September 2002 NEWS

CONTENTS:
An interview with ANNAN PATTERSON
FEATURED BOOK: A Big, New, Free, Happy, Unusual Life: Self-Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither by Nina Wise
Congratulations to Lily Yeh, the 2002 AHN Awardee!

ANNAN PATTERSON'S "DEEP CANYON"

"Theatre can be a meeting place, a place of community and healing."

This summer, Danny Hobson of the Arts and Healing Network interviewed Annan Patterson, creator of "Deep Canyon," a solo performance in which Annan plays all the characters in the story of a young wife, mother and career woman who receives the unexpected  and terrifying diagnosis of cancer.

AHN: Tell us about the inspiration behind creating "Deep Canyon."

Patterson: As a mother of a young child and working woman in 1989, my plate was very full. I had put aside the acting I had enjoyed as a teen and young adult for the sake of my family and my career. Then, at 34, I was diagnosed with early stage ovarian cancer. I spent the next year in treatment, terrified that I would die of the disease at some point.  With the help of my family, a support group and spiritual guides, I gradually came to terms with my own mortality and rediscovered the joy of theatre and acting. In the months following my treatment, I wrote "Deep Canyon" as a way to share the weird, funny, terrifying and life changing experiences I had during my diagnosis and treatment.

AHN: In the article in the Fresno Bee you are quoted as saying "Theatre can be a meeting place, a place of community and healing." Could you elaborate on that.

Patterson: What I so enjoy about theatre, both as an audience member and as a performer, is that it is LIVE! So often we are isolated at home, at work, in front of our TVs and computers. Theatre brings us humans together in real time to experience something up on that stage.  We notice each others' laughs, coughs, tears, snores and candy wrappers as the theatrical event unfolds. We notice the sweat, the expressions, the touch, the breath of the live performers.  With good theatre, we leave the playhouse different, not just because of the play, but because we have witnessed something with our audience "community."

Below is a series of Stills from "Deep Canyon"

The Woman: I remember the smell of the backstage in particular... it was a combination of my father's books , my mother's dresses and my grandmother's house, all rolled into one, wonderful smell.

 

 

 

The Woman: Hello, Doctor, Hello. I'm awake - I'm awake! I want to hear how everything went!

 

 

 

Dr. Sam: So I say - Let's go for it!

 

 

 

 

 

AHN: What sustains you in your work - emotionally, creatively, financially? Patterson: Good question. Because theatre work is often so demanding with little financial reward for most of us! Emotionally, my work keeps me connected to the very essence of my humanity. In my daily life, it is easy for me to get lost in the normal demands we all experience.  Theatre work keeps me in touch with the bigger questions and the  parts of me that play, create, laugh, cry. I walk into an empty theatre and I am filled with life's possibilities- they all can be explored and played out there. Creatively, I am blessed with collaborators who challenge me and encourage me- people like humorist and storyteller David Roche of Mill Valley and director Susannah Martin of San Francisco's Paducah Mining Co.  Financially--my day job! as well as grants and foundations which fund my work and performances. AHN: Do you have any words of advice for other artists? Patterson: These may sound cliche- but I have found these things to be true:  Set goals for yourself- artistically and professionally. Write them down. Revisit them every 6 months with a trusted collaborator. Be ready to see results and to throw out goals that are not working or no longer realistic. Surround yourself with positive images and experiences- little or big. Pay attention to the little things and remember them. You never know what experience or image or person will become part of your art. Align yourself with other artists whom you respect and who give you encouragement...we need each other and there is much to learn. Remember that great art often reveals painful truths - these are sometimes scary to reveal and to share. But we humans need the truth and relish those who can tell the truth with grace, beauty, humor and integrity. AHN: When will "Deep Canyon" next be performed? Patterson: I am currently working on my second solo show and will begin "previews" of this show in 2003.  My next performance of "Deep Canyon" will be at the 2003 Healing Journeys Conference in Seattle.  See their website at www.healingjourneys.com for more information, or my website at www.deepcanyon2000.com

FEATURED BOOK

A Big, New, Free, Happy, Unusual Life: Self-Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither by Nina Wise

"I feel much better for having read this book. My creativity has been energized. I recommend this for everyone." -Marion Weber, Founder of the Arts and Healing Network

"You already know everything you need to know to live a big, free, happy, unusual, enthusiastic, and amusing life. Creativity is an inborn aspect of being alive. All you need to do is relax and let it out. And if you do, you will find yourself without the slightest hint of effort, dancing in your living room, singing in the car, writing poetry on cocktail napkins, and noting the dinner plate is a perfect canvas for a painting made of food." -Nina Wise

With this book, performance artist Nina Wise has given us a true gift -- a tool kit for cultivating our innate creativity and spontaneity.  Each chapter explores an avenue to creativity, starting with movement and dance, and then the voice and singing, making visual images, and wordplay and writing. The second half of the book explores how to bring creativity into relationship by collaborating with a friend, a lover, or a group. Nina's writing is heartfelt, open, and accessible. She illustrates her points with personal stories and provides concrete exercises that are both simple and profound. For example, the following exercise appears in the chapter on Bringing Art to Life.

CUT UPS

Reach into your paper recycling bin, grab a piece at random and cut or tear it up into small pieces (less than one square inch each). Select five or six of the pieces that contain phrases you find of interest and build a sequence, a poem. Give yourself one minute.

I took a one-minute break just now to do this practice:

to cross her lips
an honorable
at a time and
the whole day ahead
harder
cut through
dark forest

The mind locks into a linear way of thinking which is not necessarily a creative way of thinking. Working with random language and images, we can free the mind from its tight grip on linearity. When you go back to whatever you were doing, writing a report or doing the bookkeeping, you might notice that your mood has shifted, that you feel more lighthearted.

Nina also explores the transformational power of art. She writes, "As we allow ourselves to express whatever arises, fully and without judgement, we discover what ails us transforms into what heals us, and the distinction between pain and delight fades - this is the alchemy of creative self-expression."

Ninaís book has just been published by Broadway Books in softcover for $16.95.  Click here to order it through Amazon.com. To learn more about the book and Ninaís work, please visit www.ninawise.com .

Congratulations to Lily Yeh, the 2002 AHN Awardee!

The Arts and Healing Network is excited to present the 2002 AHN Award to Lily Yeh, founder of the Village of Arts and Humanities which for over 15 years has been  facilitating major transformations in inner-city Philadelphia. Thanks to the efforts of the Village of Arts and Humanites, today what was once a run-down neighborhood is now a place rich with community spirit and beauty. We encourage you to learn more about this fabulous project by clicking here to visit the AHN Award Page.

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