From Blog Director Jill Randall:

I recently got to catch up with artists Garth Grimball and Heather Stockton of the Wax Poet(s) as they prepared for the premiere of fey/done/a/weigh at the ODC Theater in San Francisco March 15 and 16, 2019. Today they offer a peak into the work and working together. fey/done/a/weigh tackles fitting in, conformity, and the potential sense of deformity with fitting in.

5 words/phrases to describe the show:

Garth Grimball (GG): Bodies, pop culture, vulnerability, joy, queer imaginary

Heather Stockton (HS): Queer, exposed, joyful, fat pride, love

On friendship + collaboration:

GG: Heather and I became friends by happenstance. We met each other being in the same department at Mills College, but had shared few, if any, conversations. We found ourselves alone in the student lounge on a Friday afternoon in early September 2011. I mentioned to her I wanted to see the Ryan Gosling movie Drive. She said she did too, and we decided to go together. We took two buses across Oakland from campus to the Jack London theater. From that day, and that movie on, our friendship blossomed.

During our two year shared tenure at Mills, it often felt like we were the only two single people in the department. So, we went on many dates with each other. Almost every Friday night you could find us at the Grand Lake Theater watching movies, or waiting for the 57 bus to get home from the movies.

HS: In 2013 I was commissioned by Les Stuck of the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music to create a dance piece to his music. My time at Mills collaborating with musicians, visual artists, poets and fellow dancers (and best friends, including Garth), provoked me to envision what it would be like to create a collaborative dance collective. The commission seemed like a great jumping off point, so we began our collaborative practice, Wax Poet(s). In six years we have made 17 dances and collaborated with 19 musicians, 3 visual artists, 2 film artists, 1 poet, and upwards of 20 dance artists. Six years later we continue to bring the love in our friendship to the love of working together and creating.

What was the choreographic moment which inspired and started this particular work? 

GG: It wasn’t as much a choreographic moment as a response to a choreographic moment. After our last show, we received many versions of the comment, “The two of you should make work about the two of you.” Not us in service of a greater concept. So we took that feedback and danced with it. Come see the show to find out how!

 

Purchase your tickets today through the  ODC Theater. 

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