a poem set in motion
a short experimental film by Hayley Heninger and Kathi Barnhill

Our process unfolded in an almost magical way.

We stumbled upon potential props that were seemingly random as well as ideal. A bathtub full of dirt. Deer Antlers. A stone house with no roof and moss growing on its walls, with open passages where windows and doors would have been placed. We had imaged the stone house. We needed it. Tried to think of replacements, alternatives for such a place, because we had no ideas of where to find one. And then a friend just happened to have one up the road from his house. We felt like we were walking into a place birthed in our imaginations.

I’m reading a book by Amanda Palmer, “The Art of Asking”, which is fantastic. A quote from it has stuck with me over the past days, “Not everybody likes to be looked at. Everybody likes to be seen.” As a sometimes shy person, I can certainly relate. While the idea of being looked at by people, particularly in an obvious way, such as on stage, is generally terrifying to me, the idea of being truly seen by people I care about brings warmth, comfort, and validation.