‘Freak Show’ is coming. January 6-8 and January 13-15.
All moveables of wonder, from all parts,
Are here–Albinos, painted Indians, Dwarfs,
The Horse of knowledge, and the learned Pig,
The Stone-eater, the man that swallows fire,
Giants, Ventriloquists, the Invisible Girl,
The Bust that speaks and moves its goggling eyes,
The Wax-work, Clock-work, all the marvellous craft
Of modern Merlins, Wild Beasts, Puppet-shows,
All out-o’-the-way, far-fetched, perverted things,
All freaks of nature, all Promethean thoughts
Of man, his dulness, madness, and their feats
All jumbled up together, to compose
A Parliament of Monsters. Tents and Booths
Meanwhile, as if the whole were one vast mill,
Are vomiting, receiving on all sides,
Men, Women, three-years’ Children, Babes in arms.
Wordsworth’s description of Bartholomew Fair (from The Prelude, Book 7. 1805, lines 706 – 721)
i moved to calgary about 5 years ago. people always ask why, especially because many people leave for the city i am from, vancouver.
well, i love this city. really. i know we rip it all the time and yes there are tons of things that drive me crazy, like the lack of walking culture and urban sprawl. however there is a ton of excitement in this city. there is an energy to this city, a potential, an unfulfilled promise.
i came to this city because i felt welcomed and encouraged by the theatre community. I came because i was excited by the other artistic disciplines i was exposed to: visual art, dance, and music. as well as the artists doing cool things and dabbling in the grey areas between genres. folks like eric moschopedis, laura leif, robey stothart, the rabbits and of course mark hopkins. I also came because i felt there was a sense of entrepreneurial spirit being embraced in this city to which i was attracted.
i think most of us are not engaged much in municipal politics. yet it is often the level of government that impacts us the most. certainly we discovered this through the irobot saga. (if you don’t know what this refers to read my previous irobot post http://www.swallowabicycle.com/blog/?p=91)
so what is this post all about? VOTE! For the love of god read up and vote. First of all people are literally dying in other countries to do this or to have their vote recognized properly (e.g. Iran). This city has so much potential. I genuinely believe it is on the cusp of something special as it comes into it’s own. However to do so the city needs input not apathy. So please read up and vote for your trustee, alderman and mayor who you think share your vision of calgary. As well continue to be engaged in civic politics as Calgary comes into it’s own.
some great resources:
www.calgary.ca/election
http://calgarydemocracy.ca/
http://www.apathyisboring.com/en/the_facts/articles/how_to_vote_in_calgary_municipal_elections
From Jonathan Ball’s Clockfire, a book of impossible plays:
Entering the theatre, you dream what brought you here. Impossible dreams. You know before you sit, before you turn your attention to the stage, that nothing you see shall impress you, nothing in this darkened room will change your life. Yet this is why you came: for change. Your gods abandoned you and you need new gods. Your myths have come to vainglorious ends. You want something from the theatre it cannot give. You want to be hammered on anvils and shaped in fire. Instead, you sit when you want to rise, furious, keep quiet when you want noise. And still, when the lights go down, there is a moment before the curtain rises when you think things might be different this time, the stage might spill forth phantoms, let loose some antediluvian madness that will carry you off to its terrible, bone-crusted lair, something you fear but desire with each pulse.
