Kismet Arts Tangent

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above: programs, containing artist bios, Note: 3 of the 4 shows, the dancers were Hannah Ayasse, Annikah Peabody, and Andrew Rose. The Sunday showing featured Anne Kouzmanoff instead of Annikah.

below: Photos credit to Ezra Reaves, The closing night of psychobotany

Photo Credit to Em Reaves

Photo Credit to Em Reaves

Photo Credit to Em Reaves

Below: Videography Credit to Bill Russell, the third night of psychobotany (fun fact, I assembled the overhead projector incorrectly and the lamp didn’t illluminate — I read the manual later and it worked for the closing show, see above– so the layer of shadows is not presented in this showing of psychobotany– still lovely)

Psychobotany, what a trip! It was a logistical challenge to communicate with the dancers and the musicians, and the venue. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before. There was a challenge of loading in and out in a crowded theatre, in a hard-to-find-parking neighborhood, but we did it!

About SF Fringe: San Francisco Fringe Festival | produced by EXIT Theatre

I entered a lottery to get a show 60 minutes long into a small black box theatre in early spring this year with an inkling of taking ASMR with Katarina (a show I’ve been evolving) and it took on its own life. I was inspired to do a workshop with live music, Making Your Plants Meditate. I then started thinking about the SF Fringe show being about plant consciousness and inspired by a book, The Secret Life of Plants. Working with local composer, David Samas, I learned a lot about collaboration, planning, communication, and adapting based on feedback.

I must confess, I spent a lot of money paying the musicians and I wish I spent more money paying the dancers and I have a ton of lessons to learn about marketing art. Fringe is interesting because it’s self-production, which means you pay a rental/staff fee and you are responsible for marketing, though they had set up the ticketing and box office and assigned me a technician to work the stage lights and sound cues. You can get only so much exposure from being in the festival. I am planning on doing it again next year. It’s a challenge to get people in the door, but I think with the knowledge I have from doing it this year, I can execute better.

All the thank yous are in the program, so I will acknowledge everyone generally here, but I am incredibly grateful for the miracle that is art performed for an audience and it came together when it mattered. Love psychobotany forever.

I don’t know when the next one will be, but I have been thinking somewhere outside in a garden at night. When I can afford it, maybe I’ll get a grant or something. It’s a worthy thing to behold.

Last July I was invited to join the art collective Klanghaus.

Led by Teddy Hulsker, Klanghaus runs monthly (sometimes themed) art events, inviting artists to showcase work. I enjoy being a part of this group because there’s a variety of mediums and material. Some stuff I’ve done for Klanghaus: contributed to installation art, painted faces, offered massage, made promo vids, made print programs (read typeset), and submitted a vid to be translated into music (Screens and Scores).

I’m looking forward to the next event Playhaus! 1-act plays! I’m in a 15 minute play directed by one of my housemates (who is also a Klanghaus member). My first role in a play since Antigone in High School!

(above is one of the promotional videos I made… I had videography of the first performance, coming soon to this blog)

I had two performances of this piece (which is a living piece, growing and changing) at SAFEhouse for the Arts. With prerecorded music, live overhead projector art manipulation and authentic movement (Authentic Movement – Wikipedia)

This project was conceived a while ago but then it morphed as my collaboration with my composer David Samas continued. My first time working with a professional composer!

Consider buying tix for the SF Fringe festival performances http://psychobotany.bpt.me/

The upcoming event description:

psychobotany
Using a variety of textured microsounds, Katarina Countiss and friends will explore a loose narrative of consciousness, interaction, and the nature of the unknown through a variety of approaches.
by Katarina Countiss
EXPERIMENTAL.
ALL FRINGE SHOWS START ON TIME. THERE IS NO LATE SEATING AND NO REFUNDS FOR LATE ARRIVALS.

Live music by David Samas and Derek Drudge
Movement by Andrew Rose, and Annikah Peabody

Annikah and Andrew explored a lot on on the stage. There was a pile of ribbon and 3 cliplights, as well as my overhead projector doing some great things in that long space.

Happy Place

I wrote this after a bad morning trying to submit old paper work for food stamps in person. My ticket number was A003. My paystubs were a month too old and I have terrible luck with remembering passwords, so it’s not an easy feat to get them. UGh. Then my phone decided to not work. I wrote a poem about my hell-logicked life, then I wrote this poem and it made it all feel not so bad. The poem ends with wherever the audience and performer are.

Partial Eclipse

For all the glory of this cosmological phenom, I was at work in cloudy San Francisco, where we had an informal viewing party. I lost my phone so I had nothing else to do but glance at it and enjoy the company of my fellow coworkers. Same day, I performed this piece at the Octopus. I’ve never been so topical in my performances. One time performance!

Sound Poem

I was reading this beautiful book, Performance Art and was inspired by Free Music (a solo project that played at my house). I brought my toy glockenspiel.

Dance Therapy

I’ve workshopped this piece before for a 10-minute slot. Trying to do it in five was a fun challenge. The one about the Armory was really funny. When I asked that audience member and she said that the best part of her week was two parties at the SF Armory, I was inspired, lol. Read this post for more about that.

My first time at an open mic in a couple of years and that time was my first time. I’m fairly inexperienced, but I like performing. The above video (live audio recording) of the time I brought my clarinet and plugged in my phone to play a track Noah from Fraydee Cat made for me and then some storytelling. I thought a lot about what I would talk about. I really wanted to talk about how since last May, I’ve been taking messages from the dead more seriously.

The open mic a week from this time I read three poems. I like the idea of challenging myself to do different genres of performance.