When I think of essence, I think of Herbal Essences shampoo ads, and watching them as a kid. The commercials were racy for a quiet 8 year old preacher’s kid from Minnesota, especially when attempting to empathize with the woman, what that must feel like for her. But my parents bought the product regardless. I remember using it in the shower and thinking, “This shampoo is the best thing I’ve ever smelled.” That stuff was serious.

On the day that Mandela passed on, it is easy and necessary to celebrate another great African, Chinua Achebe, who wrote "Things Fall Apart." They do, with  regularity, baffling us in the anthropomorphic world we have created over the past hundred and fifty years, hoping to construct Adam Smith's utopia.

"I think that the two Dukes together in their gesticulating, swaying, stomping, and decaying were compelling. They gave a feeling of knowing to the Duke’s humanness." – Common Observer reviews The Clay Duke

This is as multi layered as it gets. I’ve often wondered aloud what it would be like to be that proverbial fly on the wall. A bug-eyed witness to events hidden from view by an air vent or rafter, gleaning interesting details only hinted at and with this production of Dayna Hansen’s “The Clay Duke” I got my wings.

Sometimes I think back to community college sociology seminars; discussing how social problems are constructed. A problem is not a problem until it is made into a problem.  The issue of an “issue” performance is the issue of why an issue is being made into an issue.  

What came first; the chicken or the egg? The snake or the apple?

Dayna Hanson has a remarkable ability to raise an issue on transparent platforms. Her gift to the audience is herself and her cast, visibly raising it, whatever it is. 

Submit your 15-second Dance Film by Dec 5 to be included in OtB's next Stompy's Salon during Dayna Hanson's The Clay Duke! Event curated by OtB TEAM 2 Ambassadors.

Just follow the instructions below:
1. Think of the best dance film. Record it.
2. Upload to Instagram using the tag #otbdancefilmcontest13

It may surprise you to learn that the summer months are an intensely busy time for artists and staff at OtB. For instance, check out this incredibly detailed diagram of Northwest Series artist Dayna Hanson and her crew. Dayna & co. are just some of the many artists whom we provide with rehearsal space and tech needs during the summer. (You have to buy your own Cheetos.)