things that need to be done
Things That Need To Be Done is a durational solo that explores the subject of high functioning mental illness, and the ways it forces an individual to operate. Over the span of 6 hours, one dancer navigates non-emotional studies of effort through poignant and fine tuned movement, manipulation of physical materials, and a jam session to a 60’s playlist. Through the build and breakdown of many patterns, this work bears the question, “how much of my illness is my identity?”
"Tofil uses duration to create states of perpetuity in which she can show the rituals and exhaustion of surviving and maintaining...what a gift."
-SeattleDances
Things That Need To Be Done began in 2017 as a 10 minute work called step one. performed in 12 Minutes Max. The world illustrated within it is one of constant energy management, coping strategies, and cyclical thought patterns that could be associated with high functioning mental illness.
Anxiety and depression are constant forces in my life. They shape my work, my social interactions, my sense of self, and my general function. They distort my perspective, zap my energy and liveliness, and threaten everything important to me. They operate on a spectrum that makes it hard to know what "normal" is.
While the abstracted concepts in this work in no way represent every experience with anxiety and depression, they were inspired by mine. "Showing up" is a great challenge for me - emotionally, physically, and mentally - when I am engrossed with my own dysfunctioning brain. However, every time I showed up for this work, it showed up 100x over. It empowered me and cared for me.
Video footage by InEmerald Photography, design and editing by Lynn Tofil
COLLABORATORS
Alexandra Beatty Spencer (dancer) is an artist invested in the revelatory practice of creation. She weaves a performative home in the articulation between movement and language. Since moving to Seattle, she has pursued movement practice with intent to establish dialogues between body, mind, and spirit. She shares these integrations as creator and performer, and believes in them as personal and pleasurable labor. She has performed locally in work by Kaitlin McCarthy, Britt Karhoff, Maya Soto, and Karin Stevens, among others; and presented her work No Lack through Ktisk Contemporary Dance in 2017.
Rew Winter (sound score) works as a Maintenance Technician and lives in Oregon with their wife and fluffy black cat. They create experimental sound collages with reverse-engineered, improvisational loops. To further enrich the soul, Rew practices Qi Gong with their mental health counselor, watches obscure (and potentially awful) animation, and falls asleep while reading Wikipedia articles.
This durational work premiered at Base: Independent Arts & Space in Seattle, Washington on June 8th, 2019. It was stage managed by Stacy Brenner. This was a Base Independent Production and was partially funded by Artist Trust through a 2018 individual GAP Grant, as well as by generous Kickstarter donors including:
Case van Rij
Kaitlin McCarthy
Paige Dean
Benjamin Skubi
Rebecca Frevert
Deb Tofil
Elizabeth Simon
Jeff Tofil
Britt Karhoff
Erin Johnson
Barbara Tofil
Jerry Tofil
Gloria Kopper
and Anonymous Donors
This work was also generously supported by residencies and rehearsal space at:
Bainbridge Dance Center
Planted Pilates
Special thanks to:
Ella Mahler
Kaitlin McCarthy
Loubee Zielinski
This work is available for touring - please visit the connect page to inquire!
all project photos by InEmerald Photography