Cop and Bells at Covelo Reservation

Audience participation can be tricky. Unless you are Strangely. At the Moscow Circus of Bellingham, he learned to choose just the right volunteers (insert a throng of cute children) — and even the perfect victims (was that serious-looking police man just begging to come on stage?). Here’s a very short clip of a moment that had us all collapsing in a fit of giggles. At the Covelo Reservation show, Strangely nabbed a team of young, smiling bell players, then looked all around for the perfect recipient of the very last bell. After a weighty pause, he dashed through the first few rows to grab … the cop!

Reservation, Round House, Seniors, Soup Kitchen

Sometimes, we may operate with the understanding that Chautauqua is here to parade into a town and give our gift to a community. On Monday, we were humbled and honored to travel to the Round Valley Reservation in Covelo and realize that our morning teaser show (at an elementary school), workshops and performance only paled in comparison to what we received.

The Round Valley Indian Reservation is comprised of various tribes in the Covelo community: the Yuki (original inhabitants of Round Valley), Concow Maidu, Little Lake and other Pomo, Nomlaki, Cahto, Wailaki, and Pit River peoples. We were absolutely honored to be invited onto their sacred land — and allowed to participate in a ceremony that served as a spiritual opening for the space.  The ceremony happened between act one and act two of our show, and to get the gravity of what we experienced, you’d have to understand that our group of Chautauquans were the first non-native people ever to be allowed to dance in this ceremony.

We are beyond grateful to the Round Valley Reservation for welcoming us into their community and educating us on their traditions. We not only had the opportunity to hear the singers’ powerful voices and marvel at the dancers (elaborately costumed and rhythmically stamping the earth for almost an hour, even in the intense heat) — but we also learned some of the steps and how to say “OH!” at the end of each dance. We really liked this way of showing appreciation, and as a tribute, we have even incorporated it into our tour, shouting “OH!” for each other at the end of a really great act. Thank you, Round Valley Reservation for what you gave us. No one on this tour will ever forget that day. OH!

Tuesday was our day off, and because we seem to be constantly blessed with the support of amazing people, we were invited to the private home of John Schaeffer, founder of Real Goods and the Solar Living Institute (where we are currently camped). John’s house is hard to describe. It’s round. It’s called Sun Hawk. It’s a model of sustainable architecture. It has a beautiful pond, a floating dock, a lavender labyrinth, a really gracious host who (along with his wife) invites our band play on the deck while the sun goes down. It’s TOTALLY AWESOME! I found a video of John talking about Sun Hawk on youtube, so take a peek if you’re so inclined:

For all the fun, great food and pond-side juggling time we had yesterday, the Chautauquans send the Schaeffers a huge hug, a trombone blast and a heartfelt: OH!

Jam at John’s:

And to wrap up these warm interactions we are having with the local communities, this morning, we traveled to the Ukiah Senior Center and the Plowshares Peace and Justice Center (a soup kitchen). The seniors were singing right along with Scuff’s hits of the 20s and 30s and could not stop laughing at Strangely, who did not let the low-low ceilings stop him from wearing his tall-tall stilts. The homeless folks eating lunch at Plowshares also got a kick out of our band of merry weirdos (especially those who participated in “Bee Bones,” Clay’s audience-participation-heavy band for “everyone in the whole world”). I’ll wrap up with a few audience reactions from the shows this morning:

“I work at Ukiah Senior Center and we were just blessed by your presence. I would love to bring my grand kids to one of your performances. I hope you will come back to our Senior Center soon!” — Debbie

“I loved every minute. It made me forget about all the bad things. We’re all homeless, so after this, we’ll go back to our vehicles or wherever we go. This was something I really needed, and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for having me in your show.” — Sherry (who was eating lunch at Plowshares and got on stage to play “Love” in Bee Bones)

“I skipped therapy today to see this, but that’s okay because this was my therapy.” — Plowshares audience member

Big Laughs at Plowshares:

Chautauquans live on air at KMEC

Big news. An hour’s worth of it! Our fabulous aerialist and songbird, Alyra, landed us a spot on KMEC, Ukiah’s alternative radio station.  Her father, Govinda, is the show host, and he put up with a large pack of Chautauquans — Jasper, Sarah, Claymazing, Strangely, Tasche, Revolva and Alyra — as we chatted, sang, wailed on accordians, rang bells, explained Chautauqua history and even juggled 12 balls live on air. (Really, 12 balls!  Sorry there’s no video, but you can hear it.)

So without further ado, click the following link, close your eyes, and run away with New Old Time Chautauqua:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/06/29/18652184.php

Chautauqua Sonnet by Joannie Murayama

Chautauqua Sonnet
By Joannie Murayama

This poem, which was shared with Chautauquans at the beginning of the Redwood Vaudeville Tour, describes a strange phenomena that can happen when living with 60 other people for 24/7. She introduced the poem by saying,” You may never feel this moment of self-doubt and not belonging. But if you do, remember this: we all belong to be here. Welcome home.”

Oh Personal Chautauqua !
How I love thee and how I am discomforted by thee, at the same time
The 60 pairs of eyes that applaud my good deeds and clever speech
Are the same 60 pairs of eyes that I imagine won’t look at me when I don’t do what I said I would do or when I misspeak
Oh the misery, confusion and horror!
Do they like me? Do I like me? Do I like them? What am I doing here?
But I am often hit on the head with a cosmic meatball of understanding
And then I see or feel a shift to okay-ness
And like after a dark, stormy night
The Fear is gone
And in its place is a juicy new day

Photos!

Our tour photographer, Michelle Bates, has started posting photos of the tour to an album here: Redwood Tour Album
Enjoy!

Chautauqua Time = Good Times

It’s not exactly common knowledge, but there is an obscure time zone, somewhere between Eastern and Pacific, known as Chautauqua Time. In this zone, an accordian-driven alarm clock that feels like it is ruining one’s dreams at 4 a.m.  — is actually just waking one up for breakfast at 8:30.

And somehow, it’s possible to drive from Amanda and Jim’s lovely property in Occidental, to the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, swim in the river along the way, set up tents, wake up, do workshops and a teaser show in Ukiah, do a regular show back at camp, have a blissful wine party under the full moon, wake up, do workshops and a show in Sebastapol, drive home, wake up and drive to Willits, do workshops and be sitting backstage ready for another evening show … ALL IN ONE DAY!

It’s true.  Some folks might call it four days, but in a flash of Chautauqua Time, it only feels like one. That’s why it’s only just now possible to chronicle all of that action. We Chautauquans cram so much into such few hours that the tour becomes a total blur of non-stop creativity, hilarity, flying clubs, laughing children, late night conversations, bus-ride-turned-dance-parties and not much time to BLOG (or sleep).

So, let’s just recap the past few days by focusing on a few stars in the constellation of our mad travels:

• The Hopland show, at our host site, the fantabulous Solar Living Institute, was lit up by a setting sun, a glowing peace sign backdrop and a stellar lineup, including local act The Raging Grannies. Ask them about Dr. Bronners. You won’t regret it.
• (The band was tipped $40 to play into the night so the solar residents could get their groove on:)





Happy crowd at the Hopland show

• The Occidental show at Analy High School, which benefitted Connections (a non-profit that helps support women in business through networking, education and community service), had pretty much the best crowd ever. They packed the house and laughed at all our jokes. Including the ones that aren’t even funny!



• We have begun operating as a truly wacky and only slightly disfunctional family, as we tease one another at morning meetings, steal each other’s cups and silverware, take cuts in line for showers and stay up until the wee hours of Chautauqua time singing Beatles songs in homage to the full moon (but not mooning the moon; we would never do that).

And now, there are only 50 minutes left until the Willits show begins. In Chautauqua time, that will feel like five. So, off the computer and on with the costume! More soon.

Chautauqua in Sebastopol!

Location: Analy High School Date & Time:SHOW @ 7:30pm / PARADE @ 12pm / WORKSHOPS 1-3pm

Thursday night, we performed for a packed house at the Dance Palace in Pt. Reyes! The show was overwhelmingly funny and sweet and inspirational. One of the beautiful things about Chautauqua is its uniqueness — there is nothing like it on Earth. It’s an amazing family of performers and clowns and musicians and cooks and schleppers and truck drivers and techies and awesome kids who volunteer year after year to create magic everywhere we go. From the first sounds of the whistle that sets the rhythm for the Fighting Instruments of Karma Marching Band/Slash Orchestra to the last hand clap of the standing ovation at the end of the show — YOU WILL BE ENCHANTED!! So get ready folks — come on and come all — to Saturday night’s Analy High School Theater performance at 7:30PM. Laughter is the best medicine and we could all use a dose of out of control chuckling!

LOVE, Mamazon

PS: And tickets are only $10 — at the door or People’s Music orwww.brownpapertickets.com

For the full schedule check: http://chautauqua.org/schedule.html

Also: Chautauqua Grocery Store Parade!

Pt. Reyes show beyond electric

Power to the people! Uh, literally. Who could have predicted that a crane operator in the parking lot across the street from The Dance Palace (our community center host site in Pt. Reyes) would drive through nearby power lines with his crane up, knocking out electricity in the neighborhood one hour before show time?

The power goes out right before New Old Time Chautauqua's Point Reyes show

“Will the show be canceled?” a little girl (former participant in our afternoon juggling, hooping, mask-making, acro balance and singing workshops) worried. Even as a Chautauqua newbie, I felt confident assuring her we don’t cancel. We modify! Fortunately, the Dance Palace was equipped with enough solar power to run the lights. And with an all-live-music revue and a bunch of loud mouths, who needs amplification?

“Quick,” Harry shouted, “Let’s knock on doors and tell people that since their TVs no longer work, they must come see vaudeville!” We didn’t actually do that, lest someone think we plant a bumbling crane operator at every stop, but kudos to Harry for a spontaneous and funny marketing strategy.

There’s something to be said for packing folks into a venue, running on nothing but the energy of our own voices, instruments and skills – and still evoking standing ovations. Tons of kids and families went home happy. And although this may be the only stop where our early evening parade was upstaged by the Marin County Fire Department and their electricity-detecting wands, it all just went to prove that we don’t even need the grid to energize communities and produce powerful shows.

Flying Karamazov Brothers giving the show some light

Vaudevillians, Advance!

A bus makes it 30 miles from Bellingham, WA — and sputters to a stop. A backpack is left by a driveway in Blue Lake, CA, complete with the Kitchen Manager’s clipboard. The person drafted to write a tour journal (that’s me, Revolva) did not pack a laptop.

In Reality-ville, any one of these situations might raise alarm. On the roads leading to Occidental, CA, they hardly raise an eyebrow.

“Welcome to Chautauqua!” has become a familiar refrain, just a few days into the 2010 Redwood Tour. Said with gusto and a huge grin (at moments of crisis), this phrase seems to be a reminder that surrendering to the unexpected is all part of the fun.

Suffice to say, the Bellingham crew switched buses and caught up with the rest of the tour by Saturday morning, Ben Farrell snatched the missing backpack on his way down to the San Francisco show, and well — there are so many laptops at this gorgeous, vineyard-side campsite in Occidental, CA that the only trouble with keeping you posted will be finding the resolve to sit at a computer instead of diving into the pond.

Chautauqua's first campsite, in Occidental, CA

Speaking of fun, on Saturday morning, Chautauqua 2010 rolled down to San Francisco’s Cowell Theater for “Keep the Faith,” a special show honoring Faith Petric. (See the first blog post on this page for more details). Approaching 95, Faith couldn’t tour this year — but also couldn’t shake her tribe of devoted vaudevillians, who brought the tour to HER. At a luncheon, Faith was celebrated for decades of loving guidance and also lauded for the impact her music has had on American consciousness.

The house was packed for the evening show, and everyone from longtime Chautauquan Tom Noddy (our intrepid MC) to first-timers Poetic Motion Machine (holy passing patterns!) wowed the audience. Not to mention how incredible it was to share the stage with Faith.

By the next morning (Sunday), we were itching to do it again. Insert a journey over to Sebastopol for a teaser show and a special parade through the local Whole Foods.  Jugglers in the produce section: Fantastico!

Mr P and Clever Trever tease the Sebastopol audience

The Fighting Istruments of Karma marching through Whole Foods in Sebastopol

Sunday and Monday were a new-to-Chautauqua retreat known as “The Advance.” The Advance basically evoked every emotion in the human spectrum: frustration, surprise, giddiness, extreme love. Parts of it were tedious (yet normal, if you’ve ever lived in intentional community). It took several hours and lots of strong feelings to realize that the only problem with the “Code of Conduct” agenda item — was that it just needed a new title like “Our Core Values” instead of “Code of Conduct.

Other parts of this two day retreat nearly made me explode with pride to to be a part of the tour. I cried a bit, in a good way, during what I’d consider the most poignant part of The Advance: hearing the history of New Old Time Chautauqua. As it turns out, this isn’t the first year a bus has broken down. Or crashed into a booth at the Canadian border.

Marie, Brinn and Sid tell act out the story of Brinn's wedding on Chautauqua

Through all the unexpected moments, though, I heard tales of people banding together, healing one another, reconnecting through laughter. Sid relayed the tale of the year Seiza was pregnant with Jasper, who decided to lounge around sideways in the womb. Everyone on Chautauqua gathered in a circle to send love to Seiza, and baby Jasper quickly shifted into a more healthy state.

“I heard you guys!” Jasper joked, as Sid finished his story. It struck me then that this tour has been going on for so long that some of the present-day members were literally born into Chautauqua. There are elders, adults, children; it really is a tribe.

And then, there is Rebo.  I never met “the heart of Chautauqua,” but I heard story after story of her musical talent, crazy toy collection and generous heart. She was so present in the collective memory, I couldn’t help but to feel that she was still on tour – and that no one will ever really leave this community. Even the ancestors are still here in spirit. Four days in to my first tour, I was already welling up with tears, feeling beyond lucky to be included. It’s magic. It’s reality. It’s how things should be.

So as we exit The Advance – and prepare to advance upon local communities (we’re going to entertain the socks off of Pt. Reyes tomorrow), I can sense that “Welcome to Chautauqua” signifies something special. In a kind-hearted community of wacky vaudevillians, it means that no matter how many things seem to go awry, everything will be alright. It means, “Welcome home.”

— Revolva

Tom Noddy’s report of the Keep the Faith show

San Francisco’s Fort Mason … the Cowell Theater, June 19, 2010Log Out

Ticket sales were disappointing, losing the Flying Karamazov Brothers hurt the chances of turning a profit in San Francisco. After seeing that in pre-sales, the decision to paper the house by inviting friends and friends of friends was a wise one and the room held an enthusiastic audience for the performers when we started. They were even more enthusiastic when they and we left the theater thinking good thoughts about the New Old Time Chautauqua.

Joannie and Harry had asked me to MC the show and I agreed. Several years ago, backstage at a show in Germany, a performer asked me what the English term was for the person who presents the acts. I told him that we called that person the MC and that the initials stood for Master of Ceremonies. He thought for a moment and a delightful look came over him as he asked “you call the show a ceremony? That’s so nice!”

David Ortiz started our ceremony by taking the stage at five minutes before the announced showtime and played quiet music as people in the audience and backstage settled. He played for five minutes and then spoke very briefly about the fact that American native peoples had lost land here and then he left them with the thought that some people, like those at KPFA radio had worked and continue to work to contain the damage. KPFA, community radio in the Bay Area, was one of the show’s sponsors and David’s words served in place of the planned KPFA show intro (their person didn’t show).

That cued the entry of the Fighting Instruments of Karma Marching Chamber Band/Orchestra and associated parade. They marched in playing, filled the stage, played the Chumleighland March and Teddy Bear’s Picnic. This opening to our shows is such a blatant display of vulnerability and power that people can’t help but laugh. How good was it to see Ray Sewell in the audience laughing and taking it in again. He tells me that they’ve identified his daughter Shine’s kidney as a match and they are proceeding with plans for a transplant. Just imagine.

I introduced Chautauqua with some help from the band leader, Eben Sprinsock, and occasional contributions from Nancy Levidow and other band voices. I did a soap bubble trick to introduce myself and then turned to the featured performer for the show … Faith Petric. I told them that she’s old and then joked around a bit.

Faith came out with her new hip and with Cici and Carl. Eben joined them at the mics at some point. Faith won the hearts of those who hadn’t already surrendered theirs to her. She sang three songs including Why Am I Painting the Livingroom? She used that Folkie approach to get them to warm themselves up by singing along with her … it sometimes looks forced but with Faith it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. When she’d finished her set Faith left with the natural grace that we’ve all seen so often.

All of you on this email list have heard us refer to her as our “crone” but some of you might not have heard the story of her croning ceremony. Faith asked us to be the community that recognized her earned status … she, in effect, asked us to become conscious of the assumed stereotypes associated with old women and to look beyond it. Chautauqua responded. Separately and together people planned their part in the “traditional  ceremony” that we would present on one of our tour’s “off-days”. Flowers were strewn, crowns were worn, bubbles were blown, words were spoken and music was played, fire was lit and torches were passed, . We seem able to simultaneously combine irony and genuine reverence in our individual and collective souls. That ability served us well then and now. We’ve all had a part in her status ever since … ceremony has power.

I won’t review each of the acts in that long show, with the band set up down stage right and Tim Furst moving mics on and off from stage left the backstage was an especially bad place to watch the show from so I missed a lot. But I followed the flow of energy from the audience as I entered, exited, and re-entered between acts. I felt their skepticism melt away, I felt them relax and their pleasure grow. The audience was delighted and the Cowell Theater’s tech crew was surprised at how smoothly the many elements in this unrehearsed show came together into one increasingly glorious thing … a show.

Islando and Shannon’s wonderful acrobatic dance

Alex Kelly’s beautiful cello solo and then Alex brought on his friend Mark Growden

Mark Growden sang with power and played accordion and bicycle handlebars … stunning.

Delirium, Petra and Cory from Portland, didn’t show (car trouble, I heard) and so they were replaced in the show order with the juggling team Foolio who presented their fabulous rap-juggle piece (June 19, 2010, the show’s date was also World Juggle Day).

Citizen’s Band played their brand of serious comedy anarcoustic music bringing added wit between the two first-half juggling teams and then …

Poetic Motion Machine from Arcata, California wowed them with precision juggling

We encouraged the audience to consider making donations when they went to the lobby for intermission and reminded them that such donations are tax deductable because Chautauqua is 501 (c-3)/orchestra

I presented Bubble Magic as the opening act of the second half.

The Bay Area poet’s group that was scheduled to perform in the second half but it was clear that the show was going to be a fun one but a long one so there was some relief backstage when they failed to show (I never heard, but I assume that they are okay and only spaced out the event).

So Kuddie wamed the room with his earthy music and charm. He also brought the name of Utah Phillips to the proceedings …

That was followed by the spacey presentation of Revolva, the Hula Hoopstress who’d come “to conquer the rings of Saturn” …

Dusty Rhodes and her Handsome Cowboys sung She Takes Her Shirt Off and the Bonanza theme … it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it, when Dusty takes her hat off to fan herself I always laugh along with the audience at the fact that her braids are connected to the hat. A flawless sight gag is a thing of beauty.

Shannon returned to present the show’s aerial piece and to give the people a chance to feel the tension and release of motion and stillness.

Bronkar Lee did that beatbox juggling kickass thing that he does … it was such a nice high energy high.

Cici … um … I mean Dusty Rhodes … came out to bring Faith back on stage for one more song. They were joined by other instruments and then by all of the voices of the cast as we gathered and sang with Faith and the audience Pleasure to Know You

Of course, the Fighting Instruments of Karma Marching Chamber Band/Orchestra kicked in with a closing stage-filling chaotic set while the audience left that happy scene.

After that the Chautauquans packed up and loaded up and headed to Sebastopol I suppose. I’m not going on the tour but it was a joy to be a part of the opening event and it is … a pleasure to know you.

Tom Noddy