A Creative Oasis in the Midst of a Blizzard
/Millikin University Immersion 2014 / Residency
After five harrowing days of battling a blizzard and icy road conditions we made it to Decatur, Illinois, the home of Millikin University and our beloved host Professor Denise Myers (Denise is completing part 2 if her Level III Margolis Method Professor Certification). Each January Millikin University holds a series of Immersion Courses where students can earn up to 3 credits during their winter break. This year is the fifth time I have been lucky enough to be invited to lead a Margolis Method Immersion. Residencies like these are magical mini universes, where nothing else exists outside the four walls of the studio. In this case our universe was the "Old Gym," an ancient indoor running track that today is supposedly haunted. I love this old space, perhaps because it holds so many wonderful memories for me.
We started this Immersion with a commitment to work and train really hard and to push ourselves creatively without the pressure of a public performance. We started with the theme of auditioning, and what it means to put yourself on the line. On our last Wednesday evening, two days before our residency was meant to end, the group unanimously chose to pull together our research and share it with an audience. That night all the students announced on Facebook and Denise sent out a university email. Even though our showtime of Saturday at 6pm was snowy, and parking space hard to find due to a basketball game -- we had over sixty people. An exciting and unexpected surprise.
I could not have been more proud of the work and personally found the performance funny, touching and thought provoking. Tomorrow we hit the road back to New York and our studio. I leave feeling inspired and ready to tackle all the great projects ahead.
THE AUDITION was developed with and performed by:
Megan Bryan
Catherine Grace Cable-Garber
Jessica Ariel Cieply
Genevieve Collins
Alexis D. DeSollar
Mary McCormack
Denise Myers
Peter Kattner
Ben Locke
Andrea Muhlbauer
Travis Monroe Neese