That's a Wrap!
ALL PHOTOS by Moriah LeFebvre
Guten Tag Liebe Leute!
It's been six weeks since IMAGO wrapped, and to be honest, I still don't know what to do with myself. The project left me with awe, gratitude, and pride on a scale I have never before experienced. This level of life-changing event doesn't happen everyday, and it has made assimilating back into non-IMAGO life feel a lot like this. As anyone who follows me on social media already knows, I'm coping with said feelings by consuming chocolate croissants and making memes about life in Berlin. To be honest, they're helping.
It also helps to know that IMAGO will live on in various forms - in festivals (in Berlin and hopefully several other places as well), in photographs of the show, and in the memories of the people who saw it.
As I move forwards with life post-IMAGO, I'm building a regular Pilates-teaching practice here and am looking for a flat to live in long-term. After a year and a half of adventures in different living-and-working situations, I am excited to return to a more structured and stable day-to-day.
Finally, despite the awkwardness of integrating this life-changing event into my understanding of how the world can work, I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to do so. Thank you. To everyone who donated time or money, thank you for believing. To everyone who reached out with kind words, cookies, letters, and encouragement, thank you for your support. And to everyone who saw IMAGO, thank you for coming. I am so humbled by this experience, and hope that it touched you in some way as well.
xo
nicola
from the media
Byron Woods' (INDYweek) and Susan Brioli's (Susan Brioli Arts) insightful previews brilliantly put into words my intention and instinct behind making IMAGO. After its premiere, Michaela Dwyer(INDYweek) and Susan Brioli's positive reviews provided valuable thoughts and feedback of the work, as well as giving my mom something to brag about (4 stars!).
I was also featured on Tamara Kissane's awesome podcast, Artists Soapbox, a labor of love that is also a huge gift to the local community - a platform for artists to speak deeply and passionately about their work and place in Triangle arts and the world. Check out my interview with her and listen to more on her website!
IMAGO team updates
Gifted, generous, gorgeous, and glorious, these wonderful people who came together to make IMAGO continue to create and inspire post-IMAGO. Here's a little about what they're up to!
Josephine Decker just premiered her film Madeline's Madeline at Sundance and Berlinale to wildly positive reviews. She is now in LA getting her next projects off the ground and spending as much time in nature as possible so she remembers she is human and she used to know the moon like the eyes of her teddy bear.
Judith Förster got back to her studies in dance, context and choreography at HZT in Berlin, from which she will graduate this summer! In addition, she has been invited to the Cheers for Fears festival in Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany) to show her research on melting mountains and melted hearts.
JaMeeka Holloway-Burrell is in the crux of planning - Black Ops Theatre Company presents The Bull City Black Theatre Festival, which plays March 15th-18th and March 23rd+24th at Manbites Dog Theater! Visit www.bullcityblacktheatrefest.wordpress.com to learn more.
Patience O'Neill is on to the next project, and then the one after that. No true break in sight, just how they like it.
Nicolle Wasserman has now been a resident of Santa Fe, NM for 6 months and is loving the desert life! Since IMAGO, she has thrown herself full throttle into her work at Meow Wolf, doing her arts management thing to support the creation of a new 50,000 square foot immersive art installation in Las Vegas, NV, opening December 2019.
final thoughts
One thing I realized in making IMAGO was how important Durham is to me. By "Durham" I mean the people there - friends, family, artists, community members - and I want to spend a few months a year there in order to stay connected to the people and the place. If you have any ideas about how to make this possible, particularly if they involve creative collaborations, hit me up! I'm up for dreaming and down for working. nicolajoy@gmail.com or WhatsApp +1 917 597 5057
herzliche grüße,
nicola