Performance Text Material for Improvised Live Event.
This solo work combines improvised movement, speech, and actions within a detailed score. Structured in three parts, with distinct tasks in each section, the material references weather and climate, farming and agriculture, and the relationships of humans to the other-than-human. The first performance was at SOAK Live Art, Plymouth in January 2024.
More detail about the performance can be found here.
incessant overnight rain
incessant rain
heavy rain over days
constant rain for weeks
older people said they’d never seen the like
unprecedented
unusual
out of the ordinary
rain for days
over hills and fields and towns and houses
in rain and windswept field
across every blade of grass
in each corner of the field
covering the territory
every inch of ground
every sector of the pitch
surface water pools of water puddles muck
the right kit
Investing in plant and tech
for the task in hand
the best you can afford to put into operation
get the gear
go for growth
exchanges were tough
hard tackles
struggling to keep their footing
to keep head above water
to keep afloat
a constant struggle
in the greasy conditions
conditions were far from conducive
far from ideal
conditions were very difficult
family farms the backbone of the countryside
hard life tough conditions
underfoot below beneath
on the ground
awful conditions
dreadful conditions
conditions had become considerably worse
a tough encounter in a deluge
water intensive
requiring vast amounts
higher inputs
nitrates and phosphates
NPK
that’s great stuff
gives life to the land
supports expansion
boosts growth
raises stocking levels
more bigger greater better
the green greener greenery greening growth
green is good better verdant vibrant
richer brighter lusher green
grass grassier grazing
for lovely rich butter milk cream cheese
butterier milkier creamier cheesier
rolling hills of pasture
green glossy grazing as far as the eye can see
losing control
nitrates derogation regulation management
loss of matter flowing spilling spreading escaping masses of runoff
flooding into watercourses into ditches streams rivers
puddles and mud
muck and dirt
soaking wet
packing it in
another season
go again
another round
gathering in
making hay
the cream of the crop
bound stacked
for a rainy day
from field to yard
grass into fodder
green to gold to brown
pasture passed into pure gold
grazing feeding turning
browned down
what does the grass say?
what does the grass say?
who can hear?
what does it tell?
who will listen?
listen listen
who is it for?
is there a message? message message
can I hear it? over hear
to say to tell to hear to listen
before it is to say to tell to hear to listen
is it too
is it too before it is too
late?
Mark Leahy 2024