Where in the world am I today?: Vacationing in Peru
I make and effort when ever I step onto stage to give a little piece of myself to my audience. I think this is an integral part of doing a good performance and wouldn’t have it any other way. The cumulative effect of giving a chunk of my soul away at each performance can and does end up getting quite exhausting. I have vivid memories of booking myself a schedule that was so busy a few years back that by about November I was feeling incredibly burn out.
The concept of recharging my batteries was for a long time anchored in taking a break from performances, taking time off, but recently I read a post on my friend David Duchemin’s Blog that seemed to stress an additional element to the recharging equation. Not only do you need to take time off from grinding out performances to let your body recuperate, you also need to feed your creative bank account by exposing yourself to new ideas and outlets. This could be as simple as reading a book, going to see a play, listening to your favorite music, exposing yourself to visual art, visiting a museum, what ever it takes to harness, replenish and excite your inner creativity.
The trip I’m currently on in Peru is a great example of seizing an opportunity to do something mind expanding and completely off the traditional path for me during the summer. Will I come back from the trip refreshed and inspired? Who knows, but I will have certainly exposed myself to new situations, new people, a different way of doing things and a chance to perhaps tap into some of these things and bring them to an audience the next time I step onto a stage be it at a festival, on a cruise ship or on the street.
Many many moons ago now I used to make a pilgrimage to the IJA Juggling Conventions and these served as a fantastic resource for creative renewal. I’ve been looking into a couple of different workshops with a few different performance instructors as another outlet for creative growth. I also realized recently that my two boys Koji and Owen have been wonderful sources of creative energy and growth via the little games I create and play with them…
If you’ve made the choice to put yourself in front of an audience and love the experience of doing so, then you owe it to not only yourself but also the people you’re playing for to make sure your batteries are topped up and you’re able to offer a well crafted and creatively charged performance.
