Artistic Manifesto

Why do I do what I do?

I. Inspiration strikes in oppositional happenstances. When I’m keenly observing the world around me and notice its core patterns. And when I am trapped in a stillness which allows me to reflect and percolate on those patterns. New epiphanies set off sparks in me which spread around the neural receptors in my brain like wildfire: why do these patterns exist? What people, places, things, influence them? Who do they affect? Are they dependent on certain contexts, like social situations, races, people, places, regions, politics, human behavior? How long have these patterns existed? When did they develop? Are they changing? What would be the consequence of change?

II. “One is all, all is one.” A Buddhist philosophy meant to illustrate that if you trace the energy of even your smallest actions, pretty soon you’ll find you have affected people, places and things you’ll never see with your eyes in your lifetime, but they’re all a part of you nonetheless. Down to the electronic charge of the last atom in space, everything that was and ever will be is related to everything else. With so many connections to explore, devising is without bounds or limitations; it is a free form of expression based purely on perspective.

III. Explorations of these connections and questions becomesthe basis of my art’s narrative. Devising is presenting an alternate reality to an audience. One that may look and sound differently from their own, but ideologically remains grounded in the foundation of the reality they live each day. I aim to provoke curiosity, new thoughts. I want to give people a chance to see their reality not as something that is known, but something with kinetic energy, prepped to move in a different direction at any moment. Life’s unknowns hold endless possibilities for growth waiting to be unlocked, whether it’s experiences are positive or negative. To fear the unknown is dangerous, but to embrace it leads to greater inner peace.

IV. To perform, to publish, to manifest, is all an effort to vulnerably and unapologetically present a lived story in all its physical accuracy and emotional nuance, through an abstract means, to get at an evocative emotional core. It exists somewhere in the realm between historical fiction and a scholarly research project. A great creative nonfiction will exude an exciting, stylized and engaging narrative founded in well-researched and understood social awareness. A documentary’s research must be based on principles of equity and inclusion. All voices must be on a level playing field.

V. Multi-modalized, informed performance creates a rumbling storm of conversation. The storm spreads to more and more people all looking up at the same clouds. It insights understanding, awareness of humanity’s common ground. And with luck, a few people who witnessed that storm will take the memory of it to heart  and continue its teachings by sparking communication with their communities.

VI. I’ll continue to stimulate my awareness of the human senses in exploring different elements of interdisciplinary work and their effectiveness. I’ll open myself to greater unknowns that lie not in the grand scheme of the world around me, but in the minute details I can exploit in order to unlock deep specific memories or hidden feelings in my audience. I promise to write down more of my ideas, my dreams, as ridiculous as they might seem and dare to try and make them reality.

VII. To work to widespread the ideals of this manifesto, would lead to a greater sense of empathy among humans than ever before seen on Earth. Differences would be celebrated, simple joys wouldn’t be taken for granted, communication would be brimming with love, confidence and enthusiasm and no one would get left behind. One is all, all is one.