The Secret Society of Greg

Last May, something truly incredible happened. The Secret Society of Greg was brought to life. How to describe what an important and magical creation this was?

Here is a little backstory.

During the making our Bat for Lashes production COSMIA in 2022, a couple of our students fell in love with a toad they called Greg. And so, the Secret Society of Greg was born!

Since then, our brilliant young student Dusty Rose, started writing a play about this Secret Society and the amazing toad Greg! With the help of her fellow SSOG member Gabriella Ceravolo and her teacher Miss Nati, the script was ready for the next step.

Costumes…Set Design…Color…Rainbows…

In came, Dusty’s Mom, the artist April Rose, who turned Dusty’s sketches and visions of characters into real life. Using paper, paint, fabric, cardboard and papier-mache…it wasn’t long before giant mushrooms, toad heads and hummingbird masks started to appear.

The 20 kids who signed up to tell the tale were a wild crew filled with enthusiasm and love for Greg and the whole show. It was clear that the fact that this was an original production written by one of their own had super-charged the whole process. Ideas were flying in the room as the show developed and character backstories were written at home and brought to the picnic area to be shared.

Questions like “Why does the Mockingbird Sorcer steal voices?” were answered and surprises from Starfish about the origins of the world were revealed. Want to know how old the earth is? Just ask a starfish named Eoin.

Direct all other questions to the Oracle of Mangata…pictured below, just at the right time…when the moon is at it’s fullest.

But who is Greg? And more importantly what is the Secret Society of Greg? Well…all of these questions and more could and might be answered by watching this little film of the whole event below.

The story tells the tale of a group of kids, who journey into the magical world of Greg Town, in search of their king who has mysteriously gone missing! Along the way they encounter even more frogs, a mockingbird sorcerer, a rainbow rose, an oracle, a purple giraffe and an attic full of lost toys!

A huge thanks to all the hands and hearts that brought this play together. Especially Dorka Hegedus-Lum for all these beautiful photographs and our directors Miss Nati and Miss Nancy and the entire team at Kalabash. Big thank you to Miss Laurie for helping to paint the mural and the artistic genius of April Rose who lovingly brought this world to life. Thank you to the original members of SSOG for creating magic and discovering King Greg.

And most of all, thank you to Dusty Rose.

You are a bright light of creativity and love in the world and because of your determination, hard work and wild imagination, the world is now a little greener, brighter and filled with a new story and song. Don’t ever stop. Never forget and always remember…

WATER PLUS SUN EQUALS RAINBOW

The Odyssey!

Who knew how absolutely profound an experience Homer’s Odyssey would be as a children’s play! We are endlessly impressed with these kiddos! Their talent and love for Greek mythology exceeded all our expectations. Please enjoy these photos and the little documentation (which doesn’t do the real thing justice) But we’re grateful for the memories!

40 Days of Play (An Agnes Martin Vision)

This month Kalabash is doing a 40 day practice challenge, encouraging students to build their skills and a bit of healthy competition with their fellow music-makers. Me, the ship captain, Katie Berns, created a large sticker chart made up of over 4,000 squares to keep track of everyone’s progress. This sizable chart was inspired by the work of Agnes Martin.

When I was first asked to do this, I lit up! I get to create an Agnes Martin-inspired work? I get to step into the method of someone I admire so deeply? What a dream! However, I couldn’t sit for weeks on end and wait for a vision to appear to me. I didn’t have enough time! The challenge was only a week away and I had to move fast. I did, however, do a bunch of meticulous measuring and pencil-sharpening to plan for how big this thing would have to be to accommodate the over 100 students we have here at Kalabash. I would say Agnes would be proud, but I don’t think she’d really care.

I can already hear it you now, “Wait, hold on…visions??”, you might ask. “Sitting for weeks on end??? What are you talking about?”

Well, let me tell you…

WHO IS AGNES MARTIN?

Agnes Martin was a painter born in Canada, 1912. She moved to New York City when she was 20 years old and became apart of the New York School, a group of artists looking to define modern art in America. Her colleges included the likes of Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

She’s most known for her paintings made up of repetitive grids, stripes and dots. Though her work resembled the minimalist athletics of some of her counterparts, she did not consider herself a minimalist. She rather thought of her work as Abstract Expressionism, depicting the visions she had, most commonly relating to themes of pure happiness, innocence, beauty and joy.

She was a mystic and had a deeply spiritual connection to her work. She would sit and wait for an image to come to her, sometimes sitting for weeks on end until a tiny grid would appear in her mind. This was a meditative practice, honoring her spiritual life, thinking of herself only as a vessel for creation.

REFLECTIONS

I find the repetition, focus and intention behind Martin’s work a parallel to the dedication it takes to complete a challenge of this magnitude. For 40 days, students will practice and place an orange dot on each day they’ve completed. I know it would satisfy Martin’s soul to see each of these 4,400 squares filled with the proof, the intention, of a students dedication to their craft. Maybe this is a stretch, but stretching is good for the body and mind!

The challenge started Saturday, October 8 and will end on November 17, leading us to our open mic!

FAQs

• Are there prizes? What are they?! - SURprises

• How long did it take to make this?! - Mmm.. this one is hard to track, but I would say 7-8 hours? This includes planning, drawing out the entire grid in pencil, filling in each square with a dot, painting the sign, and placing each students name to their individual column.

• How many dots are there?! - Are you ready for this answer?? 4,400 (and counting!)

SNACK BREAK

Anges Martin ate! She did! Just like you and me! She would set strict diets for herself and would often eat a limited diet. Her favorite snack was bananas and coffee. Here is a recipe for Banana Coffee Cake we are sure Agnes Martin would like.

Goodbye Lexi Hello 10am!

It is with a kiss and a happy tear we announce that incredible artist teacher Lexi Pulido is leaving us after many beautiful years of music making and education! Even though we will miss her greatly we know she will always be part of our Kalabash family and we couldn’t be happier for her as she embarks on a whole new adventure!

Lexi has recently opened a studio of her own in Normal Heights and there is nothing normal about it. In fact, it’s the coolest art thing that is happening in our city. The studio is called 10am (TENAM) and every Monday through Friday at 10am there is a 15 minute performance art in the window. It’s not only a space for incredible experimental art, but Lexi is also continuing her teachings there as well and hosting group workshops, including a children’s choir!! I highly recommend that you join her, learn about TenAm, spread the word and do whatever you can to support her on this new courageous and inspiring venture!

Learn all about TenAm here: https://www.tenamstudio.com

Postcards from Camp!

This summer we visited Moominvalley, Neverland, Trollberg, Ursula’s sea cave, the village of a thousand ships and Hogwarts!

Running with the Wolves

Last summer, we put on a theatre production of The Wolfwalkers, a film which is the third part in director Tom Moore’s “Irish Folklore Trilogy”. As far as we are aware there hasn’t been a kids production of this film in existence yet. As the cast of all girls showed up on the morning of the first day and shyly smiled at one another while setting their shoes and lunch boxes in a row, we knew there would be something special and magical about this week of Handmade Theatre. The actors fiercely took to their roles during the week, delivering lines with passion and conviction, becoming their characters much to the teachers’ delight. Letting out howls in unison, grinning at one another slyly, they melded into their very own wolf pack in front of our eyes.

The pack, surrounding mama wolf Natalia.

By the end of the week, we were all entirely swept away by the magic of the story. The girls hummed “Running with the Wolves” by Norwegian songwriter Aurora, in between scene rehearsals. The teachers were able to sit back and watch with that time-honored enchantment unique to theatre. We spent the evenings hanging foliage and flowers from the ceiling, painting a mural with giant moon, stars, ferns, and vines, to frame the actors on the stage. They spent an afternoon weaving ribbon, small daises, and lavender, into flower crowns that many of them brought back and wore steadfastly throughout the week.

On the last day, after film day, we all gathered around and got “initiated into the wolf pack” by the directors. Each girl received a packet of information about a wolf family member we had adopted on their behalf from the California Wolf Center. They were quiet, feeling the sacred space and honoring the beauty and symbolism of the moment. We bid them farewell on that bittersweet Friday, knowing they felt newfound wonder in their hearts, enthusiasm for the earth and nature, and with the knowledge that they had found a community of friends that would last in their memories forever.

Experience Miss Lexi's Sound Mark Walk

Lexi Pulido is a conductor of space. Seeing her perform with her alt jazz band KiliKili or versatile duo Lex & The Jewels is captivating, from the very moment she steps on stage and her voice soars from deeply earthy to atmospheric, as playful and curious as a bird. She plays with space when she sits down at the piano and instructs students to breathe here, to feel into the meaning of a word there, and when she silently nods approval as a student, with energized clarity, creates their own vocal melody in the generous space she has cultivated for them. Her careful, compassionate instruction is what makes her students soar themselves to new heights, surprising even themselves at what they’ve channeled creatively and expressively under her inspired direction. 

It’s with this same inspiration that she’s generously created a guided sound walk, an experience that is free to the public and available to pick up as a zine at the Kalabash front desk! Lexi describes her sound walk on her website as follows: 

This walk was created in fall of 2020 by Lexi Pulido (as part) of her 8-week Sound Art Group Workshop series at Kalabash School of Music and the Arts. Pulido was inspired by the Elastic City walks of New York. Through the lens of its sound, participants are invited to combine imagination and self reflection with the living, sounding world around Birdrock, CA. 

The walk begins on the Kalabash front patio with an action as simple as observing the beautiful mural painted on our building. Participants are directed to imagine it coming to life, and what colors and images and feelings it might evoke. We are then guided to a public fountain and encouraged to not only listen to the sound of the fountain itself but the way it interacts with the sounds of cars and people and the urban environment. Continuing on the walk, we are encouraged to reflect upon the experience of our ancestors, to perform a breath meditation with waves, to consider the personality and sound of a local plant. At once poetic and philosophical, whimsical and profound, the tour packs a punch and by the end I found myself wishing for more pages so that I might continue on.

But maybe that’s the point. Lexi is waiting for us to pick up on the melody where she left off, as we find our voice in the song and she fades off, smiling. As we see for ourselves, with shocking clarity, the beauty of the everyday world that was here for us the whole time.

Interview with Kalabash Student Artist

For the past few months, Kalabash student Jack Rudy (who takes music/theatre/acting classes with Miss Nancy and has taken comic book classes with Rodney Anderson) has been working on a writing project called “The Adventures of Tyris and Kat”. We are pleased to release the trailer for this project, which is illustrated by Jack and narrated by Jack and Nancy. Below is an interview with the artist and the trailer for the film! We’re looking forward to seeing more work from this young artist!

Can you give a brief synopsis of the story? 

Well, it’s about these two twins and they live in this made up world. One of them has these powers they don’t know about, and they don’t know their whole family history and one day they get kidnapped, and have to go on a long journey to figure out who they are and who their family is. 

How did you come up with the premise of the story? The characters? 

Random ideas come to me, and they usually get inspired by the shows I watch or am currently watching. 

Were there any specific shows that inspired this story? 

Not at the first part, but then I watched Avatar and that kind of helped move the story. 

And what inspirations did you draw from that show? 

The fact that she can use the elements and some of the character dynamics, for example between the siblings, are a little bit like the ones from Avatar. 

Will this be a series of graphic novels, or do you intend to bring in film/other media? Would you consider making it a theatre, musical, or film piece? 

I’d imagined it as an animated TV show with shorter episodes. But a graphic novel could also be cool. 

What genre do you feel your artwork falls under? 

Fantasy. And Horror. And usually it’s about kids, because I’m a kid. 

What/who are some of your main inspirations that you draw from in your work? 

For drawing, I usually do cartoon style. But I haven’t really been inspired by other cartoon styles, because I don’t try to draw realistically or in an anime style. But with some of my other work I’ve been inspired by Stranger Things, and IT by Stephen King. And that’s pretty much it. 

In what space do you feel most creatively inspired? AKA where do you feel you can do your best work? 

Not really. I don’t do better in any certain place, I just need to be alone. And also it depends on my state of mind. Sometimes if I’m not super energetic, or maybe after I’ve watched something, then I’ll sit down to create. 

How has your script writing changed and/or evolved over time? 

I think at the beginning, I wasn’t great with cutting off scenes. And not as much dialogue as description. And also things were more blunt. Like: ‘Yes, I will”, and not said in a, you know, normal way. I think some of my dialogue got more natural over time. 

What are some common themes in your script-writing? 

Usually it’s about kids going on a journey. And they will evolve and change a little along the way. 

Is this the first piece of writing you’ve ever done? 

Nope~ so my first real writing that I did was a book that I worked on for a little bit and I got a good way through. And then I also write part of a Horror Movie Script, that will be continued, that I have a clip of, and that is called Blindsville Horror Story. It’s about a small town and kids start to go missing, and these two boys have to team up to save their friend.

What do you like most about your work?

I like making stories, and it’s fun to create different worlds and people apart from this world. 

What do you dislike about your work? Or what do you think you can improve upon? 

I’ll have a basic plan but sometimes I need a more set plan, and sometimes I sort of just...go with it, and not think too much before. And that gets really crazy. So maybe I could have a bit more of a set plan, not just beginning, middle, and end, but who they meet along the way. ‘Cause I just randomly introduced Prothisio because I wanted a different character. He’s an old wizard they meet who trains Kat after she gets her powers. 

What superpower would you have and why? 

Okay there are a few answers. Either telekinesis~because that would be fun; to move things with your mind, and control people’s minds because then~

You would rule the world? 

I would rule the world. Shape shifting would be fun~ and changing sizes, shrinking and stuff. That would be fun because I could go into my lego sets. And breathing underwater would be cool. Flying would be cool too. It would be cool to get around that way. 

Tell me more about your lego set. 

I just like to build lego sets. I have a lot of energy I think but I also like to focus on something, and I can focus on something for three hours, and not do anything else. 

What are some other hobbies you enjoy? 

I like swimming. I like watching TV shows. I like reading. I like LEGOS. I like to draw, and I like Theatre Tech. Oh, and I like dancing, tap dancing. And also acting is fun because you get to be a different person. Oh, and I like costuming. I like making clothes designs.  I like doing versions of Greek and Roman Togas but modernized versions. 

Okay, name three actors you’d like to cast in your movies. 

Hmmm. For Prophisio: Ian McKellen For Kat...hmm...I know! Sadie Sink. Because she’s a ginger too, and a good actress. For Tyris...Isaac Hempstead Wright, who plays Bran in Game of Thrones. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given (can be art-related or otherwise)?

I don’t like getting advice. But! I gave myself good advice. I don’t take criticism from people I wouldn’t take advice from. That’s pretty good advice. 

I wish I’d gotten that advice at your age. Ok...what audience would you like to reach with your work? 

Maybe young people or teenagers. Like 10-13 year olds. 

Do you feel your work has any deeper symbolism or social commentary?

No, I don’t really like symbolism. I just write a story, for the point of it being a story. 

When can we expect “The Adventures of Tyris and Kat” to come out? 

A long time. Because I’m not done with the series, and animating can take a long time.

March: Spirits and Spring

Watercolor Artwork by Calamity

Spring in San Diego always sets in so suddenly. You turn the corner and a flower, which you always took for granted to be perpetually a bud, has burst it’s pale pink and yellow petals out to the delight of bees and passers by. The long awaited rain taps onto mailboxes and into the sleepy grass seeds, who respond by gratefully sending blades up towards the sun. And for some of you, every Sunday morning you ride your bikes to Kalabash and explore the wonderful world of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away with our talented theatre teachers, Miss Nancy, Mr. Andrew, and Miss Natasha! 

We wish everyone could join us as we build a magical world here filled with river spirits, dragons, witches, dancing paper and puppetry. Join us as we honor Miyazaki’s delightful world of enchantment and spiritual symbolism. And as we explore what it means to get in touch with the earth, spirituality, and the inner child. Here are a few activities for you to be part of this magical creation, and so we can all honor the emergence of Spring together: 

1. Learn a new Japanese word. Two words that come up often throughout the film are “Yu” and “Me”. These clues can be put together to form the word “Yume” which means “To dream”! Below is that word written in Japanese:

夢

(Try copying that down on a piece of paper!)

1. Spirited Away was said to be heavily based on Shinto-Buddhism, a tenet of which is the idea of Kami, or that all things in nature such as trees, rocks, rivers, and mountains have spirits attached to them. So maybe take a nature walk and say hello to every Kami spirit you see. Imagine the rocks, hummingbirds, and mushrooms have voices, personalities, hairstyles. Pick up a few pieces of trash you see to clean the houses of your new friends. They might thank you, just like the River Spirit thanks Chihiro!  

2. Another Shinto Buddhist tradition is the Kagura, or music and dance done for the Kami. In folklore, Amaterasu the sun goddess was said to have disappeared into a cave and refused to come out. All of the other gods gathered together and performed a wild and free dance to urge her to emerge. When she did, the sun rose. Can you do a dance in the morning that might make the sun rise? It will have to be one filled with passion and energy...the sun is heavy!

Enjoy the process of honoring spring by yourself or with your loved ones. While you’re at it, why not listen to this Spirited Away playlist we made especially for you? Featuring all manners of magical music to enchant the spirit inside.

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February: Comfort Foods

When I was younger, my grandmother started a baking business out of her kitchen. While she mainly made and sold her famous focaccia, her baking at home was (and still is!) limitless. I remember pineapple cakes, molasses cookies, different kinds of breads and seasonal cookies. I would drop by, and bask in the warm smells and rhythmic squeaking of the bread machine, echoing through the serenity of the house. A good cook always tastes whatever they’re making before passing it off to friends and acquaintances, so we would sit down at the table with a pot of coffee, glasses of orange pineapple juice, and a big plate of whatever it was we were “testing” that day: little square pieces of the oily focaccia, cookies dusted with sugar or coated in nutty sesame seeds, or biscotti with almonds and cranberries. Talking, eating, laughing, and feeling fullness in a myriad of ways: this is what I remember.

Illustration by Phoebe Wahl

Recently I’ve tried to emulate that feeling through baking. While I don’t quite have the careful precision of my Grandmother when it comes to measurement (a sometimes fatal flaw), I do have a recipe that I turn to time and time again when I’m needing to fill the kitchen with the simple, delectable scent of fresh bread. This No-Knead Bread recipe has seen me through many years of reckless baking. I think my grandmother has even made it a few times, approvingly. 

In the spirit of turning towards comfort foods, foods that remind us of our families, foods that we will tell our grandchildren about, here are the chosen comfort foods that the teachers at Kalabash absolutely and unconditionally love to make and eat right now:

Stef Schmitz: Boxed mac & cheese but spiffed up with ground turkey

and baked with panko bread crumbs on top!

Lexi Pulido: Steel cut oats with butter 

Alex Arango: Butter chicken with basmati rice, naan, and mango lassi!

Laurie Nasica: This Lasagna, or Pasta Carbonara. 

Nancy Ross: Soup! Chicken and dumpling, black-eyed pea soup (which is informally known as Roadkill Soup in the Ross family.)

Erin Chan: Gimbap! You can find my favorite recipe for that, as well as other great authentic Korean recipes here. 

EP Review: "Light in the Darkness"

I remember the first time I heard Jessamine Barham’s music. I was at the Kalabash desk, and an email from her music production teacher Alex popped up one afternoon. “Here’s an mp3 of the mastered version of ‘A Thousand Stars’!” Alex said in a quick message, cc-ing Jessy. Curiously, I hit play on the attached track. Immediately the clear, deep timbre of Jessy’s voice, paired with an ethereal harp, drifted through the studio, captivating me. I listened to the entire track once. Then I listened to it again. And then a third time. It was mesmerizing, like no other song I’ve heard at the school or even on the radio. It was a rare piece of music that felt raw, vulnerable, and truly original. 

That was over a year ago. We’re in 2021 now. We’ve all gone through so much turmoil, our world has been upended over and over again. We’re figuring out a new way of being alone, and together. And Jessy’s new EP, Light in the Darkness, feels like an antidote to the solitude and loneliness that we’ve all felt. And it feels like an instruction manual on emerging from the other side somehow better, more hopeful. In a brand new dawn.

The EP opens with Ghosts from the Past, a symphonic soundscape layered with dark harmonies that skillfully juxtapose the light piano melodies. This dimension and texture gives a nod to the symphonic metal bands that came before her, yet the candid lyrics and cadence is unmistakably her own. At the end of the song, she chants hypnotically “We are always there, you can’t forget us. We made you who you are. You would be nothing without us”. This chilling shift in tone, taking on the perspective of the ghosts she’s depicting, hint at the subtle cinematic arc present throughout the whole EP.

Next is Price to Pay, an upbeat, dark carnival bop accompanied by Jessy’s characteristic internal reflection, this time with regards to self protection and trust. Blindly signing everything away, like a fun-house mirror, “looks appealing to the eye can be rotten to the core inside”.

“Only a Dream” brings us back to the chamber pop tone that is so unique to her style, particularly the hypnotic xylophone, lifting the song to the realm of an ethereal lullaby. Our voice teacher Lexi Pulido commends “Only a Dream”, saying: This song is full of surprising lyricism and dynamic changes of pace. The way she changes her vocal expression when shifting from lines of joy to lines of falsity is very well-crafted. 

The last song on the album is “A New Dawn”, a surprisingly short, sweet and intimate song that feels like a field shining with dew on the countryside. Jessy’s soulful voice lifts and bows effortlessly in this triumphant renewal song. We’ve made it through the reckoning with ghosts of the past, the fears of trust, the disillusionment of waking life. Jessy has since stated that she’s choosing to make big changes in her style and artistry, shifting her intention to focus on the light and positive energy of life. “I am going down a different path in my artistic journey; this will be the last dark album I make” she said, of Light in the Darkness. This dynamic shift is evident in this last song, both somber and hopeful, like a hymn. “I now am understood” she sings in a voice as clear as the morning sky, “We embrace a new era where we don’t have to worry, we don’t have to be afraid.”

 Whatever this new era brings, if we have Jessamine Barham making music in it, I think we’ll all be okay.

March 18th Update: Jessy has since started a Patreon which you can find here. It has all sorts of fun offerings! Be sure to check it out!

January: Perchta, Peanut Stew, and the Power of Hibernation

Hello Kalabash family. It’s been a quiet start to the year. With all lessons being online only for the first two weeks of January, the daily melodies and voices that drifted through our studio each day were notably absent as we made our way through the dawning of this year. It becomes easy for a certain Ship Captain to feel nostalgic for such comforts when they’re gone, but perhaps we have all felt the pang or two of nostalgia at one point or another during this tumultuous year. 

We might find some comfort during this specific time and cycle of the season, however. Instead of shying away from the necessary rest, perhaps we should embrace it. In Ireland there is a holiday in January in which women were allowed to have a break from household duties and tasks such as loom spinning. If this break was respectfully observed, and the women took the day to relax and spend time with family and friends, the goddess Perchta was said to leave a gold coin in a pair of shoes, or bless the livestock of the family. 

While the presence of livestock in La Jolla is negligible, I would argue that this period of rest for our teachers and students will be rewarded in ways that might surprise us. How grateful will you be when you can sit next to your teacher at the piano and create a song from your imagination? Or spend an afternoon in the outdoor garden studio, sketching comic book characters with Rodney and crafting adventure storylines with your best friends? 

Perhaps those much needed sparks of inspiration are the little coins dropped from the hands of Perchta, after a long winter break of solitude. So rest well! Turn inwards towards your dreams and your lazy afternoons, tend to your gardens, your pets, your neglected baking tins. Spend a rainy afternoon trying to draw what your favorite song would look like if it was a magical make believe animal. Write a letter to a grandparent, drop it in the mail and look forward to a reply. And soon, when we can gather in our community and create again, all sorts of gems might await you.

In the meantime, a simple yet comforting soup I love to make is West African Peanut Soup. With ginger, sweet potatoes, and peanuts, it checks all the boxes of a warming comfort food. You can blend it a little to transform it into more of a stew, or omit the chicken, or keep it as it is in all of its spicy, savory, sweet luxury.