Statement from the gallery installment:

Improvisation is something that is created without preparation. In many ways, if that is the definition of improvisation, then we all practice improvisation in our everyday lives, and all artforms practice improvisation in everything they do. But, more specifically improvisation in an extreme form, where you do not have preparation at all except for the choice that you are going to improvise, still starts from a spark of inspiration. That is what this project focuses on; it looks at how can that spark of inspiration come from not oneself or one’s own artform, but how can that spark come from a different artform. Interdisciplinary improvisation has always been of interest to me, and so I created “Work From There” as a way to further explore this.

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This improvisational project focuses on photographers, dancers, actors, artists, and improvisers and how these groups can draw inspiration from one another and create something new every time they work together. I decided to structure the improvisation so that each group would have a designated amount of time to improvise within their specific artform, and while they were improvising the upcoming group would be watching for ways in which they could draw inspiration from what the current group was performing. [an example from a run-through of the performance: the improv team was performing, and they stood in lines during their games, so the dancers observed this and when they improvised next, they played with the idea of creating straight lines in their dancing.] In addition to the dancers, actors, and improvisers not preplanning, the photographers and artists were also watching and did not preplan the way in which they were going to take inspiration and took photos and sketched during the hour-long performance. The event was also structured so that the order of the performance was unknown until the day of the event. As a result, the groups were to not be able to preplan how they took inspiration from one another or preplan exactly what they would be doing. The last aspect of the event is that I also employed a tool so that when a person from one of the groups was observing they had the option of clapping twice and snapping once and then calling out a modification. This allowed the groups who were watching to modify and be involved directly in what was being performed. [an example from the April 9th performance: while the dancers were performing one of the actors clapped twice and snapped once and then told the dancers to dance as if it were snowing. So, the dancers paused heard the modification and then continued dancing and applied the modification.]

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The first installment of Work From There was a performance on April 9th, and the second installment is this gallery that showcases the artwork and photographs from the first installment, with a reception and additional live performance on Saturday, April 27th from 12:30-4:30 in the gallery.

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I would like to thank all of the performers and artists involved in this project you have all been such a joy to collaborate with! Thanks for being open and willing in this collaborative process. I would also like to thank Teya Heller who assisted me with this gallery, helped me prepare other materials for the events, contributed photographs for the gallery, and so much more. She has been a wonderful partner in this project, and I could not have done it without her! And, thank you to Professor Jamie Hunt for helping jumpstart this project! Also, a huge thank you Deanna Brookens (Theatre Department Faculty) and Andy Hasenpflug (Dance Department Faculty) who have both encouraged and assisted me through this process. Thank you both for pushing me to make my ideas a reality! I finally would thank to thank my family, specifically my parents for always stepping in and helping in whatever ways they can (buying supplies, editing videos, helping create materials, etc.) so that I am able to accomplish my goals. I also thank them for teaching me about the reason why we create art and desire to see the beauty around us. And thank you to everyone who has watched a performance or has come out to the gallery, you have all in a way participated in this collaboration as well. I hope that you all will start to view life as an improvisational activity that gives you an opportunity every day to work from. Life will always throw curveballs at you, but you just have to learn how to work from there.