with sound in our ears we play endlessly…

week two of the colorado shakespeare festival has begun. huzzah.

despite being absolutely knackered and kindof wishing i was in an empty studio by myself and rolling on the floors… ive been surviving. the road to recovery from such an emo-tastic post has been rather arduous, but the harrowing journey has been soundtracked quite fabulously, and often allowing moments of hope and reverie.

currently ive been listening to Coldplay’s new album “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends”. (oh yes… ive got a naughty sneaky copy…muahahah). the title song(s) are absolutely amazing… Viva La Vida being my favourite due to its pulsing orchestration and intriguing lyrics.

in addition to the new Coldplay… ive been balancing myself out with “með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust” which roughly translates to: with sound in our ears we play endlessly.

…or so i think.

this is the new Sigur Ros album, and its absolutely incredible.  the first single from the cd is Gobbledigook, and the song is very uptempo and energizing and amazing.  the band has it up and streaming freely from their website as well as other places like lastfm and myspace… so… check it out!

annnyways… if any of you out there reading this is in colorado this summer… you should come see the Colorado Shakespeare Festival! go to www.coloradoshakes.org for more info.

oh… and if anyone has a good “life-plan” that they’re thinking i should follow after my contract is up at the end of august… let me know! im open to all suggestions and submissions

 

Test Site Project 1

hey everyone! im doing a site specific performance-piece at the denver museum of contemporary art tonight!!

it’ll be lots of funnnnnnnnnnn!!!

 

lookit ‘im bein’ a fancy lad!

(note: read the title of this blog with a ridiculous cockney accent…)

so.  ive got some media to post… so i hope you enjoy!

first up is my new swanky headshot!

then… a video clip from youtube of fight choreography stuff ive been helping work on for “3 Musketeers” for CSF

booyah!!

 

milestones and turning points

so… i graduated.

YAY!!!

as of May 11th, 2008 i now hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Performance with emphasis in ensemble physical theatre/dance theatre from Naropa University.

its pretty wonderful being graduated now, but its also kindof terrifying.  although… ive got awesome news!

ive been cast in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival this summer, so i’ll be appearing Three Musketeers and Henry VIII!

(booyah for being employed in my field right after graduation!  in your face, world! im a Big Fucking Artist now!)

but annnnyways… after my contract is up at the end of August… i have no idea what im gonna be doing or where i’ll be.  its funny how my buddhist university was constantly teaching me and training me about groundlessness and “not-knowing”, but now that im in the thick of it… its kindof terrifying.  but… the good news is that now, the world is my oyster and for the first time ever… im not tied down anywhere.  i think that for the first time in my life… i dont *have* to be anywhere.  i guess its an odd sort of freedom that im not used to, but i like it.

so yeah… thats whats been going on in my life since i last blogged.

and now that im a college graduate, all i know is… this summer is gonna be great!

 

this is what i do… pt. 2

Pictures from my thesis production entitled: Peripeteia

Peripeteia: (Greek, Περιπέτεια) is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point.

The show revolved around the ideas of “beauty” and “violence”, and the thematic question was “Can beauty be violent? Can violence be beautiful?”

The show itself was a self-scripted original dance/physical theatre piece that incorported authentic storytelling, improvisation, music, and dance.  hopefully i’ll get to put up some video as well, but until then, enjoy these lovely photos.

 

this is what i do… pt. 1

how’ere… have no fear! i am blogging!!

now… to some, i might seem enigmatic. and i guess i dont meant to ever come off like that, but it seems to happen alot. but annnwayys… the next few posts over the next few weeks will be for all of you who’d like to get to know me better… i guess i’ll be sharing a bit of myself with you all.

so… i am a dance/theatre artist currently finishing his last term of undergraduate education, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University. now… i guess i never get the opportunity to share my “professional” or “artistic” side with all the people i encounter online… but now, im going to be posting work that i have been making, collaborating, and performing in. i figure i’ll go back to when i first landed in colorado, having moved to boulder after living in Cardiff, Wales, (which would be August of 2006) and present work from my entire “colorado adventure” thus far, including my thesis show, which just closed 2 weekends ago.

so basically… its all interdisciplinary performance. its original and self-created… annnyways, its hard to explain, so why dont you see for yourself!

heres a clip i *just* found out was on youtube… its the opening excerpt from a piece entitled “Evensong” and it was the first production i became involved with when i came out to colorado (the performance happened in mid december 2006). and, im the big asian one with the mohawk. ;

 

break update…the second

so dear readers… when we left our intrepid hero, he was… “going slowly batty 40 miles east of…cin…cin…nati…” (name that reference, folks! if you do you win a fabulous prize and oodles of my respect!). actually, replace cincinnati with chicago and you’ll get the general idea…

now… since the last post… wonderful and exciting things have happened to said hero:

i went to see a fantastically wonderful movie. (Juno)

i went to one of my favourite places in the city (Samah, the hookah bar off belmont)

i got to see some of my friends (nick, kevin, chia, ashley, charlie)

i went to a RIDICULOUSLY bourgie (a shortened form of “bourgeois” pronounced “booh-zhee) party last night on the gold coast

i got to spend most of the day with my best friend (charlie)

so yeah… things are lookin’ up! especially since tomorrow is new years eve and i *actually* have plans! training it into the city tomorrow afternoon, grabbing dinner with the best friends, hanging out around belmont/clark area, and then going to a (what is being predicted to be a “kick-ass”) party hosted by two of my favourite ladies.

and no… i didnt go on my date tonight… there were some transportational difficulties, but… it has been rescheduled to thursday!

…and i know this sounds really sappy and kindof weird, especially coming from me… but i *really* like him.

::sigh::

now… the main thing i want to relate to all you out in blog-reader-land is the sheeeeeer hilarity that was last night.

now… let me paint a picture…

imagine earl (me)… now im pretty “interesting” looking (to put it nicely). ive got a white/blonde mohawk, lip ring, an… “intimidating” size, and im asian. for those of you who dont know me… in social situations/parties/fun gatherings, im rather outspoken, entertaining, loud, silly, and quite often become the center of attention (what?! im a theatre kid… i cant help it…)

now… in your minds eye… picture me at a party on the gold coast in chicago, in a fancy apartment on lake shore drive, overlooking lake michigan, and seeming *almost* completely out of place.

now tweak it a little, and imagine me in a room filled with rich, mousy, incredibly awkward, white (many of them jewish), privileged as FUCK north shore chicago suburbian neo-yuppies.

oh yeah… this really happened.

present at this party, there is an entire spectrum of people… from the girl sitting on the couch, who i think was *actually* frightened by my being in attendance at this party, to the guy who kept looking over and giving charlie and myself dirty looks, to the fantastically drunken and absolutely fabulous hostess of this terribly awkward shindig, molly.

molly is the epitome of “chicago-north-shore-rich-jewish-american-princess”… and yet not, at the same time. she’s a fun loving sorority sister (as well as everything that the title emplies) and simultaneously she is a talented artist/graphic designer who always does things “her way”.

annnyways… it was a fantastic character study and look into the world that i so vehemently wanted out of that i had to leave the country…

it was also a good reminder that boulder is *such* a bubble. people in the real world dont *really* care what your name is and dont expect you to remember theirs… nor do they care to introduce themselves or even engage you in conversation. people also get frightened when you *do* remember their name and try to engage in conversation… apparently i missed the memo that its socially acceptable to just look aloof and apathetic while you slowly drink yourself into oblivion in a roomful of people you arent going to talk to.

…i guess i reaaaaallly missing out on alot of stuff living in boulder…

moral of the story: surreal and hilarious experiences seem to make up most of my life…

::sigh::

 

adventures back on the mainland…

so… life has been absolutely insane since i got back from hawaii. i miss it, brett, jesse, and dakota SOOOOOO much… i miss my hawaiian family!!!!

just a quick recap… i got back wednesday morning, and then came straight to a brand new apartment/townhouse/condo thing… and started unpacking/finishing moving. later that day (after moving and unpacking) i went and worked an 8 hour shift at work. awesome, right? hahah… yeah.

so… its basically been busy busy busy for me since my “vacation”. ive also started up rehearsals for the show im performing in/creating called “Elephants and Gold”. it is premiering at the Boulder International Fringe Festival… which begins in just a couple weeks! its gonna be awesome… so if you’re in/around colorado… you should totally come see it!

annnnnnnnnnnyways… this weekend was quite eventful and momentous for me.

this weekend was my first EVER visit to the wrangler in denver.

for those of you who dont know… the wrangler is basically the bear bar in denver… and so for this (ahem) little cub, it was quite a notable weekend! also… for those of you who dont know… just think big, burly, men, many in leather, many with facial hair… heheh… just my type

so… yeah… funnily enough, i was there with my other friend earl (yes yes… there are more than one of us!) and his partner mark… and i got to meet lots of fun, new people.

how’ere, ’twas not simply a drool-fest… it was mostly an interesting people study. see… now… what you out there in “blog-reader-land” must understand, is that this experience however wonderful, was simultaneously TERRIFYING for me. i dont know why… but… i guess it just was? whatever… all i know is that even though everyone kept telling me that i should relax and that i should feel “at home”… i didnt at all. it was kindof just like 7th grade all over again… i was once again the big, awkward, nerdy, dorky, asian kid trying not to embarrass himself too much.

again… maybe its just me… but i feel like i fit in such an odd place or i dont fit in at all when it comes to the “community”. first of all… being asian and being my size is an oddity in and of it self… for example, i was walking to work 2 days ago and some random man who was walking the opposite way decided that his preconceived notions about my identity needed to be spoken and so he stopped and said “youre one of them sumi wrestlers, aintcha?” no, dear reader… thats not a typo… he said “sumi”, and he was dead serious. and all i said was… “uhh… no…” and walked away slightly bemused, confused, and pondering about whether or not i should be offended. part of me wanted to punch the guy in the face, part of me wanted to sit down with him and a cup of tea just to hear what his thought process was before his mouth opened up and noise fell out.

i wanted to tell this man, that i am so much more than his perception of who i should be. i wanted to let him know about my life and my travels, the places i call home, the various languages that find a home in my mouth, about the amalgam of cultures within my being, and about my passion for creating art and for performing. but most of all, i wanted to dance for him… to show him how my body moves, what it can do, and all of the stereotypes, preconceptions, and bigotry it has had to fight against.

its funny because i felt completely invisible except for my physical body… as though i was nothing more than what i looked like.

but, i guess i cant really ask for much more from a bar where the main draws are ogling the eye candy and going out on the pull… and i mean… im not complaining entirely… i definitely enjoyed being able to look around and be completely surrounded by men i thought were physically beautiful heheh and… im sure i could have been more outgoing and less shy… but… for some odd reason, i was bashful… and if anyone was trying to hit on me or give me “eyes”… i totally missed it… but… its no surprise, because im incredibly unobservant and oblivious when it comes to getting hit on or anything of the sort…

although… the biggest plus from the entire experience was that i got recruited for the Denver Rugby Team the Harlequins… which was cool… hopefully i’ll have time to play and train!

well… it looks as though ive prattled on for much too long… its 4 am now… i should sleep… another week of rehearsal and work… ::sigh::

 

moribund proclivities

the title of today’s post is actually a phrase that popped into my brain about a week ago and has refused to leave. this, could be partially to the fact that i think it would be a good name for a band… or at least a good album name… and that i seem to have developed an incredibly challenging articulation exercise.

try it…. you know you want to

say “moribund proclivities” three times… as fast as you can and accentuating every syllable. but not in the signature antoinette way of “aeeeiouaeioaueaaaaaaaaaa-ktkpdpdkktkttptkkrpptk!!” (that tidbit of humour is probably lost on you unless you went to the gaiety school in dublin in fall ‘05)

annnyways… once you’ve spoken the speech quite trippingly all your tongues… just try and tell me that you *dont* feel as though your tongue has had a fantastic workout!

so… for those of you too apathetic to look up the meanings of “moribund” or “proclivity”… fear not… cuz ive just done it for you!

moribund \MOR-uh-bund\, adjective:
1. In a dying state; dying; at the point of death.
2. Becoming obsolete or inactive.

pro·cliv·i·ty [prO-'kli-v&-tE], noun
: an inclination or predisposition toward something; especially : a strong inherent inclination toward something objectionable

so there ya go.

moribund proclivities, and to all a good night!

 

so… i know i can dance

since ive gotten to hawai’i, my friends brett and jesse have gotten me HOOKED on So You Think You Can Dance. I used to think that it was a vapid excuse for people to flounce around onstage in front of america in a masturbatory fashion while claiming to be “art”… and… to a certain extent it is precisely that…

however… they flounce reallllllllly fuckin’ well.

i guess im going to lose all of whatever “hetero-street-cred” i have left in me by saying this… but god… i love dance!

i love watching it, i love doing it, i love everything about it. and watching this show has been a fantastic reminder for what i want to be doing with my life.

no no no, dont get me wrong… im NOT trying to say that i want to go out and be a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance… and im not saying that i want my life to amount to a showy, fluff oriented, series of entertaining stupid human tricks. i want the art (be it dance, theatre, music, everything and anything) that i make to be relevant, personal, and make people question themselves, the world, etc. etc. etc. but GOD DAMN!… i wish i could move like some of those dancers can on the show… i know im getting there… but damn

as a dancer… i get a lot of flak for a lot of reasons. one, im not *too* trained… i mean… ballet, jazz, tap, modern for like… 4 years puts me ahead of quite alot of people… but comparatively, im just a baby as far as training goes. and two, im big. yes yes, world… i am a tubby bugger, and although i carry it well and i take sordid amounts of pleasure from being able to tell people that im the biggest guy they’ll probably ever see do a triple pirouette… i still feel bulky and too big and sometimes restricted by my size.

annnnyways… the show is somewhat inspiring because it makes me want to dance, and it also makes me want to work harder and harder and harder. i know i’ll probably never be as nimble as baryshnikov (upside: i also know i wont be as big of a mysogynist asshole either)… but i know that i dont ever want to stop pushing my boundaries as a performer and especially as a dancer.

so annyways… yes… i know i can dance… but yes… i know i can, want, and need to get better.