Kimi,

Here is something I sent to Brianne (my friend in Louisiana - she is a performer/writer/scholar in performance studies who I met at the Goat Island Summer School this past summer) about possible ideas for State of the Nation:


I've been thinking about the festival's theme (of "tipping points") a bit, but don't have much solid right now. Some brief thoughts...

1) "Tipping" literally - as in, at a restaurant. For example, here's an inane quote in relation to tipping less: "If the rich reduce spending it will ripple through the economy and the people that supported Obama will be out of jobs." Quoted here: http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2008/10/should-you-tip-less-in-obama.html (by a woman who recommends "pulling a John Galt" in response to the recession and Obama's win... another source of potential inspiration)

Also:
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2008/12/16/should-you-tip-less-in-a-recession.html

... and what tipped our country towards voting the way we did? In INDIANA, for example?! Amazing.

2) I've also had a difficult year, and have been thinking a lot about what "tips" us toward healing, or in coming together as a community - which can sometimes be the difficult times in life. But at the same time, we are alienated in difficult times - and can feel "tipped" towards desperation, depression, giving up... I don't know... something around this theme of loss/grief/difficulty and how we deal with it (and can tip one way or the other) is mulling around in my head.

Brianne responded:

I have been thinking about art and activism (the theme this year) and what I have been most interested in is in process. So the way that you put something together is inherently political…you don't have to do identity politics and write a show about an "issue" to be engaging political questions. I think this is something that the Goats talk about and it is also something I have been interested in through a lot of the philosophy I have been reading over the last year or so. By embracing a process that is one of acceptance, and respect, and becoming or not dictating what WILL come of the art you are making, but rather allowing the connections to happen, you are engaging in something political. I'm not sure how this would work. But in terms of tipping points there seems to be something here that I can't quite articulate. Something like if you trust this process you will encounter many tipping points to embrace that will allow you to go in new directions. I think this could be connected with your number 2 as well as number one somehow. What do you think?

I also mentioned to Brianne an idea about the Stanley Milgram experiments that were recently re-done, finding that people are still as willing as ever to hurt each other when authority tells them to. Here's a link to one article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/opinion/29mon3.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=milgram&st=cse

So... what do you think? Are you interested? We'd be creating something short (they are asking for 12-30 minute performances), and probably create much of it from a distance somehow. I just need to get the proposal in by Feb. 1.

Let me know if you are interested/have thoughts... If so, I'll get all three of us in touch and discussing ideas.

much love,
michelle