{"id":1961,"date":"2015-03-29T11:27:47","date_gmt":"2015-03-29T18:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1961"},"modified":"2016-10-14T16:56:20","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T23:56:20","slug":"pushing-boundaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2015\/writing\/pushing-boundaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Pushing Boundaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

For writers and artists, pushing\u00a0boundaries is\u00a0a natural act.\u00a0 As creative spirits, we\u00a0want to test how far we can go. Look at how the book Fifty Shades of Grey<\/em>\u00a0changed the publishing landscape. How about film and television? I’m stunned at the explicit sex and violence in prime time. We’re also pushing the boundaries in space with the recent launch of a joint Russian and American one-year mission to the international space station.<\/p>\n

\"Manuel

Manuel Roque at Vancouver International Dance Festival<\/p><\/div>\n

And\u00a0we keep pushing.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, I went to see Manuel Roque at the Vancouver International Dance Festival. I wasn’t sure what I’d be seeing, but I wanted to take our granddaughter as she’s into dance.<\/p>\n

It turned out to be\u00a0less dance and more an existential comment on our times. It was billed as “…a celebration of the human race in case of it\u2019s possible disappearance.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em> The soundscape even included an excerpt from one of\u00a0Stephen Hawking<\/a>‘s works.<\/p>\n

What was so unusual about this presentation was how Manuel Roque broke the fourth wall, that invisible wall between performers and audience. In theatre, the wall gives\u00a0 performers the freedom to\u00a0create a\u00a0story\u00a0for us, the audience,\u00a0to contemplate and enjoy. An illusion of another time and place. We can watch life unfold\u00a0without necessarily getting involved. Of course we\u00a0do\u00a0through our emotions, but if we decide to tune out, we\u00a0can, and no one will be the wiser.<\/p>\n

Well imagine my surprise, when during the performance, Manuel Roque began crawling off stage through that fourth wall, towards me. I was sitting in the first row.\u00a0He grabbed my boot, and then\u00a0proceeded to climb on top of me. Yes, that’s right. On top of me<\/em>.\u00a0Next thing I knew, I\u00a0was hugging him. You have to know that before he\u00a0left the stage, he had been crying out in different ways. So, when he climbed onto my lap, I felt sympathetic and\u00a0put my arms around him.<\/p>\n

When I described the event later to my daughter, she said, “It’s a good thing, Mom, that you aren’t a victim of abuse.” I hadn’t thought of that.\u00a0Perhaps Manuel had the sense by looking at me, that I wasn’t\u00a0vulnerable in that way. I’m now curious to know how he\u00a0made his decision.<\/p>\n

In the midst of my hugging, he continued climbing over me into the row behind and did the same to others for\u00a0two more rows. What was also surprising is how effortlessly he did it. I did not feel violated, nor did I feel his weight. He succeeded in pushing\u00a0the boundaries and etching his performance into my memory.<\/p>\n

\"untitled\"

Set of Manuel Roque at Vancouver International Dance Festival<\/p><\/div>\n

Before the program began the stage was set with two white plastic chairs.\u00a0I now see it’s where we can sit and let our imaginations take us to places we didn’t think possible.<\/p>\n

This “dance” piece\u00a0made\u00a0me think about life and our connections to one another. What we can do and who we can be. The limits we set are in our control more than we think. It’s a lesson not only for writing but for life. It’s exciting to push those boundaries, to stretch ourselves and realize our potential.<\/p>\n

I’d love your thoughts on this<\/strong>.\u00a0Happy writing.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For writers and artists, pushing\u00a0boundaries is\u00a0a natural act.\u00a0 As creative spirits, we\u00a0want to test how far we can go. Look at how the book Fifty Shades of Grey\u00a0changed the publishing… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,87,4],"tags":[78,696,694,698,697,58,695,33,5],"class_list":["post-1961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","category-theatre-2","category-writing","tag-diana-stevan","tag-fourth-wall","tag-manuel-roque","tag-pushing-boundaries","tag-stephen-hawking","tag-theatre","tag-vancouver-international-dance-festival","tag-writer","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Manuel-Roque.jpg?fit=1400%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-vD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2576,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/writing\/writers-festivals-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":1961,"position":0},"title":"Writers Festivals, Libraries, and More","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"15 \u041a\u0432\u0456\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"North Shore Writers Festival April is turning out to be quite a month for a writers' festival and more.\u00a0The month\u00a0begins with my book launch of The Rubber Fence at the\u00a0Campbell River library\u00a0on Vancouver Island and\u00a0continues at the Lynn Valley library for the North Shore Writers Festival. At the North Shore\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0922.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0922.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0922.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":724,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/uncategorized\/harry-brown-meets-network\/","url_meta":{"origin":1961,"position":1},"title":"Harry Brown Meets Network","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"16 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Some writers seem clairvoyant.\u00a0 Gary Young\u00a0 the screenwriter of the film, Harry Brown, certainly seems to be one of them. He showed inequities in one country's social system before they exploded.\u00a0 In the film, youth in low-cost housing projects beat up the locals and tackled the police without concern for\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/harry-brown-202x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3438,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/writing\/siwc-an-exceptional-writers-conference-in-b-c\/","url_meta":{"origin":1961,"position":2},"title":"SIWC – An Exceptional Writers Conference in B.C.","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"19 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m back from a wonderful holiday in the Maritimes. I\u2019ll post more about that later, but today, I\u2019m off to work at the Surrey International Writers Conference, held Oct. 19-22, at the Sheraton Hotel in Surrey, British Columbia. A great event with bestselling authors, agents, and editors from the USA\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Book-signing-ad.png?fit=1200%2C446&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Book-signing-ad.png?fit=1200%2C446&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Book-signing-ad.png?fit=1200%2C446&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Book-signing-ad.png?fit=1200%2C446&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Book-signing-ad.png?fit=1200%2C446&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1442,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/my-writing-missteps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1961,"position":3},"title":"My Writing Missteps","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u041b\u0438\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"My writing journey has been a long one. I've seen little of my output in the public eye. Am I a slow learner? No, but I\u2019ve made many a wrong step. I was reminded of my writing missteps when I read Writing Tips: 31 Most Invaluable Pieces of Writing Advice\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"library 5","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/library-5.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4628,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2019\/uncategorized\/counting-my-blessings-writing-and-otherwise\/","url_meta":{"origin":1961,"position":4},"title":"Counting my Blessings, Writing and Otherwise","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Only ten days before Christmas and I'm counting my blessings. I feel organized. Presents wrapped, cards sent, and baking done. I even managed to re-do my banner on my Facebook Author page. The quote is from one of the judges of the Whistler Independent Book Awards, for which my novel\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/PhotoFunia-1576361828.jpg?fit=1169%2C827&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/PhotoFunia-1576361828.jpg?fit=1169%2C827&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/PhotoFunia-1576361828.jpg?fit=1169%2C827&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/PhotoFunia-1576361828.jpg?fit=1169%2C827&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/PhotoFunia-1576361828.jpg?fit=1169%2C827&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6651,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2024\/writing\/counting-my-blessings-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1961,"position":5},"title":"Counting My Blessings","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Though I'm thankful and am counting my blessings, 2024 has been quite a year. 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