I totally forgot about the blog post

Hey Steve! (The “Hey” is casual and friendly although we have only met once or twice- the exclamation mark is to pretend I am super excited but I am not particularly excited about any email correspondence)

I totally forgot about the blog post (I didn’t forget- I passive aggressively failed to answer your last email because I was dreading doing a blog post. I made a couple of haphazard attempts to start the blog post while standing around doing nothing at work but then spent most of my free time working on a separate residency application). I am currently driving back from NC and probably won’t get to the blog post until after this weekend (I am not driving so clearly I have 5 hours to bang something out). I have to work all weekend so I might be able to start something Monday evening (actually I have four hours of free time Saturday and Sunday evening but I will be surfing the net, watching Netflix, and avoiding doing emails/grants/scheduling/blog post type things at all costs).

I did have a couple of questions about the “lie” subject we were given (this won’t be a question but rather a request sort of thinly veiled as a question). Do I need to write about “an old lie”? (I would rather write about something else) I don’t know if I have a amazingly interesting “old lie” story to write about (if I have to do a blog post I prefer to write about whatever I want). I am more interested in maybe writing about decoding everyday lies or the subtlety of lies in casual correspondence (I want to use this subject because I thought of it while writing a response to your email- I thought it might be cute and most importantly, easy). If you want us to stick to the subject we were given it’s completely no problem- just thought I would ask! (Again I really want you to let me just write it like this since I already started. Also I am not excited or overly friendly but I am hoping my exclamation mark will convince you that I am laid back and totally fun!)

Also wondering if you want us to include a photo inside of the blog post (how long does this thing need to be and if I include a picture can I write less)? I will probably put a picture of something that relates to what I am writing about like this one:

(This is an road trip-eyeball-selfie. Is it convincingly artistic? Probably not since I just shot myself once in a shaky car. It kinda looks like I have no chin…)

Anyway I will start working on some ideas and try to get back to you Monday night (I won’t work on anything- this is the most I plan on writing about the blog). Or if you prefer you could use this email- ha ha! (I would suggest doing so- I am really gonna drag my feet on this one- also I am not being funny I am quite serious).

Anyway, I am sure I will see you around more during the show. (Will I? I am not sure what you do for RLP since I saw you at, ahem, one single rehearsal). Looking forward to the show! (I want everyone to see my amazing kick-ass dancing).

-Mazarick
(I prefer my last name to my first- there are a billion Megans)

 

Sent from my iPhone
(Sent from an overpriced distraction device)

I know I am lying if…

by Sara Nye

You must intend to lie in order to lie. You must know you are lying. I promise. Which means, on some level, you must know the truth and choose to keep it a secret.

1. Bill Nye the Science Guy is my uncle. Lie. Because I know it’s false and I’m telling you anyway. Lies must know they are lies to be lies.

2. Bill Nye is really good at science. Truth. Because many people agree that this is accurate.

3. If I had chosen to study science instead of English and dance, I would have been as skilled in the sciences as Bill Nye. Honest statement. Neither truth nor lie. I’m not really sure if this is true or not, but I believe it to be true. Therefore, I am being honest.

Wait. So I could be telling a falsehood and still be an honest person, as long as I sincerely believe that thing is true? Yes. Oo, cool, sounds like a loophole. Let’s try again.

Photo: Lindsay Browning

1. I know all the differences between truth and lies. I am a truth expert. I am a lies expert. I tell both every day and analyze what shape they have in my head, how they feel coming out of my mouth, what they look like settling on a person. Lie.

2. I am thinking about this blog post right now. Truth. I am writing down what I am thinking. Truth. Although that won’t be true by the time you read this, because by the time you read this, I will not still be writing down what I am thinking.

3. Lies are frustrating, confusing, inaccurate things. Truths are just frustrating and confusing. Honest statement. Sounds true to me.

Sometimes things start out as true and become false later. That’s frustrating and confusing. Promises not kept do that. Ever notice how a freshly made promise always sounds sincere, but there is always something of doubt surrounding how you hear it? That’s the lie part of the promise lurking about, waiting to see if it’ll be used or not. Because a promise is all intention. “Well at least she had good intentions,” people say. Truth. She had intentions. She intended to call you, but then Game of Thrones came on, so she decided she wanted to do that instead. And you can’t call her a liar, because she did indeed intend to call you, just something got in the way. The intention was there. She did not tell a lie.

Unfortunately, we can’t start calling all the people that break promises liars. They are just unreliable. Being unreliable does not make them liars. Sometimes people promise unrealistic or difficult-to-achieve things. They don’t know they are lying – they are just employing extreme levels of hope. Unless of course they are of that select group of people that make promises left and right knowing they have zero intention of making good on them. Those people are liars. But how can you tell the difference between an honest person and a liar? For your reference, a quick line of questioning that might prove helpful:

Friend promises something. For example, to check in on your dog while you’re away.

Ask yourself:

1. Is the thing achieveable?
2. Has friend successfully accomplished a similar thing before?
3. Does friend seem attentive while promising thing?

If the answer is yes to all of the above, friend is probably not a liar.

Alternatively:

1. Is the thing a difficult task? For example, training your dog to run marathons while you’re away.
2. Has friend failed at a similar task before?
3. Does friend seem attentive and hopeful while promising thing?

If the answers to 1, 2, AND 3 are all yes, friend is an honest overachiever.

If the answers to 1 and 2 are yes and the answer to 3 is no, they actually look kind of shifty, friend is probably a liar.

A foolproof system! Lie. Helpful in determining whether a promise will be kept. Maybe. Frustrating and confusing. Honest statement.

Megan Quinn: From dramaturg to dancer

Last year, when Gina and RealLivePeople made The Jobs Project. I served as the dramaturg (the role Jenna now plays). This year, I am performing in Would I Lie to You? Creative adviser versus performer: there are some obvious differences between these two roles. As a dramaturg, I attended rehearsals sitting down with my notebook. I took notes, made observations, and served as a sounding board for Gina. As a dancer, I attend rehearsals to rehearse. I learn and practice material, engaging in the physicality of lying. There are obvious constants as well: same dance company, still run by Gina and still in a dance studio, most often the Latvian society. But the way I enter and experience rehearsals is very different.

When I was a dramaturg I saw my role as keeping an eye on the overall structure and consistency of the piece. I made connections between various sections, I noticed how details applied to the theme (the many faces of jobs) and I helped Gina plan the arc of the piece from beginning to end. This year, as a performer, I am focused on the details and my contribution to the work. I am constantly asking myself how I am able to support the theme of lying, through movement and personal narrative. The difference is a bit like moving from seeing the forest to focusing on the trees. As a dramaturg, I worked hard on observing the information and physicality presented by the dancers. It was important to relate to the work, so that I had valuable insights. But the focus was on seeing others. As a dancer, I need to put myself in the work. The focus is on what I can contribute, physically and creatively.

Gina does ask her dancers to be mentally and creatively involved and so in that way, there is not a solid line between performer and creative contributor. In both roles, I need to find and use the best way for my strengths to be present and useful. But as a dramaturg, I used strength of observing, connecting and articulating, and as a dancer I now am trying to use the strength of being open to share and create, applying both my personality and dance technique to the work.