It's a new collaborative experience for me: the creation of a mini-documentary. In this case, I am the the subject matter, Liz Roncka/Movement Improvisor. It's my role to be me. That sounds simple, but is it? How to allow transparency, honesty? How to open yourself and offer yourself as raw material? It's a challenge and a gift to engage in the process.
When I am creating my own work, I hope to be honest and to offer myself to my audience. Yet, when I create my work, I make decisions. I make frames, lenses, costumes and characters to reveal what I want, the way I want. On some level, I control the situation.
In this situation, in being the subject of a documentary, I must surrender. I must trust. I must let the film maker be the artist and free myself to be the material. It is he who will sculpt, frame, compose and extract to reveal his perception of who I am. I keep reminding myself: let go, let go, let go. I stay grounded in my essence and invite myself to release the rest.
I am fortunate to be engaging with a collaborator, John Manson, who is very open and receptive to my thoughts and input, so I feel I can express my preferences and concerns. However, I must say that I am quite interested in how much I can focus my energy on being present and unguarded and leave the rest to him. Although we have not worked together before, I have observed his own work as both a performer and photographer and there is a sensibility that resonates with me. I feel a sense of curiosity and adventure to see what happens. I feel that my development as an artist and a human hinges on these experiences of engaging and letting go at the same time.
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