Dear Friends, Nadine and I just spent three weeks together in the “Pyrénées Orientales”, in the south of France just a few miles from the Spanish border. This was a short residence which allowed us to make some significant progress in the development of the Saga of Blue Wolf. For the very first time we were able to present 15 mn of the Saga to a very small public, composed essentially of our hosts.
During our daily walks Nadine noticed the “chênes lièges” (cork oaks) and started to collect the light bark. This slowly turned into a new Yggdrasil mask as well as a shield. This mask was integrated into the final performance and functioned very well; better than the one I had forgotten to bring from Geneva (oops). A double Freyja mask, showing both the dark and light sides of the goddess was also brought to completion.
We each had a private studio space in the middle of a large garden composed of terraces on a steep hillside. Nadine had a caravan with a large wooden balcony hanging over some dense vegetation. I occupied a bamboo structure with a panoramic view of the mountains, which served as the music/performance studio.
A new poem was written allowing Freyja to step into the action and declare her purpose. I also began composing the music for the moment when Ethan (Blue Wolf) comes into the picture.
Most significant for us, we finally got to test our ideas in a short live production:
miniature microphones were integrated into the masks and I was able to explore the acoustic properties of two of them: Yggdrasil & Freyja;
I played the parts of the two personnages, reciting their respective texts;
I triggered, played, sang the music;
Nadine handled the scenography and lights.
We chose not make a video with public present but have made a complete photo reportage of the residence.
Greetings from the mountains,
Nadine & Antony
