This past weekend I participated in a performance piece called Out-Let: A Song Circle. The piece featured myself improvising off a set of four poems written by Scott C. Wells, while a musician named Conrad Burnham played sounds both in the background and almost in reaction to what I was doing vocally. It was organized by artist Paul W. Evans and had shirts designed by artist Sophia Allison. The piece was performed on the south side of South Weddington Park in Studio City in front of a bent tree. It was presented by KCHUNG Radio and it was created for CURRENT:LA, Los Angeles’ first public art biennial.
Although I have done something similar to this before (A Sublime Madness of the Soul), it was also very different. I was able to take different parts of each poem–words or phrases that stuck out to me–and sing or speak them in whatever way that I wanted. I was lucky enough to be collaborating with an organizer and writer who gave me the creative freedom to do what I wanted and trusted me to not completely mess up their piece. I was also incredibly lucky to be working with a musician who was intuitive and musical enough to interact with what I was doing and/or independently create his own ideas. Everything flowed surprisingly easy for a collaboration that really came together in only two weeks.
Below is the advertisement for the piece:
The image was created by Sophia Allison and the whole advertisement was put together by the organizer Paul W. Evans. Below is an image from the actual performance:
I hope to be a part of something like this again. The experience was another one of those opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone and test your abilities–the real time where you can truly grow as an artist, musician, and person.