Ali & Ali; Ali & Ali

Saturday session with the Academy folk. Garry and I were met at the staircase by the three gals who inadvertently had dressed similarly and looked like they were about to do a production number from a musical. Later that same day, Aaron discovered he could sing.

Newly written scenes based on last week's improvisations read around the table. Three different authors, three different voices but one central character. The search for truth and personal relevance. The "oooh" moments. Mediating scenographic challenges.

Time spent with investigation of scenes from plays by Canadian authors, including the collectively-created 1837: The Farmers Revolt: A Play by Rick Salutin; The Duchess a.k.a. Wallis Simpson by Linda Griffiths; The Adventures of Ali & Ali & the Axes of Evil: A Divertment by Marcus Youssef, Guillermo Verdecchia and Camyar Chai. The Academy folk put shape to the scenes, showing them to each other to discover the different structures and approaches to storytelling based in variants in the creative processes. Possibilities.

So much work has been done gathering materials, trying many things. The way to tell the story - what is desired/what is not - is emerging. What the story is... still slightly elusive. The "stuff" is there. Working collectively is a wonderful conundrum. How much do you offer, how much do you impose? What if you are uninspired? How do you keep going til the inspiration strikes?

The flint, the stone, the thatch. Strike and strike and strike. A spark. A flicker. Nothing. Strike, strike, strike ... multiple sparks. A flicker, fan it! More fuel... will it become a fire?