In the summer of 2008 I collaborated with artist SWOON and 75 crew members to build and float 7 boats and junk rafts down the Hudson River, through New York Harbor and up the East River to the Deitch Studios Gallery, their eventual docking space. For this project I read the part of Janice, a ghost in Lisa D’Amour’s play. I also scouted, planned and organized the route and performance tour; registered our boats and talked to the Coast Guard, and oversaw all media relations. Visit switchbacksea.org for more info. Here is an article about the voyage: New York Times. Many of these photos, where noted, are taken by the talented photographer and crew member Tod Seelie. Here is some audio edited by Jeff Stark from Lisa D’Amour’s play that we performed in towns along the river featuring Dark Dark Dark. More here: www.switchbacksea.org/audio.
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Todd Chandler is making a film shot during the journey. Here is a teaser for it:
FLOOD TEASER from flood movie on Vimeo.
FLOOD (working title)
Current status: in post-production
FLOOD is an experimental narrative journey. It begins on the water, on a fleet of hand crafted boats, pieced together from scrap and found materials . On water time twists and bends in mysterious ways. Some people aboard the rafts cannot remember a time before the water. Others are lost in their memories from a previous life on the land. Some remember the boats starting out as a summer project among friends. Others remember fleeing their homes. Still others remember that the way of living they used to know was no longer working, and that something had to give. As the flotilla creeps down the river the past, present, and future stories of the boats and their inhabitants becomes both clearer and more elusive.
A mash-up of genres, FLOOD blends narrative, cinema verité, musical, and improvised experimental film. The film was shot amidst the installation artist Swoon’s 2008 Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea project, in which seven homespun boats were built and crewed by an eclectic group of artists and performers. The boats floated down the Hudson River staging performances in towns along the way.
The film is loosely structured and largely improvised by non-actors playing themselves with fictionalized trajectories. The primary cast includes the bands Dark Dark Dark and Fall Harbor, members of which were actual crew on the boats. In addition to acting and performing in the film, the bands will be collaborating to write and record its musical score.
There will be two final versions of the film: one will be a stand-alone feature length film screened theatrically and at festivals, and another which will tour galleries, performance and community spaces in Spring 2010 with the musician/actors providing a live musical soundtrack.
For more information see: http://floodmovie.com