I hear you...

It's become clear from the lack of response to my posts over the past year that this is simply not the right place to gather stories and start a dialogue about this subject. I wish I knew why. But the silence in response to a call for interaction and communication has sent a very loud message. I'm listening. And the sound of one's own voice calling out gets tiresome and unhealthy after a while.

I've decided to let this project go and try to find a way to create WITH others more actively. It is what I most love to do and it's been a very long time since I've been able to do it.

I will be closing down and deleting the blog in a month after the Strindberg and Beckett performances are complete. Do come see them! Do tap me afterwards say hello. And do comment here in the meantime.

Thank you to all who have participated so far. I hold your stories close and am honored to be their caretaker.

Keep on telling your story.

Gina

Young Women - Speaking Up ?

Today's theme is young women. Are you a young woman? Have one as a friend? Do you think a young woman's relationship to silence is different from a young man's. How about an older woman? Why or why not?

If you are a young woman, how do you feel about silence?

Do you believe, as some have stated, that young women "talk too much"? What evidence do you have for this?

Do you believe, as others have stated, that it's harder for girls to "find their voice" and speak up as they enter their teenage years? What evidence do you have for this?

Simply click on "comments" below to respond. Be honest! Thanks.

Women and Silence

This will be the theme of the audio piece between the Strindberg and Beckett at the June performance.

There are many questions related to this subject and we expect to hear from a wide variety of voices and opinions to use as the raw material for the piece. We'll start posting a question a day for the next few weeks to generate specific thoughts and responses around certain themes.

But for now - anything that springs to mind about this subject that you'd like to share?

Some of you have asked for instructions about how to leave a comment. Simply click on the tiny work "comments" at the end of this post. (If people have already left comments the word will have a number in front of it, i.e., "3 comments".) This will open a new page, where you can read the comments others have left and with a box to the right where you can leave a comment yourself. You will also have the option of signing in with your name, or remaining completely anonymous. If you are anonymous, there is absolutely no way to tell who you are -- so feel free to be very honest!

Here's another plea to PLEASE leave comments! And please spread the blog to others. I'm getting a bit nervous that I won't have enough responses as raw material to construct a piece in which multiple viewpoints are honored. Plus, it's just nice to know people are out there.

No Comment

Between the stillness of the reader count odometer and the lack of commentary, I'm beginning to question the efficacy of this little blog. Are you out there? Have you stopped looking? Commenting? Please leave a comment if you can- you can be absolutely anonymous -- and let me know if you still check in from time to time. I'll post another "Silence Question", too, in the meantime. Maybe that will spark some lively discussion!

Germination and Breaking Silence



Today's Question: What kinds of ideas or thoughts do you simply "sit with" for a while before sharing? What determines when you break the silence? What has it felt like when you did?

Is it my hair?

We've had a change in plans for the June performance. Due to a number of circumstances beyond our control, Gina will now be performing two pieces by the well known playwrights whose pictures are shown below:



As one whose hair has always evoked *some* sort of reaction in most people, I feel I have a special bond with these two guys. And they both pushed the conventional boundaries of the theatrical traditions of their day with evocative portraits of the bleak and humorous landscape of the human condition. They moved me incredibly the first time I read them back in college. The very first scene I performed as a Drama major was from "Miss Julie" by August Strindberg, and I became downright obsessed with Samuel Becket about a year later after reading his novel Malloy. So, it seems only fitting to visit them again as part of the Silence Project.

Or maybe it's just about the hair.

The program for the June performance will now be Strindberg's "The Stronger" and Samuel Beckett's "Rockabye", with a short audio piece in between gleaned from the comments left on this blog and materials gathered from live interviews.

If you were looking forward to "Request Concert", don't worry. There are still plans in the works to mount this production at a later date. And we are in serious talks with a local radio personality who was recently silenced. He's very interested in being involved.

Stay tuned for more information, updates, and comment requests soon!

Breaking the Silence/Beginning the Project

This is a Nikki S. Lee-esque image for the brochure promoting the silence show this summer. We've settled on the haunting one woman piece by Kroetz, "Request Programme', which focuses for an entire hour on the series of silent rituals performed by a working class single woman in her home in between work and bed. While the woman never speaks or interacts with anyone during the entire show, she listens to a popular radio program which combines various styles of music and interviews for much of her evening. This is where we'll be using many of the interviews and letters collected so far, in addition to putting out a call for original music from all genres that somehow deal with the theme of silence, breaking silence, etc. Interested in contributing? Got a band? A guitar? Some lyrics or a poem? An image you'd like us to consider for the limited visual elements of the piece? Stay tuned here for more information on how to contribute.

Of course, you can always write about the effect and purpose that silence has in your life at any time. Simply hit the comments button below and start typing. We've all been silent for a while in this tiny blogosphere, but it only takes one voice to get things started again.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone,

Gina

Whose Silence Bothers You the Most?