WHAT ARE YOUR PRE-PERFORMANCE RITUALS?
Geraldo Mercado"I write all of my performances in a notebook, and I'm typically still editing and refining what I've written the day of. I replace the notebook once or twice a year even if its not full, and I've gone through at least a dozen notebooks at this point. I used to write super detailed descriptions of my pieces, but these days I can get away with just putting down some bullet points and a basic score. I also spend the first half of the day of buying last minute props, editing my soundtrack if I’m using one, and forgetting to eat.
When I’m at the space I’ll usually begin to move around the area I’m planning to perform in before the show starts. I’ll take big steps and swing my arms and try to just pick up on what the general feeling and energy of the room is. I’m not sure when I picked up this habit, but it helps put me in the moment and keeps me grounded, otherwise my thoughts tend to race a mile a minute. If I’m one of the last people performing that night, I’ll sometimes take a few moments to move around the space and get reacquainted with the feeling of it in between performances. Sometimes people will notice me doing this and will get weirded out, but I don’t mind that because it's just a necessary part of the process at this point." |
Beatriz AlbuquerquE"I don't eat, don't drink and meditate."
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Butch Merigoni"For me, it’s not pre-show rituals that are important, but how I’m living my life on a daily basis. Am I honest and brave outside of art making? Am I doing things that connect me to something greater? If I am, my work will reflect that. If I’m not, my work will reflect that, too. So, my goal is to keep myself honest and brave outside of art making so that when I sit down to make work, the honest and brave thing will already be in motion."
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ERNESTO PUJOL"I'm normally engaged in gardening, reading, writing, walking, and meditation. Sustainable daily life practice. A meaningful menu in which every gestural part is as important. But as I get ready to perform, I seek even more solitude and silence than usual. I reduce my food and water intake. I fast, creating resiliency for inhabiting a deep desert. I slow down to stillness. In fact, I slow down everything around me. I do not want to be surrounded by speed. Because the performance starts long before it is publicly enacted. I cannot perform what I do not live."
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KARA L. ROONEY"Vigorous am yoga practice. 2-day juice cleanse. Meditation and long walk prior to performance."
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CHRISTOPHER UNPEZVERDE NÚÑEZ"The same day of my performance I write 5 questions to ask myself on a piece of paper. I fold the piece of paper in five parts. I keep it for five days. Then I unfold the paper and answer the questions, 5 minutes before 12 am of the fifth day."
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