8 June 2004: Apprentices

Sherpa has begun work on the documentary film about the creation of Orphans of Delirium. The film will place a good deal of focus on myself and Paradox, in our respective experiences of the Initiations lab and Orphans of Delirium, and in our respective relationships to the paratheatrical ritual medium.

There are a few good reasons for the focus on me and Paradox. We’re certainly two of the more advanced practitioners of the paratheatrical work. We’re both capable of speaking semi-articulately about it on occasion. We both integrate elements and lessons from our paratheatrical work into our work in other settings in which we have leadership roles: me in Aikido Shusekai and Paradox in Mystic Family Circus (the film will probably include some footage of Paradox’s most recent theatrical production, and of me teaching aikido).

There are also some intriguing polarities that can be drawn between Paradox and myself, which make for good conversation and which fit nicely with the paratheatrical medium’s frequent focus on polarities. Paradox and I both see our stylistic differences as distilling down to the archetypal Magician/Fool polarity, the highest polarity of the Tarot. I’m sure it makes us a fun and interesting pair to work with, from a directoral standpoint, and it made for some powerful ritual moments during Orphans.

Oh... for those who’ve never met either of us (those who have don’t need to ask): me Magician, him Fool.

Paradox and I also both regard ourselves as apprentices in the paratheatrical work (apprenticeship being something more than simply being a participant and/or student). Even in our approach to seeking apprenticeship, polarities appear. Paradox contacted Sherpa and boldly announced that he wanted to apprentice himself (no doubt earning an initially skeptical reply along the lines of, “What does that mean to you?”); I made a silent decision years ago to approach the work in a manner befitting an apprentice (based on my experience of how a good sempai, or senior student, behaves in aikido), and then stuck around and behaved accordingly without much thought as to whether Sherpa would ever explicitly recognize my apprenticeship (he did, after Orphans).

So Thursday evening Sherpa treated me and Paradox to an evening of fine food and beer at Beckett’s, Berkeley’s finest upscale quasi-Irish pub, so that we could have a “getting to know each other” conversation – it being the first time that that particular trio had ever sat down and conversed. We had a splendid time.

Saturday evening, the three of us met again at Sherpa’s house, for another dinner, more alcohol, and more conversation. This time, the conversation was a three-way-mutual interview about the paratheatrical work, the Initiations lab, Orphans of Delirium, idealism, magic, and apprenticeship, and this time it was all recorded on film by two of the videographers who had filmed the Orphans performances.

The filmed portion of the conversation went on for three hours (nearly twice the length of the conversation in My Dinner with Andre!). It was among the more interesting and enjoyable conversations of my life thus far, which is saying a great deal, considering how much good conversation I’ve been blessed with in this lifetime. Obviously, only a fraction of it will make into the Orphans film, but Sherpa says he’ll give copies of the uncut footage to me and Paradox.

Sunday morning, Sherpa and one of our cameramen came and filmed my aikido class, which was, happily, a nice big one.

The Orphans of Delirium film is scheduled for an Autumn Equinox premiere in the Bay Area later this year. I’ll be given a copy on DVD, so I’ll be able to show it to my nonlocal friends as I see them. For stills from the film and up-to-date info, see http://www.paratheatrical.com/pages/videofilms/orphans.html.