Walking the Talk - Rocking the Walk

Remember these words from last year?

“We… As Tellers of Story… As Creators of Experience…

…Have an opportunity to make a difference that is sorely, if not desperately, needed on our planet. 

Adept at connecting the audience to a story, at creating sudden Moments or a Sense of shared intimacy in theatre or stadium, we regularly thrill audiences with a burst of recognition across demographics and cultures. 

Just as any of us can stand on a beach in an ocean breeze and knowingly smile at the others on that beach doing the same, knowing they are sharing the lift that breeze offers…as we humans are wired essentially the same.

Can we take this experience deeper to profound results?”

Kile Ozier “Mindfulness in the Mix” January 1, 2024

 https://www.kileozier.com/blog/mindfulness-in-the-mix 

…and THESE words?

“Two chromosomes separate humans from apes. Two.

Simple science, then, supports the concept that all we humans on the planet are a part of one community. I believe that we are one community, irrespective of skin color, religion, language, creed… Religion and culture are simply random circumstance of geography: where each of us happens to be born can be the greatest influence on the persons we become; what we believe and believe we know.

I believe that, from birth, we are a Community unrealized.

.There is enough food on this planet to feed everyone; there is enough water on this planet for everyone to drink, bathe and grow food; there are enough resources on the planet to shelter and support every person living here, and there is more than enough wealth on earth to fully support every citizen of our global community. 

… I believe this is a concept that can be embraced and made a reality.

I simply think that if, as we do our own creating and building, as we incite and invite our own gatherings and create dynamic engagement of people; if we do these things as we also keep this conceptual fact of global community in mind, our results might somehow reflect that reality without anything specific having to be said. 

N’est-çe pas?

I believe that we are each and all responsible for the quality of life on This Planet: for ourselves, for others near and distant; all others; and if as we think and create and build, we simply keep in mind that it’s One World, perhaps we can make things better before it’s too late.

Kile Ozier “Embraceable View” January 17, 2024

 https://www.kileozier.com/blog/embraceable-view 

And Lo, just a few weeks ago, the Universe tapped me on the shoulder with an opportunity to test my theory.

With ten days to Curtain; I was called-in to “rescue” a show that wasn’t coming together as wanted, needed and envisioned. A new car launch for the Nissan “Kicks” in the GCC, the agency had most of the pieces created, sourced and gathered; a small mountain of shipping containers, multiple LED screens of myriad sizes, a sweeping, greatly elevated ramp connected to the stage, flowing up either side and around behind, encircling the audience at several meters, access to a few score acro-dance-gymnasts, flow artists and possible circus talent and a big ol’stage all being built out at Dubai’s Rugby Sevens Club.

The team had a brilliantly insightful creative lead (with an ear for music I haven’t encountered in quite some time), who had shepherded her vision to an aspirational level of physical presence and artistic beauty, an image and video house (I don’t use the word, “content”) with a vast creative and technical spectrum and working ethos that can deliver from Corporate to Psychedelic to hyper-anime at breathtaking quality under pressure. along with an experienced movement and costume team. 

The product is pretty cool. Aimed at Urban Youth, the car is personalizable in that the exterior components of any single vehicle can be mixed and matched in combinations of four colors (or, colours) by the buyer. 

Hurtling rapidly toward becoming Your Basic Auto Launch, the project was missing a few small, critical things that could be addressed and rectified with organization, communication…and a story. 

There was no story.

“West Side Story” meets “Starlight Express”

Standing back on the first day and taking-in the set, from somewhere within came the whistles of the opening scenes of “West Side Story,” as the Sharks and Jets are calling each other out for tonight’s rumble, and an idea was born. 

and, eight days later…

In complete blackness, a rough, aggressive, throbbing beat set a dark tone as the satellite screens lit successively, revealing one-by-one the shadowy animated outlines of dancers in digital contexts; immediately followed by the sudden appearance of companion dancers in the containers alongside, moving in counterpoint to the figures on the screens. Immediately, the vast, main screen activated with taggers (and branding, of course) revealing a massive, multicolored, kinetic tableau. 

Clad in personally-chosen urban wear representing youth populations across Asia, Africa, the US and the GCC - each half of this Corps attire was augmented in one of two of the featured Kicks colors. As they moved from the heights of the set and onto the upstage before the audience, they formed two Crews, squaring off against one another; recognized by the identifiable colors of their comrades: meeting center stage where - in place of a knives-and-guns rumble - was an anything-you-can-do-we-can-do-better dance off…Color versus color, kick versus leap, acro versus batic.

Suddenly, the competition was interrupted with two of the cars roaring forward out of the upstage containers as two others swooped down from up, behind the audience and the music shifted from aggressively urban to festively samba, as…

The kids began to celebrate the cars and dance the features; bose auditorium speakers, high-performance engines, personalizable…

The Car-eography had ‘em swooping back up and around the audience and criss-crossing the stage as the corps began to see them selves in the vehicles. 

And here was where I was afraid I’ze being too subtle…the conceit being that as they recognized the personalization possibilities, they realized that each of them could see them selves as individuals in the cars…and that this realization could eliminate the competition and initiate community among them. The dancers formed into ONE tight-ly choreographed corps (back OFF, Beyoncé!); handing articles of their clothing back and forth until they were identified as One Unit, Together. 

And they danced up the center stairway and out through the entry tunnel into the night.

I hadn’t prepared the client for the Community Building component; as I wasn’t sure it would be appreciable without preparation beforehand…and there’s only one way to find that out. 

The (surprised) Marketing Director was over the moon with the messaging. 

Done and Dusted in about 6 minutes.

Going in; the creative and production teams and the performers were all jazzed at and fully embraced the concept and, as subtle as it was, it communicated the subtle power of the message. 

We are Community. 

We need to be Community; especially now, but why not always?

Mindfulness. Just Do It.

Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGXrFGtT5pc/

There is, quite literally, NO other book like this. I guarantee it.

Link to Order: https://rivershorepress.com/creative-catalyst