Völva Saga, Operatic, Wish, Sorcery
For 4Waves: 40 Performances for the Hole
curated by Justin Hoover for SOMArts Cultural Center 40th Anniversary
September 11th, 2019, San Francisco, CA
Each performer had 4 minutes: 1 minute to set up, 2 minutes to perform and 1 minute to break down, or all 4 minutes to perform….
This piece is part of my upcoming Völva Saga series! For the theory behind series click here: Völva Saga theory
From Wikipedia:
“The Völva were female shamans and seers in Norse religion…who traveled the land…and were summoned in times of crisis…They were held in the highest esteem and had immense authority…Scandinavian archaeologists have discovered wands in about 40 female graves with valuable offerings which show that the Völva belonged to the highest level of society… In Old Norse, Völva means “carrier of a magic staff… Their practices included drumming, meditation, introspection, divination, sorcery and prophecy and other forms of indigenous magic… The Völva were known for their art of seduction, which was one of the reasons they were considered dangerous… The Völva were not considered to be harmless… The weapon of the Völva was the wand…”
Dialogue from Völva Saga, the Prequel:
“The Secret of the Universe is Inside my HOLE!
Fascists are trying to Co-opt my HOLE!
The Doctors want to Suppress? my HOLE?
And the Professor want to Get In my HOLE!
Politicians want Control of my HOLE!
And the Multi-National Corporations want to Destroy! My…..”
Audience chants:
“HOLE!”
While I sprinkle rose essential oil and water on the audience and myself I sing:
“Beauty behind me and behind all of you
Beauty in front of me and in front of all of you
Beauty to our right and to our left
Beauty above and below us
and all around us, all around us is Beauty”
I show my ruby slippers/stilettos and say:
“I Wish… I Wish… I Wish… I Wish.. I Wish… I Wish.”