We’re in!

Last weekend Ryan and I sent out a bunch of questionairres to friends and acquaintances to jump start our creative process with this show and within the week we have managed to received a number of responses from very generous friends.  So far we have been doing regular planning and creative brainstorming for the last couple months with our fingers crossed that we’ll be selected to participate in the Fringe Festival in one of the Fringe run Venues.  Today we just got notifications that we have been accepted.  So on we go…

Collecting data

The title of this post sounds so clinical but I couldn’t come up with anything better.  We’re in the process of distributing email surveys to our friends to gather personal stories for Iconicity.  We are still in the shallows of this project, so I really have no idea where this information will ultimately take us, but I’m pretty excited to find out.  Below is the survey we’ve started to email to friends, family, cohorts and acquaintances.  I think it’s important to this project to gather a variety of responses from all over.  As Ryan and I have discussed this will most likely be just the first of a variety of interviews we conduct in our process of creating this piece.  This is really a chance for us to look outside of the box and get inspiration from life and those around us.  Any input is appreciated.  If you’ve stumbled upon this blog without getting an email from us feel free to leave a response in the comments section, or contact us via email if you wish to be a little more anonymous.

We are in the process of putting together an ensemble piece, to hopefully premiere at this year’s Fringe Festival, that deals with iconic images and we need your help.  Please look over the following questions and answer whenever/wherever/whatever you can. We are looking for your input on iconic images, those moments captured on film that encapsulate an entire year, decade or era; those moments that define generations or individuals; the images that are burned into your memory for all time( eg.  the fireman hoisting the flag at Ground Zero, Marilyn Monroe standing over the subway grate, Kennedy’s Assassination, the ‘napalm girl’).

Iconic images can evoke strong, personal, unique memories or shared reactions amongst those of a generation or within a community.  Write down everything that comes to mind and make your answers as personal as you wish. In fact we are looking for personal stories.  Do you remember what you were doing when you saw the Challenger explode?  Did you have a poster of Ali taped to wall to motivate you to train? Did finding a picture of Twiggy influence your fashion choices for a year? Anything! Nothing is off limits.  Below are a few questions to get you started but don’t feel the need to limit your answers. 

If you are willing to discuss your responses further, please include your contact information.  If you would rather take part over the phone, or in person, let us know.  Thank you for taking the time.

Once you’ve completed the survey please email it to eleventhhourensemble(at)gmail(dot)com.  If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us.

And of course….

Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think would be interested in taking part. 

Sincerely,

Ryan Christie and Jenny Crooks

Eleventh Hour Ensemble

Yes, I am willing to discuss my responses.  Phone: _______________ and/or Email: ______________________

Check out the following questions and answer the question or questions that work best for you:

1) Starting with 2007 and working your way back through time, what images come to mind? What do you remember about these images? Why do you think you remember these images? Do you remember where you were in your life when the image/event took place? What impact did these images have on you? (If it helps, think of going back through time by decade.)

2) What images do you associate with the following (feel free to add a topic or era):

Politics (any era)

History (any era)

Entertainment (any era)

Fashion (any era)

Sports (any era)

9/11

Cold War

Vietnam

Civil Rights

WWII

The Great Depression

WWI

The 60’s

3) Thinking back over the personal events in your life, are there any iconic images that you associate with these milestones? What are they and why?

4) If there are any other iconic images that you’d like to tell us about, but aren’t sure what year/category they go in, please tell us about them here. Again, what do you remember about these images? Why do you think you remember these images? Do you remember where you were in your life when the image/event took place? What impact did these images have on you?

Introductions

Good afternoon visitors!

We (Ryan and I) are underway to creating a small theater group to premiere at this year’s Capital Fringe Festival.  To follow along with the growing theater cyber-trends we’ve started this blog as a way to track and discuss our creative process, as well as a place to gather your thoughts and stories.  Our first undertaking is a show called Iconicity.   We are looking to incorporate personal stories and reflections into our work, while creating a collaborative environment for actors and artists, and hoping that this blog will provide inspiration. 

We are still undergoing some formatting but in the meantime wanted to introduce ourselves.  Below you’ll find a working mission statement for our group, artist bios, and a working synopsis of our show. 

Eleventh Hour Ensemble

What happens in the eleventh hour?  We experience a feeling of panic or euphoria.  It is the last moment when change is possible and we will either sink or swim.  In the eleventh hour creativity has a chance to thrive as we are forced to use whatever limited resources are at our disposal to develop a solution.  Using the dynamics of the ensemble, The Eleventh Hour Ensemble seeks to create new and engaging theatre by using whatever means possible, whether it is through conflict or cooperation.  In performance, as well as process, we strive to take risks in exploring issues and sources for inspiration from where and when we least expect it.   Ryan Christie and Jennifer Crooks met as Directing Students at the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory.  Their combined interests in movement and ensemble work inspired this collaboration.   

Artist Bios

Ryan Christie is a graduate of the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory and has appeared in a number of DC theatre productions. Her performance credits include: Mariela of the Desert- Spring 2008 (Theatre of the First Amendment); The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Studio Theatre). Dog Sees God, Wonderland Alice [u/s] (Studio 2ndStage);  Young Playwrights Tour 2006 (YPT); Middle Finger (ASIA Theatre);  Little Match Girl (Tsunami Theatre). DIRECTING CREDITS: NIGHTMARES AND PILLOW TALES, REEFER MADNESS (2ndStage)

Jennifer Crooks most recently appeared behind bars performing the Bard’s Macbeth for inmates at the Patuxent Institution maximum security prison in Jessup, MD.  She is a graduate of the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory where she began working on Love & War which premiered at the 2007 Capital Fringe Festival.  After a successful run in the Capital Fringe Festival, Love & War was invited to perform as part of Capital Hill’s The Corner Store Theatre Festival in September 07 and again at the Greenbelt Arts Center in December 2007.  Her movement training greatly influences her approach to theatre of any kind and includes Ballroom dance (Latin, fox-trot, waltz, and argentine tango), ballet, tap, modern, and Butoh.  She choreographed and served as movement director for productions of Carousel, Blood Wedding,and Much Ado About Nothing.  On weekends she teaches Shakespeare to Middle Schoolers.  Favorite roles include Belise (Learned Ladies), Bride (Blood Wedding), Evelyn (The Shape of Things), Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Tracy Lord (The Philadelphia Story), Trania (Taming of the Shrew), Witch (Macbeth). DIRECTING CREDITS:  Concerning Love, Love & War: with the Bard’s Broads & Dames 

Synopsis of Iconicty

The Challenger explosion, Jackie Kennedy in pink suit stained with her husband’s blood, the Twin Towers collapsing, the moon landing, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.  Each of these images stimulates distinct memories and reactions and reaches beyond that moment in time so as to be instantly recognizable years, decades, after they were taken.  How is it that a single snapshot can so fully capture a shared feeling at a time or sense of an era?  Or does it? Using iconic images of our past and present, Iconicity looks to explore why these particular images have endured.  Using extensive ensemble work, movement and improvisation to create a narrative through time as we examine the thoughts and feelings they inspire for those who experienced them and those of us looking back to flesh out why these moments have been burned into our consciousness.