Loom Ensemble Devising Intensives
This winter, 
Loom Ensemble continues its multi-year practice of open Devising Intensives, to welcome new collaborators into the creative process!
Loom collaborators gather about once a month for either a long weekend or full week intensives, at WildHeart: a performance incubation / retreat space in the Hudson Valley.
In these creative workperiods, we welcome performers (dancers, actors, musicians), writers, composers, designers, dramaturgs — we’ll be approaching the material from all angles.
This is a body positive, queer, anti-racist space. The work is explicitly political, leaning into raw conversations, but centering wellbeing and respect for the artist throughout.
More About Devising Intensives
Loom’s signature theatermaking process, cultivated over the last decade of experience.
- We will maintain a daily schedule of mornings off with possible meditation and singing, training and rehearsals in the afternoon, and discussions in the evening. Artists will have the option to lead one of the trainings — we hope to get a diverse representation of training methodologies into the room. Neva and Raphael will be leading the development process in the afternoons and evenings.
- Write us if you can only come for part of the time
- All performance opportunities are still pending.
- All material created during the intensive is available for anyone in the group to use. We, as Loom Ensemble, may or may not use the material in next year’s summer show.
Dates and Schedule
The daily schedule will be 4 hours of training and rehearsal every afternoon, followed by group dinner and evening activities. Mornings off. There will be an opportunity to lead a training if you’d like to offer something to the group.
Nov 22-24
Friday November 22 Welcome DinnerOption to Arrive Friday Evening or Saturday Morn
Devising Saturday and Sunday afternoons
Departures Sunday evening or stay the night and head home Monday
Why Come? What will we do?
See the new, rad community/retreat center WildHeart in the Hudson Valley, and imagine your life here… 🙂- It’s basically a creative retreat
- Daily dance-theater training with other committed performers and artists
- Rehearse and develop new dance-theater material together
- Do table work/have awesome, thoughtful conversations
- Practice mediation and singing
- Walk in the woods, sit by the private lake, canoe, and enjoy being outdoors
- Live in community, share meals together, drink wine by the fire
- Get to know other badass artists
See the new, rad community/retreat center What Artists are Saying about Loom Devising Intensives
“They are so much fun to work with, and make sure everyone feels welcome and met where they are at to be able to contribute as their fullest self. Can’t wait to collaborate more.”
“Participating in devising intensives with Loom Ensemble has completely shifted how I think about art-making and generative, joyful collaboration.”
“The container that is created to work in is at once rigorous and soft, which allows for everyone’s truest creativity to emerge. The arc of a devising intensive is very intentionally crafted by Raff and Neva; there is enough structure to be able to play in a way that is useful to moving slowly towards a goal of a piece that will eventually be made, and at the same time they both are flexible enough to be able to follow the threads of where the group is going/adapt to what is emerging in the process. It makes their work so much deeper and more nuanced to have had many different artists contribute and touch it along the way, and I feel honored to have touched several of the gorgeous pieces that Loom has created!”
Financial exchange
At this stage, we are asking artist to:
- cover your own travel costs to and from WildHeart at 183 East Road Wallkill NY 12589
- Public transportation from NYC: Metro North to Beacon, and a ~$30 uber from there to WildHeart.
- We will work to organize carpools to help minimize costs.
- chip in $30-$100/day sliding scale for food+drink+housing (all provided onsite)
- No one turned away for lack of funds. Let us know if these costs are prohibitive to you, and we’ll work to find a solution together.
- as with all WildHeart programming, we invite BIPOC community to “pay what you want” down to $0