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Janicza Bravo + Your Stress Comedy

AT HOME ART DATE | watch read write


“. . . from the very beginning. I had this very visual experience of reading it. [I envisioned] mostly empty rooms. I could see the light and I could feel wall-to-wall carpet. Todd Hido, the photographer, took these pictures of empty apartments and their interiors [in the book Todd Hido on Landscapes, Interiors, and the Nude]. You can see, in a rug, the outline of a dresser. Or on a wall, the outline of a frame. The wallpaper is stained. It feels a bit ghost-y. There had been all of this history. And as I read through [Zola’s] thread, I was seeing a lot of these spaces that had a good deal of history that sometimes was really pleasurable, and other times was really unpleasant. It vacillated between great joy and great terror all at once.”

-- Janicza Bravo


Biography:

Bravo is from Brooklyn via Panama. Bravo attended the Playwrights Horizons Theater School of NYU Tisch where she majored in directing and design for theater, which included costume and set design.She got her start as a filmmaker writing and directing a series of short films. Bravo's latest film, Zola, was directed and co-written by Bravo, along with playwright Jeremy O Harris. The film is based on a 148-tweet thread by Detroit waitress Aziah "Zola" Wells about a trip she took to Florida with a sex worker named Jessica.Zola had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award. She makes films “. . . for those who feel unheard.” You can watch the Zola trailer here.


Experience more Artistic Clarity free content,

& all of the AT HOME ART DATES here.

This AT HOME ART DATE is a chance for you get a big laugh at your own expense.


(element one) WATCH Bravo’s short film, Woman in Deep, starring Allison Pill here.


(element two) READ this story on Bravo in the NYT here.


(element three) WRITE down the five most stressful moments you’ve had in the past six months. Bravo describes the kind of films she makes as “stress comedy.” Now, imagine that these five events happened in one day. Ask yourself - How funny would that be? Using this idea, write in the third person in present tense a summary or treatment of your screenplay.


How does it feel to give yourself permission to turn your moments of tragedy into a comedy.


If you resist doing this at home art date, do it anyway.


If you seek perfection, you will never reach completion.


Finished? Congratulations. Well done, artist!


Please share your new look with a friend. Even share it on social media! Try to always share your art.


I hope you find Janicza Bravo + Your Stress Comedy to be a compelling AT HOME ART DATE.


I curate provocative AT HOME ART DATES for you to enjoy solo or with others in your own home. Many of these art dates have online elements combined with supplemental reading, listening, and a variety of activities you can do at home to enhance how you express and experience art. Feel free to forward these art dates to others. Remember to check out the bonus material below.


These AT HOME ART DATES are free of charge. However, they do take time, energy, and a lifetime of artistic experience to put together. If you’d like to buy me a cup of tea as a bit of thanks, I’d appreciate your generosity. Buy Pattie a Cup of Tea.


Yours,

Pattie


Bonus Material:


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