Remembrances of Things Past

Very excited about heading into rehearsals tomorrow morning for NEIGHBORS - a brilliant new play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. But before I do, I'm going to take small pause for reflection and remembering...


Hanging With My Sweet Niece

Tasty Holiday Cookies

Bundled Up in the Subway
and Meeting New Folks.

QUOTEd

NY TIMES Opinionator Blog: Into the Closet

"Like it or not we will be well into the 22nd century before lesbian and gay Americans finally have their equal rights unless they get busy burning cities this century. That is what I'm afraid it will finally take. Ask a Black friend or relative about it."

Wyman Elrod
Dallas Texas, January 15, 2010

SATURDAYS ARE...

You make it, I take it.


Joni Mitchell shines some focus on...

SHINE - Joni Mitchell

Paris Fin!

                            fin fin fin fin fin fin
                                  fin fin fin fin fin
                                        fin fin fin fin
                                              fin fin fin
                                                    fin fin
                                                          fin

                                                  fin fin fin fin fin fin
                                                  fin fin fin fin fin
                                                  fin fin fin fin
                                                  fin fin fin
                                                  fin fin
                                                  fin

Paris: Bonne Anne´e!

Paris Cinq

Paris Quatre

	Yee-haw! The wall, the wall is the action. Remembrances of Jared Ray.
	Structuralism. Cooly illuminated 80's style contempo-art.
	Warm bath of light. Moving from the right, to the left?
	Tattoo worthy.
	Single source. What's lurking in the shadow?
	Fair and Balanced.
	Obviously a dwelling, but there's something unnatural in the color. Not quite radioactive, though unfamiliar and repulsive.
	Test test test test test. Test test test test test. Test test test test test.
	There are no lengths she won't go, no boundaries left unpenetrated.

Paris Trois

Paris Paris Paris!

DIRTY WORD: SUCCESS

One reason for this time away is to reflect on and demystify my personal definition of success. Somehow, my understanding of success has been overburdened by certain personal, familial and social expectations: to be at the forefront of my field, to earn "lots" of money, to take care of my family, to give back to the community, to be an engaged, informed citizen, to be selfless and self actualizing, to blaze a path for all my communities, to be "happy," to inspire.

I hope that this process allows me to distill these expectations and to better articulate a personally fulfilling and sustainable vision of success. I start with this litany.


Artistic Integrity

-Unity, Balance, Contrast, Proportion, Variety, Rhythm

-Holding myself to a RIGOROUS AESTHETIC process that centers on an intellectual and emotional consideration of COMPOSITION (line, form, depth, color and text), HISTORY (a focused research of past and present objects, soundscapes, gestures, rituals, histories, laws, etc.), and SPACE (a unique environment where the compositions and histories intermingle across time and media)

-Asking CRITICAL QUESTIONS of myself, collaborators and audiences about state, culture or identity

-Inspiring DIALOGUE by acknowledging and implicating the audience

-Imparting SKILLS and ACTION by offering the audience space to create or respond

Financial Stability

-Pursuing and choosing projects that provide the FINANCIAL FREEDOM to pay my bills, afford rest/rejuvination, invest in relationships and accrue emergency savings of at least 10 percent of my income, annually

-Contributing an additional 10 percent of my income to a LOW-RISK RETIREMENT SAVINGS, annually

Disciplined Rest, Rejuvenation and Reflection

-Scheduling, planning and saving for substantial BREAKS BETWEEN PROJECTS

-Going on at least two NON-WORK TRIPS every year

-Committing to weekly time for WRITING, SILENCE, SOLITUDE, and THERAPY

Enduring, Intimate Relationships

-Preparing and sharing MEALS

-Being FORTHCOMING with my fears, anticipations and reflections

-Planning and following through with INDIVIDUAL dates with friends and family. These dates should not be for work related events - but should occur in spaces or involve activities that inspire us to be fearless, trustworthy and supportive of one another

Paris Deux

A BIT MORE PARIS

Paris Un

A BIT OF PARIS

He's Baaaaack

Yo yo yo - so, the last several months have been challenging and exciting and empowering. Bill T. Jones has been pushing me and the company of FELA! to make the best possible work we could ever achieve. He's phenomenal and has lead us toward great art making. I'm sincerely thankful. And I hope many folks get to see FELA! on broadway.

10 weeks of rehearsals (5 of which coincided with previews - rehearsals during the day, shows at night) have left me with such intimate relationships with the entire company and with Fela's world and music. The room of artists that Bill and our producer Steve brought together was in constant creative motion - making and remaking and cutting and adding and pushing and sharing and thinking and throwing down. Whew - if every process could be this wrought with commitment, I'd never hunger.

Anywho - a post a little less diary like and a little less gushy to come - but needed to get this one out.

Love and selah!
Niegel

i made a happy birthday greeting

mac and cheese blossom

PILFERed

From the now defunct SPY MAGAZINE.

Commentator

A response to: Dude, You’ve Got Problems

“ I went to a conference on bisexuality about 15 years ago. A woman there said to me, "I wish you gay men would stop putting your energy into fighting homophobia and instead put your energy into eradicating misogyny. Because the problem society has with gay men isn't that they're with other men - it's that they're men who are "acting like women." If it were ok to be a woman in this culture, homophobia would just disappear." I think she's right.”

— Jess Thompson-Adams
Dude, You've Got Problems

Hmmm.... her argument isn't very prismatic "fighting misogyny in stead of homophobia" and her conclusion is a bit simplistic "homophobia would disappear." But I do think that there is a very insightful observation in this quote. When we step outside of prescribed gender roles it disrupts the dominant culture. I welcome the challenge to shift. I'd argue that by emulating, celebrating and nurturing complex gender expression we will "fight" both misogyny and homophobia.

Commentator

I think the sagging pants style is remarkable and may be unprecedented in the history of fashion because it combines not just a static piece of clothing, the pants, but also the drama that goes along with the possibility of the pants falling. And then there's the concomitant activity of hitching and slipping and hitching and slipping. For those of us who find young men sexy the style is compelling. It seems like a lot of work to wear your pants this way but for the viewer it is dynamic, entertaining and just really fun. Name me another clothing style that involves so much theater.

— Robin White, Oakland, CA

All Over My Face

hot gay artist sings about a hot gay lifestyle with inclusive gay groupies all over gay new york
hot & gay
yeah
hot gay yeah yeah yeah

Upcoming from Permiso

Dear Friends,

Todd Shalom & Niegel Smith (Permiso)

invite you to join us

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

and Wednesday, March 18, 2009

at The Public Theater

425 Lafayette St., New York, NY

Performances will begin at:

7:30pm, 8:00pm, 8:30pm & 9:00pm

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

To make a reservation, please visit:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/58612

Love,

Niegel & Todd

Notes