Contact Info

Name: Will Moore

Email: will@realvagabonds.com

We're being given messages by all of society that we are us, an individual, separate from everything around us. The only way to break free from this “illusion of separateness” is to recognize one’s self for who they truly are - a distinct, but inseparable feature of the whole magnificent process of living. We do this by giving ourself the validity to experience the five freedoms of a healthy human being. The freedom to see and hear, what is here and now, and say it. The freedom to think what you think rather than what you “should” think, and say it. The freedom to feel what you feel, rather than what you’re “supposed” to feel, and say it. The freedom to ask for what you want instead of waiting for permission, or someone else to give it to you. And the freedom to take risks on you own behalf, and play the self as a role in the beautiful process of life, which is what you are, instead of always choosing to play it safe.

20th century psychologist Erik Ericson proposed that there are 8 stages in a life-long psycho-social process of forming an identity. The 8 stages are about individuating ourselves comparatively against the judgement of other's norms and expectations. Each stage has a conflict that serves as the turning point, and thus each stage is the acting premise for the major conflict our protagonist faces. Ericson said successful completion of each stage results in a psychological strength, each building upon each other, and serving us for the rest of our lives. Failing to complete each stage results in a weak sense of self. These conflicts, applied over a melding of core genre elements allow for the succinct exploration of a theme across a complex interpolation of contexts - the lens through which information is presented and perceived - the bowl in which we digest themes and ideas, each new bit slightly uncovers the mystery of the whole.

Alice never had hope or vulnerability in her life. She learned as a child that it’s not safe to want or to need. Now, as an adult, she's a fawning, hypervigilance-fatigued, shell-shocked, prickly, cold person. It worked to survive her childhood, but it’s a cold, cold, cold, world because she never learned that there was any other way, and she’s failed these stages. Alice's arc sees her going through each stage, becoming empowered through the rewarded psychological strengths.  The psychological strength is both the stakes, and solution to each stage. Conflict comes in setting up the psychological strength to win out over the competing detriment - the funnel through which action is directed to reveal the self/ persona of our protagonist, each new bit giving depth to the minute.

Along with the psychological strengths rewarded by successfully completing each stage, Alice develops complementary value traits - the skills necessary to complete each stage. As our story is a myth we move through these stages in a period shorter than an entire life-time, but, that being said, we will indeed watch the completion of one life as our character begins another. Just as a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, the heart of this show is an evolution from "nothingness" to personhood. Things like kindness, gives her the power to not judge so harshly, and to move from a protective state in isolation to trusting in the world. Hope the gives her the strength to be vulnerable. Or when being less judgmental allows her to appreciate more beauty in life, giving her the strength of vulnerability allowing her to see herself as cute, or beautiful in some way - someone to be appreciated.

A motif of this treatment is a selection and paraphrasing of quotes from "The Book On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are," by Alan Watts, all quoted passages on the reels are from Watts’ book, unless otherwise specified - for the economy of visual space, not citing the same source repeatedly. Watt’s quotes are paired with the concepts of Erik Ericson’s stages of development. And in tonal companion to John Bradshaw’s “Healing The Shame That Binds You,” and Brené Brown’s “The Gifts of Imperfection.” All of this with my personal stylings and dispersed through the prism, a premise, that I think most resembles my natural philosophy.

"The Magical Realist does not try to copy the surrounding reality or to wound it, but to seize the mystery that breathes behind everything." - Frederic Jameson

Not straying from action or emotion, but somewhere in between, I’m gonna make these motherfuckers cry listening to “Welcome to the Jungle.”