Dear Anne and all the Carnival of Feelings crew,
I was excited and a little nervous to attend the Carnival of Feelings. I have been struggling with my feelings, as the day before I attended your show was the one year anniversary of my mom’s passing. I had a very complicated relationship with my mother and the days leading up to her death were very challenging. I did not know what feelings of mine would be revealed in a performance piece. Could I enjoy this experience, or would it be awkward to express feelings even in a playful setting?
Fortunately for me, Carnival of Feelings was a valuable exploration. The carnival layout in the Asian Arts Initiative Storefront was familiar and friendly despite my initial confusion about what was going to happen. The greeter, Erica, did a very good job explaining the structure of the carnival and engaging me and my two fellow travelers.
I was fascinated by the open-ended nature of the games, and the focus on my emotional response to each element. Maybe it was the excitement of the first shows, but the Carnival crew were very upbeat. I can see that it is a lot of work to manage all those activities. I also realized that I was not the only one with internal struggles over my feelings, based on the very honest comments on notes posted at the end of the performance. My own sitting-on-the-edge-of-anxiety was also calmed by very funny and clever elements in the activities.
Now, I am predisposed to being attracted to goth and macabre environments, and I had hoped that this show would have some creepy sideshow qualities, but I was charmed and impressed by the earnest sincerity of the team and their production. I blew bubbles with an open heart. Who knew? Thank you.
Best wishes on your run, sincerely yours,
Jim Julien
Check out Anne Brashier’s Carnival of Feelings Sept 1st-4th at the Asian Arts Initiative.
SuperPH2? Yeah, that’s where I play sometimes. Selection’s not bad, and the site is easy to use. I’ve won a few times, nothing crazy, but enough to keep me coming back. Here’s the link superph2.