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In 2011 The Fancies will join
The Guerilla Arts Travel Society
(G.A.T.S.)
First Annual Search Party
Mission Statement:
The Guerilla Arts Travel Society is a group of artists, musicians, theater
people, collectors, renegade scientists and inventors devoted to the
mission of conducting experiments in sustainability and guerilla arts.
We believe that the mind is only as limited as we deem it to be and
that through experimentation and innovation, we have the ability to
broaden our intellects, our psychological geography and discover means
to make the world a more sustainable and a more interesting place. G.A.T.S.
works through experimental theater, community workshops, naturalism
and innovative forms of travel and living to educate and cultivate interest
in and awareness of sustainable systems.
In August of 2011, we venture to answer the question, how do humans
travel 'best?' G.A.T.S. will host it's first annual Search Party, an
experiment in bicycle and buggy. The tour will consist of ten mules,
two horses, at least ten cyclists, bicycle led wagons and pack wagons
and a cast of 30-50 traveling performers, engineers, animal caretakers
and educators from all over the globe. The starting point of the tour
is Black Bear Ranch (www.blackbearranch.org) in Forks of Salmon, California,
a collective living space which dates back to the Gold Rush and has
managed to independently sustain itself through the use of water wheel
electricity and a vast organic farm. It is in this location that the
pack animals will be trained and cared for and that the build process
will take place for the art wagons, theater pieces and workshop aides.
The pack animals will be donated by institutions such as "Animal
Sanctuary", "Hog Heaven Animal Adoption", friends and
family and brought in by trailer in August of 2010. All animals will
work with a trainer and the inhabitants of Black Bear Ranch the entire
year leading up to the tour and live at the ranch after the tour has
taken place. An animal care specialist will be on staff the entirety
of the tour to care for the general heath and wellness of the animals.
In 2011, builders and performers will congregate at Black Bear to complete
the wheeled structures, finish performance build and rehearsals, get
to know the animals and safety test the gear, coordinate with one another
to organize the show and schedule and devise lesson plans for all ages
workshop groups.
One of the objectives of the tour is to navigate a route known as the
"hoop" trail, a trail forged along a pre-existing path used
by wild animals, native tribes and explorers that is plentiful in edible
plants, medicinal herbs and grazing space for the animals. Rediscovering
natural resources such as these trails and knowing how to respect and
maintain them is a large part of what the group has to offer in their
workshop curriculum. The search party will wind through many smaller
trails and join with small and large roads at times to perform and educate
in rural and urban areas. A small parade will be held the first night
that the wagons arrive in a city or populated area advertising the time
and place that performances and workshops will take place and familiarizing
the travel party with the townspeople. This is a tactic that has played
out very successfully with other traveling shows such as the "Miss
Rockaway Armada" (www.missrockawayarmada.com).
The search party experiment terminates at "Mutant Fest" in
Oregon with a blowout finale show and week of skill shares, installations
and presentations on the conclusions of the experiment. The activities
of the G.A.T. Society will continue beyond the scope of this two month
tour with gallery shows featuring the content of the data and collected
materials and satellite teach-ins, performances and presentations as
the participants return to their native homes and leave for separate
post-tour endeavors.
The workshops available through
G.A.T.S. are as follows:
permaculture
bicycle maintenance
pack animal maintenance
buggy and wagon engineering
puppetry and parade arts
circus arts (acrobalance, juggling, stilt walking, comedia, mask making)
psychogeography, pataphysics and renegade science
identifying water and soil safety
entomology and insect medicine
herbology and wildcrafting
trash art
stage and costume
guerilla theater
taxidermy and curiosity cabinets
Supplies already accounted for:
Build location
some bicycles
prospective donated animals
Ford and hitch
some materials for build
some food
Supplies needed
(make tax deductible donations through
the correspondence page!):
horse trailer
supplemental bike parts
bulk foods for 4 month crew
construction materials ie. screws, joints, wood glue, waterproof materials,
sealant
pack animal health and maintenance supplies
shoes and harnesses
educational materials ie. paper, wheat paste, paint, staplers
props for theater groups ie. fabric, sewing supplies, hot glue, make
up
Supplies for the Travel Society ie. lanterns and oil, cooking tools,
first aid/snake bite kit, eppi pens, general hygiene materials
bio-diesel for truck to transport animals and wagons
