2012 Year end – Conjuring Aspirations

Jacob Zimmer for Small Wooden Shoe

It’s been 10ish years of Small Wooden Shoe.

10 yearsOf fast, cheap and rough political agit-prop (Delayed Knee Jerk Reactions Series),
of hard-boiled live-to-air radio (The Mysterious Death of WB),
of Chekhov adaptations (The Orchard),
multi-media solo shows (No Secrets)
and durational task based performances (Mostly Just Doing the Saturday Crossword)
of the conversational formalism we’ve become best known for (Perhaps in a Hundred Years andDedicated to the Revolutions.)
of great plays in grand halls (Life of Galileo)

and Christmas concerts (more on that later), on-line think tanks, public meetings, workshops, lectures and writing.

And we are only upping the ante.

Times are different.
Theatre companies must also be different.

Small Wooden Shoe changes what a theatre company is.

(Want to join in? Keep reading.)

We are a production company and a think tank, a social space and a big idea in a small room. An over-ambitious plot to make it better, one interaction at time. Dedicated to finding better ways of working and coming together.

We make things to come to.
Experiences to have.

We bring people together to share an experience and talk about things they care about.
There is probably drinking.
The time is relaxed and filled with pleasure,
but death and politics are still discussed, people fall in and out of love,
plans are hatched and action taken. Stories are told. Songs are sung.

We care about a good night out.
(We think that’s a fair desire for your night out.)

“Good” can include tears;
bewilderment;
mind bending;
political fury and almost always:
laughing.

Continuing these things we do,
We will think about the good parts of populism and work on those.
We will make things that lots of people can,
and might actually want to,
come to.

Tickets will be $20 and under.
Accessibility is a financial issue.

We will embrace ambition,
ethics,
and the scale of our imaginations.

We will care more about the world
than about theatre or performance.

We will find ways of spreading the word
and listening to what people say.

We will find a way to be local.
Where ever we are.

We will teach
and study
and seek out
partnerships and friends
with places and people usually distant from theatre.

Not everything we do will be immediately recognized as theatre.
But it will be.

(And we will perform in theatres also.
We won’t deny that we like theatre –
telling stories,
bright lights,
acting out scenes,
songs and dances,
and all those old plays.
All of that can be so great.)

We will admit what’s going on.
And we will try to help.
And for all of this,
We will need some help.
We will need a “we.”
People who want to make this happen.

Singing songs together to fend off the cold seems like a good place to start – so, we sing songs from 3penny Opera.
They are beautiful songs about horrible situations and cynical people.
Perfect to tuck between Christmas and New Year.

It costs 3¢ at the door and is more party than performance.
There is information and pictures here.

Please join us.

also,

Talk to us
Let us know how to help.
One of the oddities in the arts is not talking with the people we perform and work for.
Let us know what we should be doing more of
or places we should be doing what we’re doing.
We won’t be able (or maybe willing) to do it all –
but we’re curious about how you’d like us to help.

Spread the word
Talk to your friends. In person even.
For all the technology and money in the world –
word of mouth is still the most important and effective way
of getting people excited.
That being said – sign up on facebook and
pass this on to friends who you think would be interested.

Buy a lifetime subscription
for $500,
you can see every show we will ever make.
And through your belief and support, you can make sure we get there.
Payment plans available. More info here.
Donations of any size help too.

Train with us?
If we taught a workshop, would you come?
What would you most like it to be about?
And how long do you like your workshops to be?
And how much would you pay (by the hour, by the day?)

Hire us
We don’t just make shows.
We can facilitate conversations, conferences, brainstorming sessions.
We can consult on making events better – more fun, more helpful.
We can lead workshops and teach university courses.
Or maybe there’s something else?

Contribute your time
We’re not sure exactly what it might look like,
so we’re open to suggestions. Let us know what you’re good at
and what you’d like to do.

email: jacob@smallwoodenshoe.org

One thought on “2012 Year end – Conjuring Aspirations

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *