NYC Sparkworks

Posted here and on it’s own page is our video submission for this year’s conclave. Special thanks to Andreas who shot and edited everything. We will have to save his firewhip for the playa I guess. And thanks to our fire watch who did more poi extinguishing in one night than most people do all summer. Clearly its a work in progress, but there are definitely some of the moments we are after in there. Given a few more rehearsals and some acutal music we are sure to sparkle. This is as much of a tool for us as it is for Crimson. Look for what you like and don’t like so we know what to work on.

I must say it was actually pretty challenging to flit to and fro while spinning fire. It’s just not something that poi or hoopers do so it takes some getting used to, but that is what makes this something new and interesting.

Remember kids, it’s easy to start a fire…fun too!

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It has been decided that just getting everybody together is enough of a logistical nightmare without carpooling out to an empty airstrip by JFK. Maybe later in the summer if we want to go all out with fire. So…

Sunday Night Audition Video Shoot!
7-9 PM
The Band Shell of the East River Park!
Be There! For real yo!

Map to Location:

To bring:
Your Mask (If you made one)
Appropriate color scheme
Poi : Bright Reds and Blue (cuz ur birds!)
Hoopers: Greens and Browns (treees!)
Staff or Whip: Dark Reds and Black (Like all ogres do!)
Your instrument of choice both fire and non

Ummm Patience and a can do attitude?

What we will do:
We have 4 patterns that we worked out on Wednesday. We will review them all then run through and shoot them without fire. When it gets to be twighlight we will shoot the more manageable patterns with fire. If you have something special and amazing to do as a soloist we will get to it at the end or at an auxillary shoot next week.

And that’s it! Let’s try to keep things as simple as possible with no last minute changes. Also, if we can all get there at 7PM we will wrap that much sooner.

Bravo in advance

Ben

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

In two weeks we will be shooting our audition video for our place around the man. What are we going to do for our audition video? Good question. All that running around in circles will actually pay off I promise. We have two rehearsals until the shoot in which we will get newer arrivals up to speed and learn the actual material for the piece. If you are worried about being up to this don’t be. If you can walk and hoop, or do the weave at the same time then you will be fine. If you can’t… well you have 2 weeks to learn. In past years in the conclave I have emphasized technique above everything. This year we are going to add an new element to our conclave show, looking fabulous. And that’s what our next rehearsal is all about.

Special costume workshop and rehearsal Sunday June 10 5-9PM
Call  me for address
(347)612-6731
Make up rehearsal in Washington Square park 9–10:30PM

This Sunday we will be making masks. Safeties this meeting is absolutely mandatory for you. You guys are also our propmasters and we need your help making these things. For those of you who haven’t made it to rehearsals yet, come and make a mask and you will instantly feel all caught up on practice.

Our theme is forest fire and from our previous rehearsals some parts have become clear.

Poi: We did a lot of direction changes in a manner that looked like flocking birds. So its bird masks for you.
Hoops: You guys aren’t as prone to darting off in random directions so its trees for you. You aren’t literally trees though. Think nymphs fauns and other     forest spirits with a leaves made of leather. (I have a hard time not thinking about that actually…)
Staff: There are only three of us so its kind of open. You can be and animal or an ogre. I’m a deer!
Firewhip: Ogre  What else would you be?

What if you want to do more than one thing during the show? Make more masks.

I have wet and stick fiberglass(like plaster but high tech), gesso, armature wire and multicolor leather for a dozen masks or more. I am a little short on brushes and paint if you have these materials at home. Feel free to bring other materials you might want to incorporate. You can be as crazy or conservative as you want. These masks are meant to be worn on the back of your head during the show so they don’t block your vision. They don’t have to be detailed or literal, a big red oval is still pretty awesome. For inspiration check out these galleries of masks including one I put up on our site. If there is a mask you really like send me the picture or link and I will include it.

http://www.nycsparkworks.org/?page_id=15

Other galleries.
http://www.masksoftheworld.com
http://www.nohmask21.com

As always I will post this to www.sparkworks.com (minus the address so call if you need directions)

Thanks everybody, and set something on fire won’t you?

Ben

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I don’t have any fire pics so here are some inpirational animal masks
We are into month 2 of our rehearsals and it is time to start bringing form to ideas, whatever the hell that means.
I’ve been gone, but it looks like Monkeyboy has really come through with the rooftop space. Although we do need to set some stuff, I would hate to detract from the community he is building, so let’s make the Grand space rooftop our regular Sunday practice spot. Wednesday we will go back to Sugar Park (Grand St Ferry Park).

Also, sunset is getting later so let’s start at 7:30.

————-Some notes for the month:

Attendance:
Some of y’all I haven’t seen yet! At this point that’s still OK because we have a great core of people who are now pretty familiar with the movement vocabulary we are going to be using for the conclave show. You will be up to speed in no time.
It also is not too late to get the discount ticket available to performers. If you can make 2 of the 3 rehearsals this month and the video shoot you are still eligible. (There is also an extra credit assignment that I will mention in the next section.)

Safeties:
Performers, If you haven’t thought about who your safety is going to be, now would be the time. Next week will be our first safety meeting. Because a safety is also often a prop-master, we will be working on costuming. I have leather and other fire resistant materials that we will be making some masks and other costuming elements out of.

(If you are a performer, but can’t attend a rehearsal for some reason you can earn your discount ticket by working on costumes)

Video Shoot:
June 17th we will be shooting an audition video for Crimson. This is an all hands on deck type of thing. If you absolutely can not make it to the shoot tell me now. If there are a number of you who can’t I will reschedule.

Thanks everybody, and I will see you at practice.

Ben

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