A Heyokah Goodbye

Hi friends,

It has been a while!  Heyokah closed over a month ago, and so many things have changed since then.  Two members of our cast (Stephen and Kaleena) are in Europe, all of the colorful blocks have been dismantled, and the Manitou Art Theatre has lost one of its favorite family members, Millie Harrison.

As I try to grapple with the reality that the Marvelous Millie Harrison has left this earth, I can't help but be reminded of the Heyokah.  The Heyokah is supposed to help navigate the line between life and death, and to keep the world in balance.

The more I think about Heyokah, the more I believe that Millie was full of Heyokah spirit.  For example, Heyokahs acted in unexpected ways, and what is more unexpected than slapping someone when they're crying?  Something Millie apparently did very frequently.  Heyokah also came from the great thunderbird.  Millie's high school mascot was the Thunderbird (T-Bird for short), and regularly ended announcements with the phrase "have a Thunderiffic day!"  Thus, Millie also came from the Thunderbird.  Millie reminded people what was important in life.  When other people wore expensive dresses to the prom, Millie wore a dress made out of Diet Coke cans.  When other people made beautiful Valentines cards for their friends, Millie made one about a lobster attack.  When other people were saying mean things on the golf course, Millie complimented every player.

Now all of these connections may just be a product of my brain trying to make sense of how such a vibrant, beautiful person could leave this earth so soon, but I think that it is wonderful to think of Millie Harrison as a Heyokah, because she will always remind me to do the unexpected, to love everyone, and I know that when it's time for me to go, Millie will be there to help me cross the line.

And finally, in honor of Millie:

Art from a Friend!

 2 Things:

1. I would like to apologize for making the readers of this blog think that the Heyokah process was a disaster.  It wasn't.  It was crappy sometimes, but what amazing things aren't?

2. I would like to share some art that one of our loyal fans created.  She was inspired by the idea of the Heyokah, as well as the performance.

This picture is titled "The Girl of Encouraging Whispers"

 

This picture is called "Mr. Mime" and was inspired by Bill Bowers' performance of Under A Montana Moon.

This piece is titled "The Heyokah."  

I hope you can guess what inspired it...

Thank you to Marie!

Exciting Feedback

The more this show grows and develops, the more positive the feedback we receive!  This weekend was full of incredible audiences and exciting shows.

Here is the really awesome feedback we received from one of Colorado Springs' premier arts advocates!

Susan J. Edmondson
Composes a sloppy wet love letter to The Manitou Art Theatre with thanks to director Jim Jackson, deviser extraordinaire Bill Bowers, and the incredible cast of The Heyokah Project for an evening that was beautiful, often humorous, at times puzzling but always, always filled with humanity. Matinee today and then just one more weekend to catch this show.

Cast Profile 4: Hannah R

I'm not going to lie... I'm making these up for everyone.  So don't take them too seriously...

Name: Hannah Rocky
Special Skills: Marilyn Monroe impersonations, ability to put herself in very awkward situations
Favorite Thing About Devising: Can share lots of stories
Least Favorite Thing About Devising: Things change so fast; it's hard to remember the changes!
Interesting Fact: Hannah's father is an acclaimed visual artist, and her daughter wants to be a coroner.

Cast Profile 3: Hossein F

 

Name: Hossein F

Special Skills: Awesome long hair, Songwriting Skillz, Karma caller

Interesting Fact: Hoss is a conspiracy theorist... or is he?

Favorite Thing About Devising: [unknown]

Least Favorite Thing About Devising: [unknown]

What He Wishes He Could Add to His Costume: A fifth hand

Cast Profile 2: Stephen O

 

Name: Stephen Ochsner

Special Skills: Can walk on his hands, super flexibility, warm-up master

Interesting Fact: The day after Heyokah closes, Stephen will leave for Russia!

Favorite Thing About Devising: [unknown]

Least Favorite Thing About Devising: [unknown]

What He Wishes He Could Add to His Costume: A tongue for his second face

Full Cast Pic

From top-left to bottom-right:
Hannah, Sara, Hossein, Kaleena, Birgitta, Stephen, Ben, Vanessa, James, Lisbet, Bill, Deserai.

Jim and Alfie are missing from this picture because they were misbehaving.

As you may notice, I have stopped the cast profiles for one night because I need to solicit profiles from my colleagues.

Today Birgitta, Jim and I worked on a new song to help introduce the personal narratives.  It should be very fun.  I love devising.

Tell your friends to come see this show!