Brain notes 1 for Z LivArts event
Z-12-10-05 reflections & Z-3-17-06 notes
You have all the reason in the world to feel good about your creative growth.
I was amazed by you at the December event, as I've already said. What we did
then in that space & time was perfect & not to be second-guessed. We
move on to the next stage of fun, Living Arts New Genres Festival, March 17,
in Tulsa. At our growth rate, it will be powerfilled. This note is to read as
you look through the video tape I've given you. My aim is to clarify and help
you by simplifying what we do.
What will it look like? It will be different from December in several ways.
It will be well-attended by an appreciative group of tourists, who ( I hope
) will be in costume. You will know what you learned at the last two last two
events, and will build on that, with more support from CommonFolks & embedded
actors ( yes, there will be actors there ). Since it is a new & exciting
step to tour the event, I will provide a little more structure to the whole
eve to assist you. The Ziusudra character will be even more involved in the
storyline (as will be the case as we go along), so much of what follows you
don't have to memorize - I will be there actively to talk you through it, symbolically
as part of the storyline. I see you really blooming, expanding your participation,
and having a great deal of fun.
We will re-incorporate several successful parts of the May event. There will
be an entry ritual as we did at Rampage Gallery, probably just inside the space.
We will resurrect the baby, & the tri-brains will do the 5 minute evolution
piece dealing with treatment of offspring. Marissa will look like a fish out
of water in this because - she is a fish out of water. She will be swept along
with the rest of you, asking "What is happening? What are we doing? Where
are the instructions?"
After Jenan rescues the baby, tries to teach it to say "mama," Marissa
will take it from her saying,"It's not working. What's wrong with it?"
- removing its head and analyzing the inside. Cycle through this twice, then
exit. Lynna, I don't know yet about the priestesses handling the lights during
this.
After the tourists are inside, and I sound the initial gong, everyone will freeze,
you will re-enter bringing the baby to me as you did before, then go behind
the curtain for the intro-evolution stage.
Now as you look at the video, let's look at the Intro-evolution stage. Keep
in mind that you will have a lot more support during this. There will be at
least 6 CommonFolks & 4-6 actors embedded in the tourists. They will add
to the music, the group dances, and interactivity. Also Lorrie & I will
have a lot more music, building on the stuff we did in December, which was pretty
darn neat.
All three brains have 3 things to do in their sequence: 1 - Establish your territory
(for the Paleo & Neo, this means that you immediately establish your dominance
over older brains). 2 - Establish dominance over Lynna. 3 - Establish dominance
over the tourists.
What does this look like?
REPTILE: Casey, your entry was fantastic. I have watched the Reptilian stage
dozens of times. It is - hypnotizing. You and Lynna can improve it though.
It might look like this: after the HYPNOSIS (which was gorgeous), turn the DEATH
ritual around so it faces the tourists, and you & Lynna can make it more
striking with slow, clean moves as you lower her to the floor. The victory dance
was wonderful (especially with Lorrie's singing - wow). The RESURRECTION stage,
then, should be as clear as the first two stages, so the tourists see that you
are bringing her back to life in your own image. (Fig, Jenan & Marissa note
this HYPNOSIS-DEATH-RESURRECTION sequence, because you could be doing a variance
of it when you establish dominance over Lynna).
At that point, I give Lynna the GreenLight, and Casey shifts her attention to
dominating the tourists. This is primal, Casey, and it involves you invading
the space of a tourist on all 3 sides of the performance space. There is no
hesitation in the alpha reptile. You go straight into their faces - close. If
they do not lower their eyes or cower to your satisfaction, they are dead. You
signal Lynna, and she will place a black fabric bag over their heads. If you
are satisfied with the tourist, signal Lynna & she will get them up &
following you as you proceed to the next tourist. (These tourists may be imbedded
actors - maybe not). After you have proceeded through three tourists, then we
start the circling stomp dance with you at the center. The CommonFolks &
the actors will be up and out there to help facilitate this. Lorrie & I
are working on more percussion & sound with this (as we are on the other
brain stages).
Casey, your "music" will be percussion, primarily, with very low frequencies
& steady beat. Ever wonder where humans came up with such a thing as "beat?"
Right there in you, Casey, in the strong center of pattern & repetition.
The prototypical reptile lived the same day every day of its life (people who
get up in the morning, go to a job where they do the same thing over & over,
then go home & watch tv, go to bed & dream - are spending @ 18 hrs a
day in reptilian mentality. Then they complain about "being in a rut!"
Later on, you will show people how to get out of this rut - without extreme
pain).
Note to all: this stage built to a nice peak with the dancing & sound, at
which I sounded the gong. It would be nice if we can do the same in each of
the 3 stages.
Also: Later on I will be sending a generic outline of what I will be saying
in each of the stages. It includes a lot of the science & myth surrounding
each brain. This might help you onstage to show behavior as I talk about it
- so you don't have to worry about forgetting stuff. But during your planning
of your stage, you can work out what you want to do during your performance.
For example, Casey, when I talk about the Reptilian as the DreamCenter of the
human head being the origin of ritual (patterning), theater, dance, movies,
etc - you might want to have something ready to show that behavior.
PALEOBRAIN: Fig, I really value you, and your focus on always improving your
performance. The work you are doing on expanding the presentation of the many
kinds of emotions will definitely intensify your impact on people. I know you
are critical of your performance. That's fine, I think, as long as you are fair
- and realize equally how talented you are, and how good you are even at your
"worst." I don't know anyone who can come close to what you are doing
with this part.
This might help support what you want to do: after I introduce you, mentioning
that you over-ride the Reptile evolutionarily, you immediately establish your
dominance over Casey. It is her turn to cower - don't we all get a turn at doing
this. And you are unrelenting, as you tower over her, in your demand for her
submission (you can remind her of that, also, as you continue on. Everytime
she tries to rise above floor level, you immediately drive her back down. Casey
can help you with that).
Another one of my favorite moments in the December event is Fig & Lynna
swaying - just wonderful. After you establish over Casey, Fig, you turn to Lynna.
Remember that when you over-ride Casey, you take her powers from her.
All three brains have their process of changing people into what they want.
Those processes improve on the Reptile's process of HYPNOSIS - DEATH - RESURRECTION.
These 3 processes account for the Alpha-Animal dynamic that troubles the world
now.
For you, Fig, you take HYPNOSIS and empower it into SEDUCTION. You take DEATH
and empower it into ORGASM. You take RESURRECTION and empower it into BONDING-MARRIAGE.
This is how you take Lynna from the Reptile, change her into an image of you.
Your SEDUCTION process lures her into a state similar to HYPNOSIS. You do this
by engaging her in your dance, getting her to follow you - mesmerize her.
Then the ORGASM stage takes Lynna to the floor just as Casey's did. You have your own victory display, then you raise her from the floor & she is your super-obedient mate, over whom you have complete dominance. Your "resurrection" stage might even incorporate "parenting" her - hugging her & patting her when she does well or slapping her butt when she is naughty. Once she is resurrected, I give Lynna the RedLight (symbolic of emotional repression now at every intersection - chaotic emotion means STOP).
After establishing dominance over the Reptile & the Priestess, Fig turns
intensity on dominating the tourists. Like the Reptile, this is primal and involves
taking over their space - getting in their face - and depending on whether you
are attacking or seducing, the tourist must have the right response that pleases
Fig - submission. If not, that tourist is dead. Fig signals Lynna her displeasure
& Lynna places a black bag over their head. There is no hesitation in any
of this. Fig is in complete control of the space & everyone in it. If the
tourists respond to her satisfaction, Lynna gets them up to follow after her.
Fig chooses 3 tourists to process, and once completed, she proceeds to center
& a ring dance featuring the sway begins, with CommonFolks & actors
joining in. We will have more music & sound to help you in this, Fig &
Lynna.
The music of the emotional stage features all the sounds we make in various
types of emotional states - everything including sighs, moans, despair, laughter,
anger, victory, sex noises, lullaby & parenting sounds, etc - a very wide
range beyond the reptilian. The music centers in the middle frequencies &
incorporates harmonics - notes in relationship with others. It also assumes
control over the reptilian style of music. So Fig & Lynna, you can initiate
these sounds & the rest of us will pick them up & expand on them. I
see this all rising to crescendo during your circle dance. Picture hysterical
laughter, orgasm & rage all happening simultaneously.
Don't worry, if you forget any of the emotional sounds (boy - there are A LOT
if them), Lorrie & I can help by initiating them & you can adjust your
movement.
I will be sending you later an outline of what I will be talking about during
your stage. It may be helpful.
One thing I will stress is new - without emotion, the human feels NO SENSE of biological SELF-IDENTITY. Notice when you first feel all of the emotions we've mentioned, they are all completely self-encompassing. When you feel happy, there's no question about it. When you feel sad, you ARE sad with no ifs ands or buts about it. Emotion is the seat of self-identity.
Therefore Fig, and you too Lynna, when you are out there in front of a sea of eyes who have very shaky self-identity (remember all the tourists who named themselves Lost or Nobody or Wanderer when I asked them who they were) - when you are before them, YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION OF WHO YOU ARE - no question is even permissible from anyone else - YOU ARE WHAT IDENTITY IS ALL ABOUT.
That is why, in times like now, when emotion is repressed/imprisoned, bookstore shelves fill up with volumes purporting to have the answer on who you are, and self-help to find self-identity, and everyone feels like just a number or a senseless name. Later on, Fig, you are going to show people a way out of this.
NEOCORTEX: When all of you see the video, you will note two absolutely hilarious/profound
moments in the neo-stage. One is with Jenan demanding a tourist hold up a mirror
so she can bask in the glory of her face. The other is Marissa caught outside
the circle of priestesses & brains, isolated & identityless, calling
out plaintively "WHO ARE THEY?" Absolute moments of neo dilemma. And
your split faces are stunning!
You two have taken the most difficult brainroles, ingested & explored them,
with minimal support from me - done it beautifully. And I see you blooming with
extraordinary power in Tulsa in your next step of the process. And I shall be
more supportive now that you have strong intuitions about your parts - and Lorrie,
I & the CommonFolks/actors will provide much more help during your stage.
The neocortex, of course, is the most dominant of this evolutionary stage. Take
a glance at the "civilized" world we live in. It has been completely
transformed from what it looked like for hundreds of millions of years. And
for the first time, a single brain is capable of either the complete destruction
of the planet - or the complete conversion of it into a loving sphere. You can
not look around, and question the extent of your power. This is the power you
take into your performance. Let me show you what that might look like:
Your sequence is the same as Paleo - first, dominate the older brains - second,
dominate the priestess - third, dominate the tourists. At a glance, this might
seem difficult, considering the golden connection and then the split, but here
is how we can simplify it.
To dominate the ancient brains in the golden age, you will first turn off their
lights, held by each of their priestesses (throw them into the darkness of the
subconscious), then with your connected hands you will surround Fig and Casey
& force them to the floor (cast them into the mythological pit). Then, to
show their domestication, you will treat them like pets, making Fig sit up &
beg for food (Jenan), making Casey rollover & play dead (Marissa), etc.
In establishing dominance over the priestess & the tourists, the neocortex
when fear-based, modified the processes of the ancient brains in order to change
people. You are very familiar with this process, having been through it at least
once: it's what is referred to as BRAINWASH. It occurs to every child who goes
to school. It occurs to every one who joins a church. It occurs at basic training
in all the militaries. It is even present in professional tribes, and it is
heavily involved in our traditional romance/marriage traditions. The only variation
in all these brainwashes is the techniques used. All of them are about taking
a person, getting rid of individuality and then reconstructing them as desired.
You just may not recognize that a teacher using logic & fact to change you
is the same process as interrogators stripping & sexually humiliating prisoners
at guantanamo. The only difference in the process is methods used & measure
of violence.
In all of this, the neocortex takes the powers of the ancient brains and greatly
enhances them. Hypnosis & seduction are enhanced by PERSUASION, LOGIC, &
SHAME; death & orgasm are enhanced by ENLIGHTENMENT & REVELATION; resurrection
& bonding are enhanced by MORALITY, LAW&ORDER.
When mixed with the ancient processes, this produces the powerful control displayed in our world now. So the neocortex, when fear-based, has all these "tools" at its disposal when it wants to change people into clones.
We will act this out over the course of the event, but for your 15 minute stage
of evolution, we do this symbolically with light. We will extend the goldenage
period some. After you dominate the ancient brains, you will focus on Lynna.
I will give Lynna your BlueLight after you have dominated the ancient brains,
but before you brainwash her.
You surround her with your connected hands. She will be afraid but will shine
the light on you, which you crave. But since the ancients brains are now in
darkness, she will be compelled to try to shine the light at them also - which
you cannot tolerate. Jenan will use SHAME and rebuke her saying "They are
animals! You don't want to be an animal, do you?" Marissa will use persuasion
and say " You are not a heathen. Do you want to stay ignorant? I am the
Word. I am the truth. I will set you free." Slowly they will force Lynna
to the floor, Jenan saying " I am the Way. I will take away your sin."
Marissa saying,"I am the Word. I will take away your sin." Once to
the floor, Lynna will go into religious convulsions.
The Neocortex will do their victory dance, circling her and yelling, "She is saved!" Then they will stoop and raise her up, Jenan repeating, "You are chosen a servant of god." And Marissa repeating, "Go and sin no more!" Once up, Lynna will be your "disciple," obediently shining her light on Jenan for 10 seconds, then on Marissa 10 seconds. When Lynna turns the light back to Jenan, Marissa will be unhappy, and demand "More light!" Lynna shines it back to Marissa, which makes Jenan unhappy, demanding "More light!"
This goes back & forth a minute, then Jenan & Marissa starting one of their connected hands to force Lynna to shine the light back on them, proclaiming, "Not enough light!" This goes back & forth a minute until suddenly the hands that are connected & forcing the light back & forth are disconnected. The Neocortex blames Lynna for this, Jenan screaming "Look what you have done!" - Marissa screaming, " I will cast you into the pit for this!" Lynna is horrified, drops the light. Immediately Jenan & Marissa are on the light, grabbing the light from each other and screaming, "More Light!" In frustration they hand the light back to Lynna.
Then in their obsession with light, they will demand "MORE LIGHT!"
from Elizabeth & Dan at the lightboard. At this point, the CommonFolks will
join in, chanting "More light." Still not enough light, so the Neocortex
circles the tourists, demanding light from them. Any tourist who does not have
a lighter or a match or a penlight is condemned. Jenan will scream,"Off
with her head" while Marissa may scream for another tourist to be "Cast
into hell and damnation!" But whenever Lynna goes to place a black bag
over their heads, both neoleft & neoright make her stop and turn the light
back on them - so no one gets killed. All the while, they are dragging the ancient
brains with them (occasionally making them rollover & sit-up), correcting
Lynna whenever her light strays, and whatever Jenan & Marissa are yelling,
the CommonFolks will parrot.
In circling the audience, they will end up near one of the ancient brains' priestesses.
If it is the paleo-priestess, Jenan will go to her & turn her light back
on, aiming it at her face. Fig will move to Jenan's back, re-empowered. Marissa
will then go to the reptilian priestess, turn her light back on & shine
it toward her face. Casey will move to Marissa's back, re-empowered. The Neocortex,
now finally feeling enough light on them, will move center. This where the ancient
brains, both now re-empowered, physically pull apart the remaining connection
between Marissa & Jenan. I will sound the gong and talk about the split
a little to conclude the intro piece.
HIGH PRIESTESS: Lynna has an incredibly difficult task, which she handles beautifully.
Not only must she be ready for anything that might happen, she must adapt to
three very different brains and types of performance - and at the same time
shepherd her priestesses through their right behavior and dance - and at the
same time get the tourists involved. As you watch the video, notice how well
she manages this - and never breaks her dance focus. It's just amazing to me.
And her instincts on how to respond to a surprise situation are just dead right-on.
I love it.
As the High Priestess, who is Lynna really? Is she some sort of symbol of social
authority? Is she a certain part of the human brain? Is she just some kind of
useful theatrical device to further the action? What do you think? Obviously
she connects with all the brains - and the tribe - and the tourists - and Ziusudra.
So who do you think she is?
In the intro-evolution piece, Lynna, you want to show the priestess as an innocent
- a frightened child with the introduction of each brain, as we discussed. Then
you fall under the spell of each brain as they use their different powers. This
leads to your "sacrifice" and subsequent re-birth as the perfect high
priestess for each of the brains. The more you establish that innocence &
fear to begin with each cycle, the more powerful it is going to play out as
you change into a personification of each brain. That means when you are resurrected,
people can clearly see you have become that brain. So, in effect, you have to
be as emotionless as Casey, then be as emotional as Fig, and then be as schizo
as the Neocortex. That's what we used to call a "juicy part" in the
old theater days. I have no doubt of your capability to do it.
I will stop the notes here for now. Next week I will forward notes on midsection
of z & sleepwalkers.
love
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