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- HERITAGE QUEST
- One day I sat on the back porch with my mom. I was about 12 years old. We watched the Blue Jays and sparrows fly across the Alabama sky and occasionally settle in the yard long enough to snag an unsuspecting meal. She asked, "Want to see something your great grandfather taught me?" I said, "Sure," mom didn't talk a lot about great grandfather so I was always eager to listen, or in this case watch. She said, "You have to be very quiet or it won't work, don't even twitch." So I sat there as quietly as a cat waiting for a fly to settle. Then my mom took some crumbled up day old cornbread and began to toss it a few feet off the porch as she sat on the steps, as still as I was, except for the smooth motions of her hand and arm as she tossed cornbread. Soon there were quite a few birds in the backyard. She began to toss crumbs closer til they were at her feet. Then she put the bread behind her and just sat. I think we sat for almost an hour, then a sparrow hopped up on my mom's forearm and sat there for a few moments then flew away. I was intrigued and began to ask serious questions about that part of our heritage.
So now I search the internet, read books wherever I find them and have found a wonderful archeological dig site called Yuchi Town, which is located on the Alabama side of Fort Benning. This past Thanksgiving I was fortunate enough to visit the Fort where the site is located. Although I did not get to meet him I have obtained a book by the head of the archeological team, Dr. Christopher Hamilton and am looking forward to reading it.
Next on my list of things to do for this quest is learn the language of the Yuchi. By the way the Yuchi (u chee) became a part of the Creek nation and eventually migrated to Oklahoma. Anyway, I have discovered that to date there are only 12 people in the United States who speak fluent Yuchi. So, now I need to find these people then get enough money together to go to them and record the language. My hope is then to pass this language on to others so that it will not die.
I take it you realize that this is one of those long term projects.
- KIDS AND SHAKESPERE
- Right now I am working with a class of third, forth and fifth graders at PS 4 in Harlem. Every Monday from 11am until 2:30 pm I bounce from one classroom to the next armed with Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, MacBeth (the boys love this one) and sometimes the Greeks. I am introducing the kids to William Shakespeare in a very fun, interactive style that has these kids clapping every day I pop into their classrooms. It's quite exciting. I have been told that often the children are heard quoting Shakespeare as they work in class. One teacher told me that a young boy was facing another young boy who was teasing him with some object, and the boy being teased said to the other "Pray you avoid it." Hmm methinks the Bard has found another generation.
- WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS
- DREAM THEATRE:
- Using active visualization, music, forms and fabrics, participants are given the opportunity to explore their dreams in a supportive, collaborative, theatrical environment. Through transformation of the space and the enactment of various scenes from dreams, each participant will have the opportunity to join with others and share the inspiration inherent in the subconscious. When the dreamer casts and directs and re-experiences a dream in a theatrical context, the most astonishing realizations surface and all beings benefit.
- THE MALA WORKSHOP
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- SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOP
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- HONORING THE GENDERS:
- (i.e. Walking a mile in their moccasins) A two-day workshop designed to allow men and women to experience the nourishment available to them through honest, direct honoring of their own gender and then, by extension, the opposite gender. The first day, men and women separate into discrete groups and the facilitator guides them through voice and movement exploration, writing exercises, and theatre games that culminate in a humorous and heartfelt honoring of their strengths, their connections to each other, and the service they offer the world. The next day, the men and women again meet in separate groups, but this time they work to include the honoring of the opposite gender by creating a ritual to present to them. The men and women come together again, and following the presentation of the rituals additional exercises occur that are designed to guide the reconciling energy brought about through the rituals, toward renewal of higher purpose.
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