We are Sculptors

We've started the improvs. For me they're more terrifyingthan the concept of the end of the world. For the past two months we have beenworking on our pieces and now that they are complete we are putting them alltogether… through… improvisation. One small room, elven actors, dozens ofpieces, hundreds of props, office setting… go! Mayhem! destruction! Do you wantto die? maybe...Around this time last year after an improv for our previousshow "Tales", I was putting away a broken pink battery child's carwith Sean Lally in Barton's basement and I confided in him my stress andfrustrations in these improvisations. At that point it seemed to me that itwasn't getting us anywhere. Sean listened intently (as Mr.Lally does) and saidsomething along these lines, "think of all the pieces that we've createdcollectively as one big block of granite and what we're doing with theseimproves is chipping slowly away at this block of granite and in the end you'llfind that we'll have a statue. Of course we might at times fuck up the statuebut we'll take those imperfections and make something beautiful out of thattoo. Plus, the statue doesn't need to make sense or be appealing toeveryone." That has stuck with me.Even though it can be chaotic at times and frustrating as hell it is onlybecause together we are all building and constructing this massive thing. Andmaking an end of the world statue is tough, but bring on the hurricane! My foundcrew and I will build a ship too and sail on that storm. Claire Boyce Lenahan