The Theater of Our Minds

IN THE COOLER is about a poet’s internal struggle to find something meaningful to say, and to connect with his audience. We’ve set the action inside a beautiful theater in Montreal called The Corona, where a cabaret troop will be performing to a hard-to-please jury. (I play the small “p” poet, naturally.)

We’ve cast our jury and performers, and have booked the Corona. Luc Laperriere, who runs the place, took us for a technical location tour earlier this week.

This is the first time Jacob and I have worked together like this in almost 10 years. We are having a ball. Time has been kind to us, a think – the relationship is easier than it was, and I think it will produce something unique and powerful on the screen.

We shot these images with my new Canon Rebel camera – light enters where there is no light!

ichat diplomacy

I made my first short film, SPOTTING LAYTON, when I was 30, in 1994. Things have changed a lot. Montreal is no longer the slumping metropolis it was. I’m no longer a tormented and frustrated artist (or maybe not in the same way.) But perhaps the biggest change is in how technology has changed the process.

We used to meet and talk and create face to face. Since then, we’ve all honed our craft and worked on our issues. So we often find it easier and more convenient to work on our own, preparing our stuff and sending it by e-mail when ready, and then conferencing by Skype or ichat. Technology has thundered forward. Space is no limitation anymore. My studio is in Montreal, Paris, Dubai, LA, South America ....

Case in point: Jacob and I, in different parts of Montreal, are working with Jesko, in Berlin, on the story and choreography. Jesko is in and out of Montreal. He and I meet here often (we've also hung out and worked together in Koln, San Fransisco, Turin and Paris.) But he lives in Europe now. However, when we use ichat, we could be in the same room. It’s fantastic. Attached: Jacob and Jesko on my screen.

HOW THE COOLER GOT BUILT

The IN THE COOLER project started with Robert Marchand. Some years ago, he called me and said: "do you have any old poetry lying around? Something you can record? It would be cool to try something in the style of LEONARD LIGHT MY CIGARETTE!"

That film was made 13 years ago. The spoken word vibe it came out of (for me, anyway) ran its course in 2000. But Robert is a friend and an artist and I trust him, so despite my reluctance to go over old ground, I dug up a few poems from the same period and recorded myself reading them in my home studio. I sent the resulting mp3s to Bob by e-mail.

Then, at the beginning of this year, he sent me a recording of the IN THE COOLER poem set to music. What I heard sounded fresh and fun and interesting. Coming across your own work years and years after you committed it to paper, and re-interpreted in another way, is a wonderful experience. The track was full of new life, and it seemed relevant to me, this work by a younger stranger now being heard through older ears.

On impulse, I invited my friend Jesko to add his voice to a more finished track when he was visiting from Berlin in February. I attach a film of the recording process for your study hours.

From there, I sent the track to Jacob, inviting him into the process. I thought there might be a film there. He came up with a great treatment, and I said: "I think we should submit this to Bravo!FACT."

We put together some extra financing, and now here we are, getting the project ready.

Welcome to the IN THE COOLER

IN THE COOLER is a new Bravo!FACT funded film, Produced by me (Tony Babinski,) directed by my old friend Jacob Potashnik, scored by another old friend Robert Marchand, and choreographed by my new old friend Jesko von den Steinen.

Jacob and I worked together on a series of short films under the mtl/ART banner some years ago. Jesko and I created a short film called CORPS more recently. And Robert has been producing my work as a musician for years, as well as creating wonderful music for live events and other projects I've sheperded through more recently.

This is the first time we're all working together as a creative group "from the ground up", and, so far, the process has been a lot of fun.

We shoot on September 15 and 16, in about a month. I'm about to go on vacation for two weeks - however, I'm posting this blog to track the work in progress, in case anyone out there is interested.