Reindeer Drumming Solstice Recommended

Greetings, fans of awakening souls. Here is an event I can recommend with all my senses. Drumming the Soul Awake is a series of drum ceremonies put together by Jaime Meyer. Jaime is a noted playwright, a graduate of United Theological Seminary, and an amazing storyteller. He brings the room of people together, he gets them all drumming, then he brings us all to silence as he spins out one or more of his tales of spiritual flight.

The Winter Solstice Blessing is about reindeer, about making the sun come back, about gathering in a ceremonial situation and blessing each other in the darkness of a winter night. I plan on bring there.

http://drummingthesoulawake.squarespace.com/winter-solstice-blessing/

Go to this link for a great informative website.

Ragamala: An Appreciation of Sacred Earth

Sacred Earth: Ragamala’s Spellbinding, Breathtaking Embodiment of the Eternal

by Rev. Dean J. Seal

Artistic Director, Spirit in the House

The Cowles Center was wise enough, and fortunate enough, to bring the Ragamala Dance Company in to inaugurate this long-awaited dance space in downtown Minneapolis. This is a significant dance city, with many small jewels of companies, but Ranee and Aparna Ramaswami are in another dimension. The work is drawn from Bharatanatya, a two thousand year old methodology that needs more explanation than I can give it here. Suffice this excerpt from the website:

“In Bharatanatyam ... Every song or poem is re-created by the dancer, becoming her personal statement. Unlike a completed painting, the dance grows and changes and is re-interpreted with every presentation. “ — Smt. Alarmel Valli

In other words (mine) you are presented with an infinity of infinities. This may take a while to unpack.

Sacred Earth: The Show:The music begins, and it plays throughout in an unbreaking wash of ever-changing soundscapes. There are innumerable rhythms, melodies, harmonies, different speeds, backbeats, driving beats, and counter beats. The dancers emerge, slowly, behind a screen, and they paint on the floor, in white rice flour, traditional forms like all-white sand paintings. They slowly, painstakingly make the designs, and then walk over them in bare-footed concentric circles across the stage, evaporating the snowy dust. The dance slowly hooks into a tighter relationship with the music, being a part of it and being apart from it, sometimes flowing closely, sometimes unrelated to the music. But the swirling motion in a room of light and sound begins to transport the audience into a zone that carries us through space and time, very corporeal, yet outside of time and place. Everything works; everything is intentional; nothing is left to chance, except exactly how much wonder the audience will be capable to absorb.

The dancers are all women. They are committed to beauty. They have beautiful clothes and make-up that takes about two hours to put on. They look like a vision of the infinite past, but they dance with a strength and power that is solidly present. Their bare feet slap on the floor with a corporeal presence that is immediate and satisfying. They dance with strength and a sense of detail that makes slack-jawed bumpkins of us who think we’ve seen very detailed, complicated dance. Think you’ve seen it all? Not until you have seen this.

Regardless of spirituality, see if you can suss out the motivation of these artists, tied to generations of dancers and devoted to connect places, audiences, and generations. But remember that each dancer is taking this collection of discipline and artistry and making it her own. Ranee and Aparna, mother and daughter, partners and collaborators, have described each other’s yin/yang relationship thusly: Ranee’s attitude of seriousness and devotion, with Aparna’s exhibition of joyousness, as the differentiation between them, the two sides of the same spiritual coin. Ranee’s spirituality is a strong, grounded sense of sharing, of a spiritual connection to the ages of women who have preceded her, but with the expectation that things are going to be really cool, really amazing, just keep watching. Her expectation of the unfolding of the work is anticipatory; her confidence born of the knowledge that this work has been working for a long time. Alternatively, Aparna’s bounce, the Aparna walk of pleasure, of radiating the satisfaction and delight of the present-tense, of sharing this beautiful thing that they have created, is again a sense of generosity that climbs beyond doing us a favor; she is taking us to a beautiful place, she is sharing her gratification in the joy of this work. Her devotion has moved her into a realm of enjoyment , and that her pleasure in sharing it only multiplies her own joy.

What makes the cascade of female beauty different from so much other stuff out there? They seem to be from a place where feminine strength is not confused with erotic power. They are beautiful, they are sometimes spelling out a romantic story, but they instead exert a disciplined feminine strength that seems infinite, ageless, timeless – as it is intellectual, athletic, and four dimensional. It exists in this place of upper consciousness that honors infinite tradition, melded to the dancers in the here and now, and executed with the discipline of years of sweat-filled training; made with the full intention of bringing joy, delight and a spiritual presence to the experience of their audience.

How much training? Let me give you a tiny snapshot. An non-flexible, overstuffed reporter has been allowed into the beginner’s class, because they are merciful people. On the wall outside the studio is a list of finger gestures, which are as choreographed to the same detailed degree as any western steps or leaps. There are 60 of them. That does not include choreography of the eyes, arms, head or legs. The first few lessons focus on legs and feet; “training of the arms does not begin until the second year.” So, a year on the legs, then maybe you get to work on the arms- and don’t even ask about the fingers yet.

Protestant Problems of Perception: This cascade if joyous celebration may be more than some people can absorb. I grew up in a Protestant community, the proverbial Norwegian Lutherans, who preached against the pleasures of the body, in fact preached against even acknowledging having a body, except in the pleasures of coffee and dessert. Otherwise, beauty was a temptation consuming the mind with the earthly pleasures instead of saintly virtues. There is scholarly analysis demonstrating how Catholics have a much better of appreciation of art and beauty than do Protestants. So it’s not even a Christian thing, it’s a Protestant thing. Art and beauty and pleasure are a waste, the training says.

Ragamala goes against all my training in dourness, the denial of joy, the theology of scarcity. In focused concentration, existing once and never again, the magnificence and uplifting generosity of the work opens the horizon to a spirituality of abundance, and rewards me for all my training in spiritual diversity and interfaith dialogue and for being alive, and it fires my imagination in realms of illumination that was unavailable to me before. Simply put, a lived revelation.

The Uplifting Matriarchy: So this is a feminine strength played out in a way that some western peoples are not accustomed to. I grew up in the dawn of Feminism, where women are being recognized as being human, not property or domestic animals or cheap labor or houseminders. The second wave of feminism optioned the reminder that some women want to be more than one or the other- office worker with a family, homemaker with a brain, career gal with offspring. The third wave was, to the outside observer, the reassertion that women’s power is through sexual power, of dominating men through the senses, and that women have the choice of being sex objects and sexual predators as a means of self-expression on a on a socially significant scale. Madonna Via Marilyn into Gaga = Same as the Old Boss.

And this whole discussion becomes a western-world of child’s play, or beside the point jibber-jabber, when brought into the arena of Ragamala. They are women, powerful and disciplined, beautiful and sensual, but not charged with erotic domination or conquest. This is a Matriarchy that men can love, that women can point to and be proud of. Women who are equal partners in the work of life, in the creation and passion and decision-making of art, in the sharing of joy, in the passing on of knowledge to the next generation, in the mindfulness of being in one place in one time and connected to all places in all times. This is a Matriarchy the Patriarchy can learn from. I for one am chopping at the crumbling supports of the Patriarchy if I can live in a Matriarchy like this one.

Transcendence on a Saturday Night: How can a show transport us so? What you experience is a cascade of exquisite movement, motion, the slapping of feet on the floor, the swooping into and out of view, in solo and in pairs and in trios, in bunches and in groups, in speed and in languid fluidity. A choreography of arms and legs, of dresses and hair, of gold and silk, of eyes and faces and fingertips, of timelessness and of time, of pleasure and of work. Finite? No. Specific. A demonstration of the infinity of joy, the evidence of a universe of love, played out for our pleasure, at this moment and in this place. How rich we are to share this gift. How sweet is the life that includes these artists; how joyful is the evening that encompasses this love. The work of Ragamala Dance is a singular act of generosity, a spiritual gift for any faith tradition, a blessing to experience and a blessing of existence. I wish this blessing upon you.

Sacred Earth is touring through February 2012. Aside from Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy, the astonishing dance company includes Amanda Dlouhy, Jessica Fiala, Tamara Nadel, Ashwini Ramaswamy and Bria Borcherding. See http://www.ragamala.net/ for details.

Join us for True Ghost Stories - October 28-29!

Movie: "The Nature of Existence" at the Trylon MicroCinema

Spirit in the House Presents:

Screening of "The Nature of Existence" will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 7 at The Trylon Theater. It's serious and fun.

Discussion afterwards with the Director, flowin in from NYC, Roger Nygard .Ths discussion is moderated by Dean J. Seal, Artistic Director of Spirit in the House. The event is Produced by John Gaspard, indie film expert and film maker, and Film Guy on the Board of SITH.

You can find all sorts of information, posters and images for the film at its website: http://thenatureofexistence.com/

Seating is limited to 70 people. Tix are a minimum of $10.oo, anything over that is tax-deductable.

The Trylon microcinema:

3258 Minnehaha Ave S

Minneapolis, MN 55406

(612) 424-5468

Marietta at the Playwrights Center

We are doing a staged reading of the play, Marietta, at the Playwrights' Center on Saturday, June 4th. Doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m. Free will offering, pay what you can. Only 72 seats.

Marietta is based on the true story of a woman who forgives the abductor of her daughter, before she knows her daughter's fate. This helps them find the guy, and get him to confess. Marietta is now an activist against capital punishment.

This play also includes visions of the murder, and the murderer. that turn out to be true.

Steven O'Toole wrote the play based on interviewing Marietta almost 15 years ago. He pulled it out of the drawer and now we want to produce it. It has a cast of five. This is an Equity Showcase, with the idea in mind of building support to achieve the $17,000 budget to give it a full three week run. We only need another $10,000.

Produced by Dean J. Seal for Spirit in the House.

Marietta: Barbara Reid (pictured)

David: David Laux

Bill: Jon Hegge

Chorus Man: Sean Dooley

Chorus Woman: Beth Gilleland

Director: Jerry Gomis

Stage Manager: Kara Schuette

True Ghost Stories Oct. 30th 2010

Spirit in the House presents

True Ghost Stories!

being the spoken accounts of actual events.

In conjunction with Cheap Theater,

We will present One Show Only.

Black Forest Festaal Room. Doors open at 7:00, show is at 7:30. $10.oo Suggested, $5.oo to $12.oo pay as you can.

Questions?

Ask me.

seal13dean@gmail.com

IMAGINATION AND MEMORY

Interact Theater Company

by Dean J. Seal

From December, 2004

I don’t know what anyone else thinks, because I don’t read the trades anymore. But I know what I think: Interact Theater does some of the best, most creative, form-stretching work of any company in town.

Bar none.

There’s plenty of innovation at some top-line showcase art houses, but a great deal of it is meaningless. There is a great deal of exquisite production at some top of the line theatrical institutions, but a great deal of it is formulaic, and none of it is surprising. A lot of high buck high art smells like the ancient ivory tower with this year’s room freshener spritzed about to make us think something is actually happening.

Enough about them, more about the Interactors.

The lobby sets the tone. It is decked out in art that is themed with the show, plus a shadow-puppet stage and a stick-puppet stage running before the show. There is a a “smelling bar” where you can sample a few bottled scents and then write down what it makes you think of. This gallery is newly remodeled, as is the performance space, and it makes for an attractive place to buy cool art while you are waiting for the show to begin. It sets the tone for the kind of wild and wooly production you are going to see: a naive approach that turns up unexpected gems of hard-won wisdom at every turn of the trail.

The show tells a half-dozen stories that each cut to the chase. This is a show about what happens to people who lose their memory and have to build a new one. Or people who have lost their sight, and find that it helps to focus their vision. Or someone who has one disability, envying people who have another. These are situations ripe for irony, but presented here as fact, not with anger, not with cynicism. Eriq Nelson narrates: ”...you have entered a place where you will not recognize things as they are, but as they are seen....remembered by the amnesiac through the lens of the eye of the imagination.”

Interact has been operating a split personality studio for a dozen years, with a fine arts studio and a performance company, and never the twain did meet, until now. This show marks the first experiment of moving artists between the two departments. “I don’t know why we didn’t do it before,” said Artistic Director Jeannie Calvit a few weeks before opening, “but it’s working great.” Studio artists were sent up stairs to work with the new show, and performers were encouraged to go downstairs to get some painting action.

But more than that. They hired a pair of famous artists, Ta-coumba Aiken and Lourdes Cue, to work on set design. They also brought in Michael Sommers to consult on a rear-screen projection system which allowed for shadow puppets, merging images and small tableaux silhouettes writ large.

The opening number features a ten-piece band (The Cigars of Beauty band) and a 22-voice chorus singing out a theme song, “There Is a Land of a Quiet God”. This is followed by the killer bit of the night, “Tracy’s Story.” Tracy tells the story of a seven-day seizure that rubbed out her memory. As she reconstructed what her life had been, it seemed like a memory worth erasing. She asked the poignant question, “Wasn’t there anyone in my life who loved me?” The answer was Yes. In one of her foster homes, there was a girl named Michelle, who bonded with her. They loved each other deeply, “fiercely” but could not be kept together because they were both disabled and the foster parents were getting old. By some luck, they managed to get placed on the same block, so they could maintain contact and even go to the same school. When Michelle was killed by a drunk driver, Tracy found out a story “which I cannot imagine or remember.” Michelle had actually been her sister, and the Catholic Charities, in one of their many silent miracles, had moved heaven and earth to keep the two together. They didn’t just care for these kids, they cared about them.

So now, Tracy could look at these pictures from an unremembered past, look into the eyes of her sister, and imagine being loved, and loving back. It’s enough to make a life out of.

Another story comes from Joy, who talks about the weird chromosomal problem called “Prater-Willi Syndrome.” She eats whatever she can get her hands on, and is cranky, and puts on weight. She envies the Down Syndrome people, who are always happy, and fun-loving, and cracking up.

John Boler has been a musician with the troupe for a long time, and he told about how he thinks that before he completely lost his sight at ten, he could perceive colors. Now he still can see them, in the blackness of his blindness, and even equates them with musical notes. He loves green, and was “disappointed to find out that chocolate wasn’t green.”

There are more stories than I have space for. But my point is that the form here is one of tailored delivery of substantial tales of people in mind-altering states of reality that fiction writers can only pretend to understand. They are presented with wit and strength, none of the feel-bad-for-me-the -tortured artist that one can encounter in other performance venues. This is a message of survival and hope delivered without cynicism, with honesty and without fraud, with clarity and without doing anything that needs to be explained. It’s real stuff, delivered transparently, by the storytellers who lived it.

As a staged-up storytelling cabaret, I think storytellers could learn a lot from this. Adding music, a singing chorus to tie the stories together through some musical knitting, lights and sounds and background visuals used effectively to put the story across make this a visual treat for a format that usually is better heard than seen. As a theater cabaret, it holds together because the stories keep connecting to the core theme. And it’s not a theme like the high school prom theme, something fake tacked together in a forced simile of meaning; it is a deep, true subject for anyone who walks in, or rolls in. It works for the disabled and the temporarily abled.

This is the real thing.