Detail from our installation piece, Eating Animals. Head, hands, and wings by Clelia Scala, bodies and costumes by Alexa Fraser.
I'm in Atlanta with my friend and colleague, Alexa Fraser, with our installation piece, Eating Animals, which we created under our company, The Enormous Elsewhere. The piece is part of Xperimental Puppetry Theater at the Center for Puppetry Arts. It's amazing - the festival, the center (while in the US, use US spelling). I am quite blown away by the creativity, puppets, and performances of our fellow XPTers.
Traveling down here took forever, but when we hit Tennessee I was overwhelmed by that intense yearning and excitement that travel gives. The air smelled different, the mountains were misty. I thought of a road trip I took ages ago around the US and how I was overcome with desire to settle down in Arkansas. I hate the politics of the South, but it's stunning, and the lushness and heat tempt me to forget about the many objectionable things about these places (but I won't). It turns out I'm also a little in love with Georgia itself - at least Atlanta. This city is surprisingly beautiful and wonderfully hot, and I spend part of every day going for a run in Piedmont Park, which is one of the best city parks I've even been in. So far, most of the people I've met are good-hearted and interesting. Bonus: this place has some awesome thrift stores.
Currently reading: The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning by Maggie Nelson and essays from The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance, editors Dassia N. Posner, Claudie Orenstein, and John Bell.
Currently listening obsessively to Sand in the Vaseline by the Talking Heads.
Current temperature: 22 degrees but going up to 31.
Lead news item at the moment: Trump fires the head of the FBI.