Winter Wonderland

I can't tell you all how excited I am that we're actually meeting for the first Pangaean round table retreat. I can scarce believe it, and at the same time I never had any doubt. First I must extend my personal thanks to Wright and Becky for their willingness and ability to host us all. Second, I must give my heartfelt thanks, admiration, and respect to our West Coasters who are willing to put forth the time energy and money to make this happen. Your commitment to our project makes me really happy and excited.

Now then. I see this thread as an excitement sharing planning forum for our upcoming get together. That said, if people only have time to check and post to one thread in the upcoming weeks, I think that this should be it, for this is all leading towards a concrete actuality that draws ever closer on the horizon.

While I see the main purpose of our time together as an opportunity to have fun, laugh, bond, and generally enjoy one another's company, I'd also like it to be as productive artistically and Pangaeanly as possible. I think one way that everyone can get the most out of our time is by introducing others to something that's important to us personally, sharing a practice or a piece of literature with the group. So, I invite you all to share your enticing ideas here that we might begin to construct a bit of a framework for the weekend.

Here follow my desires at present, subject to change during the course of the month.

i) I'd like this weekend to be separate from our everyday lives, really about the group and our time together. For me this translates to turning off cellphones and leaving e-mail behind during our time together.

ii) I would like to cook and take meals together. Perhaps we can go shopping for supplies together, and then a couple of people can plan and be "in charge" of each meal, while the others help keep them entertained and help with the cleanup.

iii) I would like our time to be generative of concrete artifacts for the blog and the furtherance of Pangaea's physical reality. This documentation might include video, photos, writings, sound recordings, and artwork.

iv) I would like each person to bring a text to share aloud. It can be self-written or published, longer or shorter, a short story or a poem or a piece of theatre, but it should have some particular resonance with the person sharing it. I'd like to spend at least one evening, and perhaps a portion of each evening reading aloud to one another and sharing these. Preferably this would take place around a fireplace, but a candle will suffice should a fireplace be absent.

v) I would like to share some "theatre" practices with everyone, which will require one significant block of time. Say between 3 and 5 hours. I don't want anyone to get nervous. Any practice that I introduce is only an invitation, and if anyone feels uncomfortable, they are willing to step out at any time. That said, the practices that I have in mind are not specific to theatre, they're more focused on different ways of perceiving our bodies, the world, and those around us. No prior experience is necessary, only a willingness to try and to commit.

vi) I would like to have at least one "formal" sit down discussion about Pangaea that would include someone taking notes for future reference. As this is the first time we've all been together, it's opportune for exchanging ideas and generating material much more quickly than we've been able to do on the blog.

I'm sure this is more than enough for one post. I don't want to impose my desires too much on our time, but these are the things that came to mind. I would appreciate it if you all would respond to these suggestions with objections, approvals, and ideas to take them further. Most importantly, I look forward to hearing all your ideas as there are a million possibilities for our time together.

Kalloo Kallay!


Bosworth Hargrave
Character from T.A.C.F. Sinclair's First Novel