Synergy in Bilbao
THE SHORT STORY + PHOTOS (below)
THE LONG STORY (SCROLL DOWN)
1) THE SHORT STORY
Just two days, I wrote about my primeval ancestor being a worrywort in a cave of shadows.
Today in Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain, on my way to Ireland (tomorrow), I literally happened on the cave, met the ancestor, and saw what inspired her - in a synergy that I can only express in a storypoem.
primveal ancestor worry wort
painted
red hind
dot by dot
yes, that’s how it went
in a dark hard to reach place
her fingers pressing
one by one
till she became herself
and
a gathering of hinds
in the cave of Arenaza
I entered the dream
of the good manners..
what I had dreamed
creating the play
the cave of shadows
afterwards I said,
Shebana,
surrender to the red deer.
then on the walls
when I took the glasses
off, I swear I saw this
sentence about creativity
being what makes us human
in Spanish and
Euskara
so much has coalesced
converged
AND one last thing
before I leave across the sea
I think you understand
but I hope you know
that when I say good manners,
I mean
anything
everything
but :-)
SHARING GOOD MANNERS is a 5 session immersive experience to create storypoems to leave good manners behind and express what wants to be expressed. Drawing on the journey of my play, The Good Manners of Colonized Subjects, we go through names, history, everyday, myths, to arrive to whatever is your cave of the the red deer moment, a place to begin again in the storydark
FOR: For everyone who feels the story on the tip of her tongue, the edge of his teeth, the soft of their skin and wants to get it out, on a page, or just spoken, or on a stage or all of these places.
Enrollment ends August 31. Starts Sept 12, Find out more and enroll. Or share it with just ONE ANOTHER PERSON you sense would just love to know more about.
Yours in Synergy
Shebana
The Long Story
THE LONG STORY
HOW IT WENT
So - wandering to find coffee. I literally happened on the Bizkaia Museum of Archaeology
Drawn in by its exhibits of Megaliths.
“Start on the second floor,” the girls at the front desk said.
First, I see this short film called “Where the light reaches.” Donde llega la luz. It’s about cave paintings of Santimamiñe, the jubilations of speleologists when they first saw the cave drawings.
They said the paintings were in a mostly dark place, just at that border of being lit.
Hence the title of the film.
I was really hoping to find the film online. But no trace of it.
Then, there are virtual tours of 3 caves in Biscaya.
I mean - individual virtual tours.
I mean, there are 3 pairs of virtual reality glasses hanging together and a bench to sit on.
You pick one, put it on and the immersive VR experience begins.
A well elocuted English voice comes on. Stunning visuals - you’re flying around caves high in the mountains.
First, I see Ventalaperra which has a massive ceiling cave bear drawing. The video seems to take you right there!
It’s so realistic, I get giddy every now and then and have to shift the glasses a bit and peer down at my real feet, just to feel grounded :)
The second VR takes you to a cave called Arenaza.
I put the glasses on.
There’s no sound.
I shake my head.
Nothing.
I am about to take the headset off when the video shows scenes I’ve seen in dreams, that I imagined when creating the good manners…
A dark passageway. leading to a cave opening.
No sound in my ears
only my breath
breathing
Now we are moving towards the cave.
it’s dark with just swaths of light, barely visible but fully present.
And then the movement stops.
It turns to the left
and I see her
a red deer
I mean red
iron oxide red
the face and torso are there
not the whole body
but what i see is enough
I have to stop the VR experience
I take off the headpiece.
Breathe again.
I’m alone and I can cry if I want to.
But I’m too full somehow.
I want to hear the sound story
so I try another pair of VRs and the sound works and
and this is when I hear that they call the image
a red hind
that it’s on a panel depicting a gathering of hinds
red female deer gathering together.
so:
primveal ancestor worry wort
is red hind
painted
dot by dot
yes, that’s how she was created
in a dark hard to reach place
fingers pressing
one by one
a gathering of hinds
And then I see this text on the wall - in Euskara anad Spanish - about creativity being human.
It feels I have just arrived into the cave of shadows that I have danced so many times in The Good Manners.
Must do this workshop, is what I said to myself walking out.
Also, surrender to the red deer, Shebana -
SURRENDER TO THE RED DEER
something is afoot and I commit to following what calls
Tomorrow
the boat to ireland
but before I go
it matters to say
that I hope it is clear that
when I say good manners,
I mean
anything
everything
but :-)
SHARING GOOD MANNERS is a 5 session immersive experience to create storypoems to leave good manners behind and express what wants to be expressed. We excavate what stops the stories, and celebrate what frees them. Drawing on the journey of my play, The Good Manners of Colonized Subjects., we go through names, history, everyday, myths, to arrive to whatever is your cave of the the red deer moment, a place to begin again in the storydark The workshop is for everyone who feels the story on the tip of her tongue, the edge of his teeth, the soft of their skin and wants to get it out, on a page, or just spoken, or on a stage or all of these place
WHAT IT SAID ON THE WALL: (Text from the Bilboa Archeology Museum), Second Floor (see photos above)
Creativity is an essential feature of human nature. It is the force that has allowed humans to adapt to their geographical environment and the engine that has allowed us to advance in the face of adversities, turning them into opportunities.
During our evolution, using our daily experiences as a starting point, one of the most exclusive characteristics of the human being is the symbolic capacity to create art. In this sense, we are finding more and more ancient artistic expressions. Humans have expressed their experiences, dreams or fears by painting or engraving on their bodies, objects or on the walls of caves.
