The itching…

This may not be any help to anyone. When I was practicing speed reading (a tedious struggle which I quickly abandoned to my more sluggish ways) there was a practice in which the reader was asked to widen his/her field of vision in order to take in and understand more of the text presented- a larger visual chunk, so to speak.
There was a moment in Vivarium’s performance when I softened my gaze and attempted to take in the entire stage without having my focus directed to one single event: the guy floating his shadow, the bird model dentist, the punk band, the wanderer, the disembodied head. The result was pleasurable, and far more engaging than choosing one distinct entry point into the piece.
Hooray for me, right? So what? What good is it now that Itching of the Wings is left to our collective memories? I don’t know… I think that I will try to see a bit more widely for the rest of the week. To open my eyes and take in the spectacle the way a kid drinks water after running around the neighborhood like a lunatic for hours on end- big gasping gulps.
It’s worth a shot.
Then I’ll go back outside and throw dirt clods at my friends or jump off my roof holding all for ends of the blanket… You know, just to see if it works this time.

Posted by P.A. Coleman