Vincent's Yellow

Twitter Performance?

So firstly, interviews are going great. I never really have let myself imagine what kind of performers I might end up using for Vincent’s Yellow… though I knew what kind of qualities I was looking for. While there are some “looks” I’m interested in, I do think that more than anything I find myself looking for open hearts and minds in my performers, and that quality of enthusiasm for a unique project like this that means they are ready to learn and to experiment. The show will be anything but straight-forward or easy; it’s a dance of ideas. And for that, you need some smart and ready dancers. So far, I think I am attracting the kind of performers that I’m interested in. That’s great news.

There are two little things I wanted to share today. One is that a painting by Vincent had a surprise unveiling in Minnesota yesterday — the public was not told what new painting the Marine Art Museum had acquired, only that the artist would “rival Monet and Renoir.” (that’s my boy!)

Below is a quote that warmed my heart, clicking on it will take you to the article (thank you Winona Daily News):

Attendees swarmed around the paintings, a deep crowd quickly forming around the Van Gogh. Nearby, Swanson smiled at the thought of how the museum’s newest jewel will draw art lovers from Winona and beyond. The public will have its first chance to see the work when the museum opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

“Not only do we have four outstanding paintings, and the fifth is by Vincent Van Gogh,” he said. “I mean, come on, guys.”

So if you live in or near Minnesota, take a look! It’s from 1882, which makes it one of the earliest paintings of his on public display (at least that I’ve seen). Vincent did not even begin drawing seriously until 1880.

Thanks to winonadailynews.com

Lastly, I had an interesting idea the other night. I was about to reply to Vincent’s daily quote on twitter from my personal account, then imagined him responding back to me, my responding back to him, and so on. I ended up writing a dialogue, and instead of doing it on the fly, I thought I’d allow those interested to have a say in when it is “performed.”

For those who are not aware, I post daily quotes from Vincent’s letters on twitter at www.twitter.com/Vincent_Says, matching the date as closely as possible. You can look at them without being on twitter, but it’s easier to be updated if you are. Vincent_Says always responds to those who direct their tweets at him, and so it occurred to me that if I said something, he would say something. My tweets can be found at www.twitter.com/artesoy. The dialogue will be posted publicly on these two pages, and anyone will be able to follow along.

So the long and short of this all is… There will be a twitter scene between Vincent and I. This dialogue will not be in the play; it has been exclusively created for this event. So here’s the big question.

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In the past, my conversations with Vincent have been mostly on Facebook, and have gone like this (and often included others)!

If you are on twitter, and want in on the conversation, you’ll only have to tweet @Vincent_Says or @artesoy and you will be.

While looking for the conversation above, I ran into the following, which I posted shortly before my incredible trip of YellowEurope…

Have a wonderful weekend, and please vote if you are interested! I will announce the performance time here on Wednesday morning.

[update: the wednesday option was changed from the 14th to the 21st to allow more time for voting…]

Tags: actors, Minnesota, painting, performance, theater, twitter

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