Rebellious Performance Retreat: August 31-September 4, 2023 in Eastern Kentucky
Nicole Garneau performing Torture Playlist #1 and beet juice burlesque.
The Rebellious Performance Retreat in rural Southeastern Kentucky will be a 5-day immersive residential retreat focused on activist performance practices and support for the artists who make this work (or desire to learn).
The retreat will take place over Labor Day weekend in a beautiful setting with access to nature and other humans who share struggles and joys on our paths as creators. Artists interested in intersectional feminism, LGBTQIA+ rights, anti-racism, and anti-oppression of all kinds to the front! People of all genders are welcome to participate.
Donny Janet Dominique cuts their hair as part of UPRISING #60 in New Orleans, LA. Photo by Melisa Cardona.
Participants in Nicole Garneau’s 24-hour Pragmatic Visionaries Workshop. Photo by Rodrigo Dorfman.
Retreat Activities:
(1) Physical and vocal training.
Performers use our bodies and voices as the medium of our work. Sharing training practices not only conditions the individual, it builds group trust and cohesion. Through training, we set a tone that honors all bodies and gives us space to practice consent with each other.
(2) Process work.
Time and care in the retreat will be dedicated to establishing how we handle conflict; how we give and receive feedback on our work; and how we care for ourselves, the community, and the world.
(3) Sharing of works in progress.
Fear of Freedom performance at Insight Arts, directed by Craig Harshaw and karen g. williams. Nicole Garneau and Khalil Anthony Peebles pictured here.
Many artists have ideas they want to try, but lack the space to experiment with performance-in-progress (especially in places outside major cultural centers). Everyone will be invited to show their work. Feedback will center the needs of the artist rather than criticizing or fixing anyone else’s work.
(4) Workshop sessions.
Methodologies such as Nicole Garneau’s book Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism; story circle practice, and anti-capitalist practices/solidarity economy may be shared. We will uplift the work of artists whose work is connected to our own lineages of practice.
Retreat Outcomes:
(1) Focused Time to Make your Work.
220 Weeks/Acts performed by Nicole Garneau on the street in front of Links Hall in Chicago.
Getting time away from regular responsibilities and distractions, you might be amazed what you can make in 4-5 days.
Nicole Garneau performs The Belted Lady. Photo by Indi McCasey.
(2) Documentation of your Work.
A professional photographer/videographer will be employed by the retreat to document the work of all retreat participants for use in publicity and grant applications. Every participant will receive a collection of still images and one video file, ready to be uploaded wherever the artist wishes to share (YouTube, Vimeo, etc).
(3) Community of Rad Artists!
New Comrades! Colleagues! Collaborators! Pen pals! Hookups! Gig-sharers! Hustlers! Dreamers! Builders of the world we want to live in!
(4) Public Sharing.
Performance opportunities may manifest from the gathering of people at the retreat.
Schedule Overview
Uncle Bear Klein and Nicole Garneau perform UPRISING #1. Photo by Ruth Robbins.
Thursday, August 31:
3pm-5pm Arrive, get housing assignments
5pm-7pm Supper
7pm-9pm Retreat orientation, overview of the space, community agreements, goal sharing
9pm Free/unscheduled time could include: sleeping, socializing, snacking, fires, music jams, movies, games, stargazing
Friday, September 1-Sunday September 3:
8am Breakfast
9:30am Physical warmup/conditioning, vocal training (optional)
11am Workshop sessions:
Performing Revolutionary/UPRISING: Encourage participants to animate their activism by infusing creativity into their social justice work, engaging with political content, and reclaiming public space for art.
Story Circle: Learn about the story circle process and how it can be used to develop performance material. Build on generations of Appalachian / Southern performance-makers who use(d) story circle in their theater work
Other Workshop TBD based on needs/desires of Participants
12noon Lunch
1pm-5pm Open space for rehearsal and exploration. All participants will have designated space in which to work.
5pm Supper
7pm Performance Sharing and Feedback
9pm Free/unscheduled time could include: sleeping, socializing, snacking, fires, music jams, movies, games, stargazing
Monday, September 4
8am Breakfast
9:30am Physical warmup/conditioning, vocal training (optional)
11am Closing circle and reflection, distribution of documentation
12noon Retreat concludes. Lunch (optional)
JN Soto and Rae Langes participate in Nicole Garneau’s performance at Northern Lights Queer Performance & Dance Party. Photo by Nicole Garneau
Who This Retreat is For:
People 18+ who are engaged in any form of performance or theater
People who support feminism, LGBTQIA+ rights, and anti-racism, and/or whose work engages with these ideas
Individuals who are developing new solo performances
Small groups of collaborators who want intensive time to work together on a group project
People who like watching performance and theater, and who want to offer generative feedback to other artists
Artists who are from Kentucky and/or making work in Kentucky
Artists from anywhere in the world who would like to visit Kentucky, appreciate its beauty, and get to know some of Kentucky’s rad artists!
This Retreat is Not For:
People who are looking for a LOT of instruction or a fully guided experience. This retreat will have some workshop/skill sharing aspects but also a lot of unstructured time for people to guide their own work.
People who are hostile to feminism, anti-racism, and/or LGBTQIA+ rights, or who need the basics explained or justified.
People who need constant reliable cell service and/or internet (the retreat center has very good wifi in/around the buildings but there is no cell service in the area and if you are away from a building you may not be connected)
Retreat Logistics & Registration Process
Dates: Thursday August 31, 2023- Monday September 4, 2023
Location: Retreat center in Kentucky. Location details will be shared with people who are registered, or who email Nicole Garneau directly.
Lodging and Meals: All participants will have their own (dormitory-style) room unless they would like to share a room with someone. All meals will be provided, and dietary restrictions will be honored whenever possible. Retreat participants will also have access to a full kitchen and fridge for snacks or personal food.
Tuition: Tuition includes all meals and housing, materials for the retreat, facilitation, and documentation. Tuition is based on a sliding scale in an attempt to make the retreat accessible to as many people as possible. If you have questions or need more information about tuition, please email Nicole Garneau.
Invest in your Work! $1,500 - $500 Sliding Scale
The $1,500 rate may be for you if:
You are comfortably able to meet your basic needs
You may have some debt but are still able to meet your basic needs
You own your home or property, or rent a higher-end place
You are employed, or don’t need to work to meet your needs
You have access to financial savings or family wealth in times of need
You are receiving grant funding to attend this retreat
An organization or institution is supporting you to attend this retreat
The $1,000 rate may be for you if:
You may stress about meeting your basic needs but are still able to achieve them
You may have some debt but are still able to meet your basic needs
You are employed
You are receiving grant funding to attend this retreat
An organization or institution is supporting you to attend this retreat
The $500 rate may be for you if:
You frequently stress about meeting your basic needs and struggle to achieve them
You have debt that prevents you from meeting your basic needs
Your housing is unstable
You are unemployed/underemployed
You have limited access to expendable income
Payment Plans, Other $$ Proposals
If none of these options works for you, make another proposal or suggest a payment plan. There may also be scholarship funds available. Registering in this category means that you would like to have a conversation about a different financial arrangement than the ones listed here. Let’s talk about it!
Nicole Garneau performs Gun Love at Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center, Sautee Nacoochee, GA.