FLOODESIGN

SM: Will you say that again? AB: If you work from the state of fear, your search, what you're looking for, is safety. If you work from trust, your search is for freedom. It's profound, isn't it? SM: Very. That's the struggle, isn't it — we are stuck between these two priorities. Just at large. Which I understand a little bit more now, because freedom is — when you think of it that way — it's scary. Trusting people is scary. AB: Right. So the obstacle is not to work from fear. I mean, the actors in my company are terrified, they really are. But they also trust me. SM: Right. They'd have to, in the face of all these swinging blocks and falling guck. ES: Those are the materials. And you know, I can certainly amend my agenda — SM: Nobody has peanut allergies, right? ES: Well, that's a first draft. Of course, we'd have to double check about stuff like that. SM: Molasses! ES: Yeah, and the honey thing is too expensive, so it won't be honey. SM: Honey is too expensive? ES: Yeah, when you're dumping it from massive vats multiple times. You know, I went out last weekend to Montclair to see Ann Carlson's show. AB: Oh, what was she doing? ES: She was doing a show with the Ririe-Woodbury Company from Salt Lake City, a piece called "Elizabeth, the dance," going through the history of dance, the pioneers of dance, like Martha Graham. AB: How was that? ES: Great! They were putting popcorn all over the stage at the end, and Jed [Wheeler, Arts + Cultural Programming's Executive Director] was talking about how much guck he's had. He said, "This whole stage was covered with olive oil once." I go, "Well, you're bragging. Just wait 'til we come." AB: I remember [director Romeo] Castellucci there, who swept the floor with a liver, a cow's liver. ES: That sounds dangerous. AB: [laughs] That's what most people say about your work. ES: But I mean, biologically dangerous. Like, you could get microbes or — something you could catch that wouldn't be good. CM: Oh, he's going to be there again this spring. AB: Oh, is he? He is the most extreme director on the planet right now. And Jed is the only one who will do him, too. Because — ES: Jed's the only one who will do anything. CM: He's one of the most famous directors in Europe — but the only place he is produced in the United States is Montclair State University. ES: Unbelievable. And the only place I'm produced in the United States is SLAM, Williamsburg. [laughs] ELIZABETH STREB: Jed's the only one who will do anything. ANNE BOGART: [laughs] That's what most people say about your work. ELIZABETH STREB: Great! They were putting popcorn all over the stage at the end, and Jed [Wheeler, Arts + Cultural Programming's Executive Director] was talking about how much guck he's had. He said, "This whole stage was covered with olive oil once." I go, "Well, you're bragging. Just wait 'til we come." ANNE BOGART: I remember [director Romeo] Castellucci there, who swept the floor with a liver, a cow's liver. CHARLES MEE: Oh, he's going to be there again this spring. ANNE BOGART: Oh, is he? He is the most extreme director on the planet right now. And Jed is the only one who will do him, too. Because — ELIZABETH STREB: That sounds dangerous 28 | PEAKPERFS.ORG

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