Wild Moments of Release During a Difficult Time
As we gather together during the longest nights of the year and the United States government, against most people's desire, refuses to endorse a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, I am finding that holding a stone in my hand helps me stay grounded and centered, helps me remember that I’m not just a head full of enraged thoughts and a heart full of grief. I am a body as well. We are all fragile bodies living interdependently on this planet earth, a blue mama trying to hold us all.
Bread and Puppet Theater’s Blue Mama (hand being held by my kid Egg!)
A few weeks ago, author adrienne maree brown and I talked about this very strange time to release my book. We held stones as I guided her through a sensory activity and talked:
adrienne: How are you doing? It’s such a wild moment to release a book.
Alissa: It’s a hard moment to release a book. It is very hard to self-promote during this time. We knew that little ceasefire of six days was going to end, and we knew how it was going to end, and I’m not surprised. I put my body out there all week.
adrienne: I saw that you were out doing actions…. I think all the actions people are taking globally are so powerful, and it’s been particularly important to see the healing and the risk Jewish people are taking in this moment.
Alissa: I feel a sacred and ancestral obligation to be out there. I feel the presence of my ancestors as I’m doing this work.
adrienne: How do we get more people to hear about what’s happening, and how do we get people to hear through immense suppression?... I’m excited to see what your book is holding because it talks about how do we move through this at an organizational level and what does it mean to take up more room in the world for the things that we care about? It feels right on time during a difficult time.
Another thing that is feeling right on time during a difficult time is my not-quite-annual volunteering I do with Bread and Puppet Theater, a group I’ve been in off-and-on relationship with for 35 years. Last week, my kid Egg and I performed in their Idiots of the World Unite Against the Idiots System Circus. I’ve never participated in a Circus that felt so urgent and enraged as this one. There were long, dense scenes in browns and greys, largely silent except for dire proclamations and the dirge of horns.
Director Peter Schumann playing two bugles
This week, I’ve been performing Bread and Puppet's The No Water, No Food, No Electricity, No Medicine Gaza Emergency Mass. We sing a Sky Hymn which includes these words:
During the West Coast and Brooklyn book reading and performance tour (click here for video!) that I did with my husband and musician Andrew Drury, I shared stories about my time with Bread and Puppet while we projected a performance I did a few years ago about the group:
I also read about the need to include grounding activities in group processes and facilitated an interactive sensory activity, similar to the one I did with adrienne maree brown. Andrew and I had a great time performing together and talking about our work:
As winter looms, I feel an urgent need to show up for the safety and rights of all of humanity and to continue to support organizations and communities with group process, facilitation, culture-building, and strategy in ways that center equity, love, thriving, and liberation.
And in the spirit of self-promotion during difficult times, I’m excited to get Organizational Performance Art into more people’s hands. Part memoir, part manual, and part manifesto, I’ve been hearing from folks how it has been supporting them as they navigate challenging times and spaces:
A wonderful read by my colleague who is helping transform my collective. The book is also a helpful friend for anyone making difficult life decisions navigating social structures that are at odds with their personal beliefs.
–Kelli Hix, Community Archiving Workshop
I am still reading your book, it’s a distracting time, but I read a little every day, and it really helps me. Thank you for all you do!
–Anne Grgich, Visual Artist
Organizational Performance Art being sold at Bread and Puppet performances!