The genius of Scenius
Pōneke round up and rambles on Monday 15 May 2023
After last week’s lament about forgetting what I wanted to talk about and soliciting conversation, I was thrilled by the comments and emails I received - commiserations, solidarity, and thoughts on the challenge of solo work, finding inspiration, feeling disillusioned, and more.
Re-reading my chat with Dan and CB reminded me of the concept of Scenius, coined by Brian Eno and further written about by Austin Kleon, whose newsletter gives me weekly artistic joy and prompts.
There’s a healthier way of thinking about creativity that the musician Brian Eno refers to as “scenius.” Under this model, great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals—artists, curators, thinkers, theorists, and other tastemakers—who make up an “ecology of talent.”….
Scenius doesn’t take away from the achievements of those great individuals: it just acknowledges that good work isn’t created in a vacuum, and that creativity is always, in some sense, a collaboration, the result of a mind connected to other minds.
IMO, improv is not an art form for lone geniuses, even if you are a solo improvisor or a roving practitioner outside of a formal company or ensemble. I would go so far as to say a festival like NZIF is a pressure-cooker version of a scenius if it’s doing things right - all the ideas and styles and shows coming together and everyone firing off in their own direction afterwards, renewed and excited…
Logistics
Other messages came directly to my email, and I’m unsure whether those correspondents intended to keep the conversation private or just didn’t yet have the Substack App. I think I’m going to go ahead and make the call that if your comment comes through on the app and is thus public, I will consider it available to discuss in future newsletters, and if it’s a private email or message, I’ll keep it there or discuss in an anonymous way (and check with you first). If you don’t yet have the app, I genuinely encourage you to give it a go - it’s quickly becoming the way I get my news and stay in touch with interesting creators, with not only newsletters but also private chat for subscribers and a Twitter-esque Notes feature for public discussion.
snippets
The New Zealand Improv Festival is back! Put it on your calendar:
After a hiatus in 2022, and slightly reduced festivals in 2020–2021, we are coming back! Fall in love with improv all over again through a huge range of shows, workshops, panel sessions, and extra-curricular joy (yes, there will be karaoke) at our dear home, BATS Theatre, from 7–14 October. Workshop and show applications will be open from 1–30 June, with the full program to be announced in August.Huge, huge shout out to Jim Fishwick and Matt Powell, the new co-directors of the fest. I cannot WAIT to see what you do with the place…
Coming even sooner than that is something I’m finally going to announce and then open registrations very soon - fresh from a week at Auckland Improv Festival, Patti Stiles is coming to Wellington, Christchurch, Palmerston North and Dunedin! I have been working on this tour with her for so long, but then there was this pandemic, yadda yadda yadda, you know the drill. Anyway, she will be running workshops inspired by her book Improvise Freely, as well as a special weekend on teaching improv for existing and aspiring teachers. Tour runs first fortnight of July, please watch this space for registration announcements, and let me know if you have any specific questions about it all. We are very excited.
New group alert: improv adjacent and full of familiar faces, Bucket Hutt is here with “original experimental comedy. Cooked as.”
Getting back into Improv Theatre 101 tonight, we’ve had one class and then missed the second because I was sick. The group reminds me of this post by Chris Mead: The People In The Room.
coming up…
shows
The Big HOO-HAA! at the NZ International Comedy Festival (Locomotive). Saturday 20 May, 10pm at Te Auaha (Tapere Nui), tix $26 - $32.
Jez & Jace at the NZ International Comedy Festival (Ginge & Minge). Friday 26 and Saturday 27 May, 9:45pm at Te Auaha (Tapere Iti), tix $20 - $25.
workshops
Fundamentals of Improv (Improv Connection). Tuesdays from 27 June, 6pm-9pm at St Paul's Lutheran Church. Earlybird: register before Sunday, May 28th for $40 OFF.
WIT Tuesdays (Wellington Improv Troupe). 6-8pm, Te Auaha, various teachers. Drop in, koha. Check the most recent newsletter (at the link) for info on this week’s session.
Improv Movement Class (Java Dance). 9-10.30am Tuesdays, join the FB group to stay in the loop.
Help me collate all the upcoming improv and improv-adjacent events and useful news - tell me about yours!
ka kite anō
That’s all for this week. Let’s have a chat in the comments about what’s top of mind for you, or email me if you’d like a private conversation (business-private, not private-private).
