Julianna Bloodgood
“Somnolence”
(song 01)
There is no doubt that this pandemic has brought about more suffering than we could have ever anticipated. It has also brought about a global crisis, the likes of which we have not seen in generations. It has rocked our world on so many social, economical and personal levels. And of course it has drastically changed the way we interact with art as spectators and audiences. We’ve had to rapidly rethink how we can keep our creative channels alive, how we can keep connecting to our audiences and students. We’ve used technology more than ever before and even those whose lives are intimately connected with the theatre, an art that relies on physical presence and shared space, have had to restructure their output and artistic way. But we humans always find the way to adapt to the situations that life presents to us. Last year, when the pandemic first started, all of my opportunities to travel, create and perform were abruptly stopped. Like everyone else. In that void of not knowing and not having those artistic outlets available that I had become accustomed to I had to find new ways of answering the call of my creative spirit and had to find new artistic channels to express myself. For the first time in my life, I started to compose and record my own music. It was the biggest revelation and unexpected treasure that I could ever have imagined. It was like discovering a new world inside of me, that offered so many possibilites. A solo journey and yet through polyphony felt full of company. I could still put shape to my feelings and experiences and share my heart with the outside world.
I recorded this song on the spring equinox after about 6 weeks of insomnia. The night I recorded it and listened back to the raw material I slept for about 8 hours. So there might be a little sleep magic in this. The name of this song is Somnolence which means a strong desire for sleep or a state of drowsiness. This is an 8 minute deep dive, meditative, trance like. I recommend listening with headphones and closed eyes. A small journey for you as we celebrated the one day of equality on this planet. Equal day and equal night.
Julianna Bloodgood
Photo: Karol Jarek
Julianna Bloodgood is a multidisciplinary theatre creator and performer. She worked with the award winning and critically acclaimed Polish theatre company Song of the Goat Theatre from 2009-2018. She was an integral part of the development, devising, premiers of performances which have won international theatre awards and toured throughout the world. In Poland Julianna was also a founding member of the pedagogical and performance research company Odra Ensemble. Julianna is a resident artist with New York based Theater MITU, and collaborates with Slovakian theatre company Honey and Dust.
In 2019, Julianna was awarded a scholarship from the Poish Ministry of Culture for her artistic research and was one of ten European independent theatre makers chosen to participate in Creative Europe’s Make A Move project.
Julianna is the co-founder of The Dadaab Theater Project, a youth based theater project in Dadaab, Kenya, formerly the world’s largest refugee camp and is a founding member and co-artistic director of The Great Globe Foundation, a non-profit organization utilizing the power of creativity to inspire and empower the individual voice and to help build bridges between people and communities.
Julianna graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with high honors and holds an MA in Acting, a BFA in Dramatic Performance from the College Conservatory of Music, Department of Acting, University of Cincinnati; and is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, California. Julianna regularly teaches workshops and masterclasses internationally.
https://www.juliannabloodgood.com
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