More filming, a virtual dance class, call for poets soon
Hello friends!
Suddenly, everything!
In this newsletter:
upcoming virtual queer dance class
upcoming call for poets
updates and photos from filming (halfway done!)
In addition to this sudden explosion in my arts life there is plenty going on personally as well (to say nothing even of the world at large) - stressful work on the house, a change in jobs in the household, chasing down some medical answers, wrangling some student loan nonsense, friends struggling. I feel like I have been launched into a particle accelerator and I am tired. On we go though! (Change is constant, and all things end, thank you Hozier…)
Today Jax is 8!
Would you believe he used to fit in my lap? How.
Events
I am teaching my Object Duets method on October 19, 3-4pm Eastern, for a virtual Queer Dance series run by Jo Troll in Boston. This is a queer-only space (self-defining); you know my class will be explicitly disability-friendly, and it’s open to all experience levels. Free/by donation.
And I am INCREDIBLY EXCITED to say that my poetry round-robin idea has found a home at Interstellar Flight and will be opening for submissions in October. For now you can get a sneak peek at the submissions guidelines here (scroll down below the current open call for essays). You might remember this idea from my second-ever newsletter in 2022. It’s! Happening! Queer/trans disabled spec poets (all defined as broadly as possible), get ready!
Usually I limit newsletters to one a month, but I will send an extra mini edition when submissions open, for easier forwarding.
Filming
Since the last letter, we’ve filmed three pieces at two sites! Full details & lots more photos on Patreon. I also post some on Instagram though it lags behind a ways. Eventually I will create a “making-of” page for my website where a lot of this will be shared as well, but that will be a while - filming is all-consuming, even though it’s going well.
In early September we filmed one piece at Holley Hall with beautiful sun-puddles. This floor-based piece was co-created with Christal Brown and deals with masculinity, passing, and masking.
Then last week we went up to the Sable Project, an off-grid mountaintop arts residency, to film my crutch-and-dress piece (the oldest piece in the show, the only pre-existing choreography) on the stage,
and the show’s finale the next day on tent platforms in the woods. It felt so right to put its conclusion there, in the kind of woods and hills that make me feel at home.
It was really nice to be back at Sable - this was my first overnight there, too - and I’m grateful to them for working with us on our space and covid-safety needs. We snuck in right at end of season, which also meant we got the first falling leaves, and some gorgeous morning cloud.
This week has been recovery and rehearsal (and admin, always admin). Next week on Friday, we film again. There are four more pieces left - and four done - we’re halfway! This is actually happening. Fingers crossed for a spring 2025 premiere.
I hope your fall is off to a smooth start and if you, too, are juggling many things, that you can take a few moments to breathe and enjoy the air.
Warmly if tiredly,
Toby
PS. remember it’s also becoming vaccine season! if you’re able, go get your new-formula covid booster, and a flu shot too.