Hemmingway or Parton? I didn’t know it was the title of a posthumously published novel by him until I googled it. Well, a mixture of both artists then as we all watch life passing by with all this continuing time on our hands. Hemingway’s novel is a review of his life and the 2019 Netflix documentary Here I Am, about Dolly Parton, is a review of hers. I recommend the latter as a fascinating study of the performance persona at work. Some great music of course as well, classic tunes which flowed from her prolific pen.
Islands in the Stream. It feels like a life review, the flow of life a river that we all bump along with other islands coming and going. The islands themselves seem more like floating driftwood pushed and pulled by the tide of the river. Sometimes together, sometimes apart.
That’s is how it has felt recently. I heard that a good friend’s Mum had died. Margaret was a strong-minded, witty and kind-hearted person I admired and met annually, like many of my acquaintance. I will miss her, her sharp mind and twinkling eyes. It was good but very sad to watch her streamed funeral service. Islands in the stream.
I also learned that a good friend with whom I shared two happy years many years ago has Parkinson’s. Luis and I are the same age and in his illustrious life he achieved all he promised he would do in the world of theatre, opera, film and literature in Portugal, his home. Time and life drifted us apart and I hadn’t heard about him for nearly fifty years. And then in my ongoing life review I looked him up on Facebook to discover the news which came as a sad and salutary shock. Islands in the stream. His timeline has since gone silent again. I send him my love along with very happy memories.
Back to Dolly Parton whose performance persona has taken over her life. It’s hard to know where the real person is behind the wigs and makeup, and yet the persona is so tangible and real that we accept that as who she really is. A fascinating phenomenon. Those who have come to know me will also know of my fascination (bordering sometimes on obsession) with my own performance persona. I have been grappling with Mr A recently. Sometimes it felt like a real fight as he and I found that playing to a camera in the Covid era just wasn’t right.
We both came to the conclusion that a live audience is an active collaborator in our creative process. That collaboration is part of the appeal of the travelling showman who has become me (or is it that I have become?) You, the audience are pulled into the strange world of the show and your reactions contribute to its process and growth. It’s pretty obvious really.
I watched a fascinating short documentary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdrBT0YxQwo&feature=youtu.be) on the subject and found I wasn’t alone in being ambivalent about internet shows.
But it is a niggle as we are all having to deal with that other stream in our lives. So if making video recordings doesn’t work, what might? I offered this week to perform some live magic to two families via Zoom. Suddenly something started to happen and the half hour flashed by. The feedback was very positive, despite the poor quality of the connection and the picture through the laptop webcam. But definitely something came alive and it gave me heart and hope for another try with streaming technology. I think I could offer shows to small family groups with a live streaming connection. I’ve discovered some appropriate software with a wealth of online teaching and learning. I’m enjoying the process as I think I can see a way forward with it. I see it as a marketed personalised show run live via Zoom but which plays specifically to a few separate families at a time. A closeup live chat with Mr A in his emporium. People would book and make a small contribution for attendance and the show would be personalised to those attending by maybe giving them some choice as to which (pre-recorded) video sections I showed and also some live closeup magic, chat, physical interaction and maybe some games. A family party show but personalised to those attending. Sanitised prizes sent through the post, and the whole available for watching again later.
It’s still very early days but there is something in it. Let me know your thoughts and ideas. After all you’re a collaborator in it too.
All the best from a stream near you,
Mr Alexander
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