SLOW
DANCING
IS EASY
From Why Did Sarah Bernhardt Sleep in a Coffin? to The Invisible Circus of the Present Tense, these works blend humor and pathos in a genre fluid collection that resonates with bits of memoir and fantasy that chronicle one woman’s adventures over decades.
Created with designer, Ola DeKorne, and illustrated with my line drawings and photographs by Peter Cunningham. Slow Dancing Is Easy is a playful book, and also touches on love, loss, daily life, and the search for resilience when confronted with today’s challenges.
GET OUT THE VOTE
In advance of the 2020 Presidential election, Get out the Vote spots cut from the film, The Sound of One Hand Slapping (2017) were posted on Facebook/Instagram.
The Ghost of P.T. Barnum, upset that heaven is a no smoking zone, not to mention a no lying zone and outraged that he was being compared to a fellow show biz hoax maker returns to earth to defend his name and ethics in the show business of politics.
I share some spots from 2020 again(!) and new ones starring young neighborhood friends as a reminder to stay alert, awake and to VOTE!
As The Ghost of P. T. Barnum, world famous 19th Century impresario of circuses who in late life served as the mayor of Bridgeport Ct.) reminds us,
"Governing is not show business, it's real life."
"Trust not Fear. That is the art of the showman."
Please feel free to share.
PILGRIMAGE
Clare and I created "Pilgrimage" in 2013.
The filmmaker Josephine Decker shot some footage at the Comedy and Dance Festival at Triskelion and used a clip to open her film, "Butter on the Latch."
Last winter I rediscovered the footage, Peter Cunningham edited this 5 min. film and we added Clare's song "Feelings." So this is "Pilgrimage II" inspired by The Wife of Bath... a journey across time.
Choreography & Performance:
Clare Byrne and Ara Fitzgerald
Film: Peter Cunningham
ON
LOOKING
BACK
Orpheus was a star. He was the Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, John Lennon Justin Timberlake, and Jay-Z of Greek Mythology. He and his wife Eurydice love one another. She steps on a snake and dies. The Gods offer to bring her back to life. If only men could follow directions.
Text, Choreography & Performance: Ara Fitzgerald
Film: Peter Cunningham
An ongoing project with photographer, Peter Cunningham.
A still dance for camera, a chance to look and listen more deeply at a moment’s notice.
Performance: Ara Fitzgerald
Photos: Peter Cunningham
