient podcast of this cool modular synth dude I met at the public library. Need I say more?
Chai and Joy Tamayo are two of the most talented and thoughtful artists I know and I love to listen to their creations. I told Chai that I've been playing their stuff while I exercise. It is a weird vibe, which is exactly correct.
Special SHOUT OUT…
To astrologer extraordinaire Jaime Wright / Moon Missives.
TO CONCLUDE:
Thank you for reading A LIFE BASED LOOSELY ON REALITY! Please like or comment on this post below and share it with a friend who you think would enjoy it. Right now all of my posts are free, but any and all financial support is deeply appreciated. Paid subscriptions will go towards helping to support my work and develop this project. More about me here.
Send interview inquiries to vanessameyer85@gmail.com.
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