On September 13, we had a very successful test run of the development stage of Forest. 5 of the scenes, 4 dancers, and 22 witnesses for the morning and afternoon runs.

Things for Forest are moving along. Let me introduce you to the artistic partners: Costume & set designer, Leslie Anderson; photographer, Julia Barstow; poet, Judith Chalmer; filmmaker, Jude Domski; musician & composer, Matt LaRocca; writer Steve Long; my assistant, Jessie Owens; choreographic help from Ellen Smith Ahern and Chloe Schafer, and an ensemble of 20 dancers and musicians will illuminate the places in the forest.

Much to my surprise – and delight – a new site piece is emerging from my creative brain. Forest is a contemporary dance/theatre piece designed for four woodlands in east Central Vermont to be performed in 2026.

It has been a month since we packed up and left the Kent. Most of the installation components have found a new home. For instance, all the white chairs that were past being sat upon are now in my woods by the driveway, in a line, descending down the hill.

We are preparing for our final weekend of this exhibit and hope to see many of you at the Kent, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11-5pm with the closing reception on Sunday from 3-6pm.

We have had a wonderful start to the month-long exhibition with numerous pieces of art sold, many kudos and Pamela Polston’s excellent 7 Days review.

Tomorrow, we open the exhibit to all of you.

In ten days will be the opening of this exhibit of the artists who were involved in the performance aspect of The Quarry Project.

After many loads in our cars and two truckloads, we began to create the installation in the Kents Corner State Historic Site in Calais, VT. It was thrilling and emotional to see it begin to come together.

Marcy Kass had her hand in two aspects of the performances at the quarry: Three Red Response Books that audience members got to write in after viewing the piece; and on our utility shed, all 300+ hand-lettered names of the people who helped bring this piece to its finale. We called it The Great Wall of Thanks.

At a coffee shop in 2019, Alisa Dworsky overheard two ensemble members talking about The Quarry Project and asked how she could be involved. When she reached out to me, we were preparing for a dress rehearsal and looking for people who would try out various questions we had for an audience

For those of you who saw The Quarry Project, you were familiar with Leslie Anderson’s talent as an accomplished costume designer. Once the performances in 2022 were done, she went into her studio and began to paint what she remembered.

It is snow-covered and rainy outside, but as I work on The Quarry Project Echoes installation, all I see and remember is warmth, sun, water, reflections, the intrigue of the quarry, the faces of those I love, the joyful sounds, and a movement language that is universal.

Over the years, I have organized and curated exhibits of the work of the visual artists within the projects I create as a way to highlight their artistry and offer a deeper perspective of the larger project. The Waterfront, The Neighborhood and The Bus Barns Projects all had exhibits following the performances.

Often, when I have completed a site piece, we mount an exhibit of the work of all the artists involved. The Quarry Project Re-Imagined installation will be in June 2024 at the Kent Museum and will feature the work of Leslie Anderson, Julia Barstow, Alisa Dworsky, Lukas Huffman, Andreas John, Henry John, Marcy Kass, Howard Norman, Michael Kovner and Michael Wisniewski.

Last Thursday, Tai Nixa Peterson, Emily Boedecker and I drove to Quebec City at the invitation of Polycor CEO Patrick Perus to screen the film for 35 Polycor employees.  Patrick not only gave permission to create the dance/theatre piece on the waters of the Wells Lamson but was supportive in so many ways.

It has been a year since our last performance of this epic project and the memory of the experience is still fresh ….  the sunlight, the feeling of the water, the breeze, the heat, surrounding us as the piece unfolded, day after day.

The screenings of the Quarry Project film 2022 are complete for now and we are waiting on responses from festival submissions before distributing the film more widely.

This is a reminder that our final screening of the film of our performances in 2022 is in four days at the Old Town Hall in Brookfield, just south of Montpelier, Thursday, June 29th at 7pm.

A year ago, we were in the Capitol City Grange, putting together what we called The Big Dance, the final ensemble dance of the piece.