Where to begin, hmmm let me start with three words that I feel best describe my experience with GlassHouse:
HILARIOUS, GROUNDBREAKING, EXPERIMENTAL.
I have recently been working with Sarah and Laura on their new project ‘Us’ a new addition to the existing work ‘You, Me & Everybody Else’ which I too had the honour to be involved with. I have had the privilege to work alongside colleague and friend KJ Mortimer, a super talented dance artist who I share the studio, stage and street with. My partner in crime so to speak. Not to mention being guided, nurtured and supported by both Sarah and Laura, two amazing women with vision, drive and charisma whom I have learnt an abundance of new skills from.
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Ok, so I am going to start by talking about the uncanny line up of events that went hand in hand with the latest research period.
Word: Serendipity
Definition: The fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance (Cambridge English Dictionary)
Serendipity is the word I will use to describe the week. In all of its glory it was there shining in lights. There is not enough sparkle hands to describe how apparent this word was.
One task that was given during the process was to act out fantastical ideas, games and scenarios. Of course me being the big child that I am I took to this like a duck to water (Oh my ducks, that’s another story. Ill get back to that later.) KJ and I ripped up small bits of paper and wrote down scenarios or powers for one another to act out. I choose “dragon slaying” as one of my fantasy roles, who dosen’t want to be a dragon slayer? As you can imagine the studio quickly transformed into a cave, with bats, fire-breathing beasts and me running around pretending to spit flames and singe KJ’s eyebrows off. After the day had finished and we were making our way back to the car, it dawned on us that Norwich is currently being taken over by Dragon statues. Dragons here, there and everywhere. My mind was blow. I took it as a sign, that we were on to good things.
I move forward with the incidents. All four of us were having a beautiful ciabatta from House (cafe around the corner) when Sarah shrieks from across the table, frantically rushing for her mobile phone. There on a shelf stood solemnly by itself was a dice. The dice was not covered with dots amounting to six, no no no, that would have been too ordinary. This dice had letters on its faces. Miraculously there was a U and a S and the way the dice was positioned is spelt US. Not everyday you find a dice with no dots and the letters U and S. Serendipity strikes again.
It doesn’t stop there. After discovering that Sarah has a drop down projector screen I could not let this go to waste. Movie night happened. Whilst in the library sifting through DVD after DVD, for some reason I glance around the shelfs and there, staring at me in the face was a book titled ‘US’. Mind blown round 2. Out of intrigue I picked up the book and wanted to know what it was about. It was about a love story between a boy and girl, similar to the work me and KJ where investigating. Magic. I now believe in magic.
Lastly, during the fantasy role play, Star Wars came up. Light sabre fights and Luke Skywalker (that’s me obviously) had to teach princess KJ how light sabres work and sound. I got heavily involved with this task and annoyed at how she didn’t know how they sounded or had even seen the film. Mind blown 3 but for a different reason. Anyway back to serendipity. I found myself in the shop LUSH, a shop which I never ever go to or find myself having the need to go to. There I was in LUSH basking in the perfumed filled air and I feel a tap on the back of my right calve. I didn’t turn around straight away as I thought it may have been the wheel of a pram or an accident, until it happened again but with more force. Naturally I turned around and I was again jaw dropped at what I saw. A small boy playing with a plastic light sabre from Star Wars. Floored. Mind Blown 4
Thank you so much for a fantastic week and I can’t wait for the future… Oh and the ducks, I witnessed ducks walking in a line. A perfect line. Amazing xxxx
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