Study on Emptiness

“The Headless Way”

Inspired by the architect turned philosopher, Douglas Harding’s, book “On Having No Head,” this solo considers the profound reality of the science of the first person. From every person’s perspective they themselves are “headless” and at this “zero distance” there is only “space for the world.” This solo demonstrates headlessness twofold; literally, through physical exploration of canceling the cervical spine, skull and surrounding musculature, and theatrically, through the embodiment of characters. Through Harding’s idea of “headlessness” came the lens of the body as a vessel, a happening for other selves to arise. Through an open improvisation with a chair I allowed three characters to have their say, myself, a teacher and an elder. This became the skeleton for the solo as text and movement was crafted to describe and define these three beings.

2022

Barn at Lee, MA

Centennial Performing Arts Studios, Nashville, TN