Its Thursday morning
and in an effort to understand how better to make use of this online resource as project participants pass it around, i'm trying to take some suggestions from project collaborators.
For one, the top of this page now is links to articles and sites we have found interesting and useful.
Second, I think instead of random thoughts that reference what happened in rehearsal or in our process, i need to take on the responsibility, and/or get help with the responsibility, of posting each day in a manner that someone not in the room with us can get a sense of what we've been doing, and comment on our experiences/discoveries, rather than these comments being just for our cast.
So I'm going to ask of all us using this blog to be more conscious of putting whatever we write here in a clearer context, and, i'm going to also ask everyone to comment on posts when that seems appropriate ather than always starting new posts.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we had a shortened class/rehearsal session. In it, we made some physical work, and then we spent a lengthy period of time in small groups working on activities that I assigned. Some groups were given the tasks of making scenes; some, of creating participatory activities for the rest of us, to try some ideas out that we might use with the audience. And some were creating exercises for use in our rehearsal process, to help us bring research in the room. This is one of our largest challenges- utilizing what we are learning in active dynamic ways, and not simply sitting and talking through al our experiences in community.
We finished the session with a giant game of red light/green light aimed at giving everyone the opportunity to shout out loud moments of Chicago history that seemed important to them. This brought us back to an important conversation about the fact that what history is important is incredibly specific to each person's values, knowledge, and point of view.
Today, Thursday, here's a question I throw out for anyone to respond to in the comments at this posting-
10 years from now, what physical living situation would you like to find yourself in?
What kind of space, place, neighborhood...?
thanks
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3 comments:
i am currently interested in transience in thinking about where i want to live. i am itching to experience as many different physical places on the map, as well as kinds/categories of places. i'd like to live in a commune at some point, a shared two-flat, an apartment in a tight-knit urban neighborhood, a farm. im drawn to those types of places for the instant sense of community they incite but i'm not excited by permanence right now. i hope to enter into a series of strong relationships built by the physical spaces around me, but never get too comfortable in those spaces.
This last year my family and I have raised chickens and have done some pretty serious veg and greens gardening. We live in Portland in an urban neighborhood. We do have some space for this kind of thing. I'm tellin ya'll thats some good eaten. I was raised a city/suburban boy and this is my first taste of raising my own food. I really like it and don't think it will be something that I live without in the future. City planning and building that includes rainwater storage and use for urban farming are part of my current recipe.
Bicycle people. Do it. For real now. No gas usage. Feels Good. Get some rain gear and do it. You think you can't. You can. I know this is a bit far fetched for Chi town but six months of the year is a lot of months. Do it.
I do a lot of work with the homeless and helping them to find a place. So far the mixed housing ideas with yuppies and the not so upwardly mobile living together is a working pretty good in some parts of the city. These are urban renewal projects, often condos, that agree with the powers that be to open some of there units to people with lower incomes. (Keep in mind we're usually talking about less then 5% of the units) It's a smart idea because it changes the dynamic of the typical "project" style housing. (Also keep in mind that the new condo most likely displaced way more then the 5% lower income units that they create. It is more often then not a tax write off and a bogus feel good deal with the city but 5% is better then total disregard for the losers in the development game.)
So, here is one reality in Portland town. Lets just say you are disabled and you are getting your $635 a month from social security. You find your self homeless. Fair market in our town for a bug infested tiny hotel room with a shared bath down the hall and serious drug addicts and criminals for neighbors is around $475. For slightly better you can find yourself in a slightly better place with a TV for closer to $600. Do the math and live on $35 for a month. So most try and find their way on to some kind of subsidized housing wait list. The shortest of which is 6 months but more often we are looking at a year or more wait.
A bit about homeless shelters. Most shelters have a maximum stay of 6 weeks to 4 months. TPI the shelter that I work at has a 6 to 8 week wait list to get in the door for a bunk bed in a single room with 90 other men. Most other shelter beds in the city are only open in the winter.
The Housing Authority of Portland (HAP), by far the largest supplier of subsidized housing units has such a long wait list that it has been closed to new people for the last 16 months. The current wait for is easily over 2 years for housing through HAP. Now of course the people that I am describing are the ones with some kind of fixed income. Most have no steady income at all. I assume the Chicago numbers are far worse.
Sorry for the venting. We were talking about what we want it to be like in the future. Here's the question. How much could you, would you put up with to know that everyone has a place to stay. Would you be OK with a neighbor that is a little odd, a different race, a little poorer then you, not so clean, perhaps not too sane, might drink or party more then they should? (Believe me I am aware that this description over simplifies homelessness. One laid off dot-commer that I work with would take particular offense to this over generalization. But for the sake of conversation.) Would you willfully add this person to your plan of the future? When do you become afraid or angry or resentful? Is there a way to see this person as an asset or an ally?
Just a couple of thoughts.
in ten years, i would like to be able to live in a home that i own. a home with a bathtub and a record player. i would like to be in a neighborhood that gets noisy, where people like to hang out on their stoops or in their front yards. i need to be able to walk or bike to get most of the things i need. it would be great if it was urban but it didn't smell like piss on every corner. (you may laugh but its a real challenge in most neighborhoods i've lived in). i would like to find a space where i can have a nice quality of life while continuing my growth as an artist. and that's a lot about economics.
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