Nothing is ‘new’

A professor I had for choreography once told the class we should not approach making dances as if we were inventing the wheel. Every movement phrase has an origin someplace. Where originality comes in is how a turn or lift is combined with music, timing, pause or silence. The possibilities are endless. The idea is to create a work that allows the audience to experience a way of seeing things as they hadn’t before. In short, he said, go ahead and ‘steal’, just make it your own.

I just watched “Seven Dials” by Agatha Christie. It was gripping. I had thought a while back of doing a solo show based on her work. Now, I don’t see how that is possible. Or at least I’d have to think of the project in the way she creates suspense. My show would have to be in a theater where complete blackouts can happen, with projected shadow images and a dummy or two to flop dead unexpectedly. So, that means a complete script, a budget and approaching a theater that has those capabilities. None of the performance spaces in my building are what is called a ‘black box’.

Yesterday my sisters and I had our weekly meeting. Patti’s birthday is next month and I have an idea for a gift. It has to be 100% not cumbersome. Connie’s birthday is next. A useful surprise is in order.

Connie asked me if I saw colors more vividly after the cataract surgery. Paul Bourbin had the same thing done and he did see colors far more vibrantly than before. So far I haven’t. One reason I’ve been attuned to precise colors is the work I did as a hair colorist. And, the example I give of the time our small salon was robbed at gunpoint. When the police asked me to describe the gun, I said it was taupe. Which it was, but that took a more detailed, “you know – grey with a hint of pink”. Anyway, Paul volunteers at the Conservatory of Flowers, so apparently he saw that world entirely brighter.

I have a cracked linoleum tile in the kitchen from when the dishwasher overflowed (worn out hose). I went online. I can get a sample for free from a flooring store and, yes, the color matches perfectly!