Twine. Measure. Cut. - happened so far

So we are making a new piece, and we invite anyone interested to take part of the process in this blogg. Yes, we will write in english. We have a few international collaborators, and we want them to be able to follow.

The idea for this piece has floated around the theatre for years, mainly because we have a very stable goup of female actors. And this is the idea: Three women under a tree. Not just any tree, but the tree that hold all the worlds in Nordic mythology. They are busy with their hands, twining, measuring and cutting life threads. We have chosen also to dive in to the Bulgarian singing tradition of all female voices in harmony.

Elin, Viktoria and Maria hasve worked together at the theatre for many years. 40 or so if you put them all on one string! A few weeks ago we spent a whole week just singing five new bulgarian songs, day by day we could hear the sound change, and a specific, common voice is about to form.

The intense rehersals will start after Easter, and the opening will be here at our home stage the 4th of may, but we already started the process last year. We hosted a open weekend workshop with bulgarian singer Sonya Georgieva who happened to be in Sweden, she left us with 12 new songs and a lot of new knowledge. A wonderful teacher aswell!! We also arrenged for Britt Ronström from the Bulgarian womens choire in Skarpnäck to teach just the tree of us some more songs!! The day after that inspiring day with Britt we went to Philadelphia, USA!

For a week we were invited to teach and train at Pig Iron´s physical actors training program. It was a really wonderful time, connecting with old friends and collegues, and teaching a group of highly motivated students was pure joy! During our stay we got input from the brilliant staff, Sarah Sanford, dancer and long time cast member in Pig iron productions gave us a good warm up of body, and awareness. We focused on the number three and how this very small group has a tendency to fall apart. Into a pair and a person, or just tree solitary bodies. We started with improv and then drew choreographys from stuff that turned up.

Manue Delpech, with Le Coque background gave us a a session in animal improvisations. This turned out to be very intens, both sad and funny. A suicidal elephant, a morally ambivalent cangaroo and a bloodthirsty tiger, with the task to handle human lifes. It is curious what happens on a journey, just a few days away made a lot happen even for us who spend all of our everydays together.

Before Christmas we approached Micke Klingvall, and asked him to come back to Sláva to direct this piece. He said yes!

Micke is deeply involved in physicall traditions, commedia dell´arte and went to the Dell Arte school. We like working with him because of that, but also for the good spirit he brings into every room. We also trust him to neither fear the tears or laughter this material could possibly bring.

Now we are in a phase of making things, which might be my favorite part of the production. We are looking at a lot of different fibres, and textures for costumes and set. We are also looking at the possibility to build something to get hight for threads, roots and such. Yesterday we dyed some silk fabric into the colour sceem of bruises, rotting fruit and soil. Quite beautiful, and ripe, somehow.

Maria