Nunc Licet, the stage play, management notes

The following material was taken from one of the AOL web pages before they closed Hometown. The material is being reorganized under different subject headings within the IMS Virtual Studio. Please bear with the parts that I have not yet been able to review& edit or relocate. AG


Distribution of Production Materials

Persons who specifically identify themselves as serious investors, vested creative/managerial partners, producing organizations/facilities, or parties to the ancillary markets will be provided with contract or script materials. A CD-ROM is being produced for distribution of the script materials. This CD-ROM will be provided to partners or it may be purchased by persons simply wishing to read the script. The a cost for the CD-ROM is $15 + $2.50 S&H and a printed version of the script willbe made available at a cost of $25 per script plus $5 S&H. These material will be generally available when the PayPal shopping cart is set up.

Reporting to Vested Partners

Vested partners will receive the appropriate reports when they are issued. The reporting requirements of Nunc Licet Productions, LTD will be managed by a vested board position responsible for that function. I will not be engaged directly in that activity. Therefore, the Front Money required for the foundational work of the production will be required to finance that aspect of the production, (in addition to securing the balance of principle board members who will also serve as Vested General Partners) before the Limited Partnership is filed with the Security Exchange Commission. Board members who are not vested can only sit in a secondary role, as they are positioned to perform in a limited fashion to a specific degree. (ie: organizational representative placed for oversight & reporting functions) Contracts specifying secondary functions allow for a limited return to the organization from the net receipts.

A Summary of the types of Productions

Workshop- a closed reading environment designed to supplement the writing process

Developmental production- a staged reading, script in hand, in black, one actor for each character, open to invited guests and test audience. Designed to establish timing, blocking, inflection & delivery, and to initiate necessary changes as a result.

* NOTE: The implementation of A Documentary film project begins at this stage and continues until union contracts cause a hindrance. This may be encompassed in an Academic Production or lead to it.

Refer to the note under cinematic production.

Academic production- produced in partnership with a university or college as an educational tool for the students and a refinement tool for the production. May also be used as a networking and training tool with multiple universities in a touring scenerio between Performing Arts Departments. Involvement in an Academic Production would have income producing implications for the university involved. However, all creative and managerial control remains with IMS, but may be modified upon approval so long as such modifications do not adversely impact the presently implemented contract terms.

Limited Regional Production- release into the regional theatre environment which brings into the mix the union contracts required by The League of Regional Theatres. This arena may work in conjunction with, supplement, or replace, the out-of-town tryout venues. This arena involves the not-for-profit theatre and may likewise fall into the Developmental Agreements depending on the type of production being presented.

Out-of-Town Try-out Production takes place in the professional arena, under the umbrella of a developmental try-out production, thereby allowing for reviewers imput to contribute to the development of the show without the destructive stain of a bad review from the New York critics.

Off-Off Broadway- is basically equivalent to an out-of-town tryout or a regional theatre, with the specific intent on traveling to New York. The Off-off Broadway theatre is closer to New York and draws the sophistication of the New York audience.

Off Broadway- is in New York but, allows for further development.

Broadway/London- are the premiere venues and the presentation is expected to be the best it can be. The cost to make this presentation is in the millions and the reviews are critical to the success of the production as a whole. Bad reviews will likely kill aproduction. It is advisable to stay out of New York until a demand has arisen for the production to move into the city.

Cinematic Production is best reserved for after a successful run on Broadway although in recent years successful films have made the transition to the stage, so film may become the most viable way to proceed.

* NOTE: recent decisions regarding the viability of this show as a whole and the difficulties with maintaining the actors and crew who will likely be available, indicate that a film production must take place simultaneously to the world premiere production in Bryn Athyn. Numerous production logistics & supplies can more easily be co-ordinated and shared if both efforts take place at the same time. The film materials gathered at this time may or may not be used for general release and it is possible that a different film production may occur.

National & International First Class Touring Productions- are a result of demand thathas been generated by a successful Broadway or London run.

National & International Second Class Touring Productions- are for a second run on a four-wall or for a run into the regional theatres.

Release of Performance Licensing- for revivals at regional not-for-profit, dinner & community theatres and for the festival environment. May include numerous performance variations on a case to case basis.

Investment Notes; discussions on money matters

Front Money - The minimum investment at this stage is $10K. This money currently falls under the Front Money Agreement, however this offer may be withdrawn or changed at any time, depending upon the advancement of the project's economic status. Any changes in this offer will not effect Investors who have contributed and have a signed Front Money Agreement. The Front Money required to enter into the offering stage of the Nunc Licet Limited Partnership is not fully determined, but should be expected to be in the neighborhood of $100K, due (in part) to the expectation of establishing a communications network for the proper & full implementation of the reporting requirements. This network must include a paid Director for the Partnership. This role may be filled by the legal firm assigned to filing the partnership, or the accounting firm on contract with the partnership, depending upon the agreements entered into. Discussions and a budget outline regarding the cost of mounting a production will be conducted on another page. Those materials are being reviewed and I expect to provide a brief synopsis and partial budget online for your review.

Front Money is money that is made available for the producers to apply to the pre-production development at their own discretion. It encompasses all the funds necessary to set up the management (and accounting) structure for the individual production and to establish & maintain the production office and key personnel in that office. It also is used for pre-production development of production materials and the adjacent materials needed to market the Limited Partnership and to make the filing with the Securities Exchange Commission. Front Money is recoverable from the proceeds of the Limited Partnership. There is a profit margin cap of 300% on the principle investment, derived from the net income of the Production Receipts and the principle investment buys an equivalent amount of shares in the Limited Partnership. The Limited Partnership shares in only those ancillary rights and markets which have entered agreement with the Partnership, but may be called upon to finance a foray into additional markets under the terms of the agreement. Ancillary agreements entered into prior to the complete capitalization of the LP may be transferred to the Partnership at the discretion of the Producers and/or General Partners on a case by case basis.


Further discussions on these matter will occur.
All proper contracts and management materials must be in place to cover the full range of exploitation.

Regarding the script: the material included in the script is more substantial than usual, because I felt it important to be comprehensive. I felt a need to be assured that, should my death occur before I succeed in producing the play, at least I know that the information will be provided for someone else to proceed.

At this point, it is difficult to say what the actual playing time is. A primary factor in determining the final playing time, is that an audience can only sit in a theatre for so long before the enjoyment of the experience begins to wane. Of course, the level of endurance depends highly upon the content of the play and the presentation of that material, so until we manage to produce the first full timed run-through, we really won't know. An open reading will help us to determine these issues. Clearly the success of the play depends upon the addition of more externals, tangible design elements, such as set & lighting, costumes, and properties. I believe conveying the period nature of the piece will add greatly to it's appeal. The subject matter has an substantial degree of depth to it, although I've tried to spread it out and present it in a casual way. I believe the play requires the creation of a total experience, in order to ease the mental strain of the concentrated challenging thought which sometimes does come forth.

For those of you who have, or will read the play, I am certian that in reality it is much shorter than it appears in writing. Some of the written text is not actually intended to be delivered as lines. It has been placed in the script as a resource for the actor to create a fulfilling characterization or to present semi-directly.

I do expect further refinement, as a result of imput from the performers who convey the 23 characters.

Look for other pages to appear regarding this production, as renewed effort to produce this play is beginning to ocur.

The Film

This script lends itself well to a film production and as the stage play begins to move into a Developmental production, work will likely progress on a film version as well.

As mentioned above, the film production ought to proceed in conjunction with the stage version. In addition to the narrative film, there is a documentary film, about the making of the play and a filmed version of the theatre show. Sort of an American Playhouse thing. So each of these productions is viable in itself, but together they support each other and access the same resources in terms of production personnel and costumes

I expect all this activity to take place in Bryn Athyn. There are sufficient resources as a whole- in terms of theatre facilities and shooting locations and there is a plethora of talented people there to achieve the goals that would be set forth. Additionally, I am considering expanding my facilities in Southampton, since I have become resolved to the fact that I am not going anywhere else and I'm not about to move away from the church. As always: Inquiries are welcomed. AG

Most Recent Update

Current Status;

NOTE: I seem to have lost my Fife in Tamanend Park last September before the performances. It is a maple file with brass fitting on each end and was housed in a leather soft case with a leather cord attached to one end, being long enough to tie around your waist. If anyone finds this Fife, please turn it into the Park office. AG

• Flute Music... I've long wanted to record an album of my flute music, but even with all the equipment available to me and our work on composing the music for "The Gnomes of New Hope" , I seem unable to manifest this desire. I'm not exactly sure what the reason for that is, but I do know that when it comes to performing my own music, I cannot interfere with the process by imposing a producer/director mindset into it. That conflict is something that I have a hard time getting past. That being said, if there is someone out there who may like to produce an album of flute music, let me know. We work with Digital Performer so we can orchestrate against whatever improvisations I create, which we are doing for "The Gnomes..." but that project is different than an album of this nature . I don't want to impose an album effort like this into our writing partnership on "The Gnomes...", even though we've talked about it. I still need a producer who can focus solely on that project and take it "from concept to form and beyond".
• Shakespeare in the Park is continuing on Mondays from 3-5 at the stage for tech issues and 5-7 in the farmhouse for workshop on the script and/or logistics, and on Saturdary from 1- 3 at the stage for anything. All of this is weather permitting. Overall, we will need to gather our crew by the end of January, at which time we will call for auditions. Anyone can begin work before that time, since there is much to do. Our emergency program will always be scenes and music, in the event that we do not gather enough people for a full cast (20) & crew (5-10). The information posted below (accessed via the blog archive) was set for last fall and, although it needs to be adjusted for a new time frame and spread out somewhat, it can can be considered valid. I hope to get into revising the information after the first of the year. Fundraising activities are taking a priority with community & business solicitaion, grant writing, and development of the sponsorship program being the three areas of primary attention. Assistance with this effort would be most welcomed. An extensive annual program has been outlined in a letter to the Bucks County Commissioners and may well become the templet for the continued goals of the Shakespereans of Tamanend Park. Also, the concept of Opera in The Park is beginning to develop and persons interested in this are also welcome to attend the above-mentioned meetings at any time.
• The Gnomes of New Hope - discussions are taking place with The Bryn Athyn Orchestra about performing the opening piece to the show. With this possibility seeming quite real, we are working to develop a puppet presentation to go along with that. Of course that will be videotaped in order to aid in our goal to gain agency representation, sale of ancillary rights, and thus financing for the show. Image of the Mind Studios is considering another studio space in which to set up an Design/Animation Studio and Scene Shop/ Production Facility. The objective being to produce the claymation/animation films of the Gnomes and/or the puppet show, etc. and to give us more room to work. The stage presentation continues to be developed, but we expect to be using the puppet show as our initial goal since we are still writing the music.
• Product Development - a few of the IMS products are being produced again as a result of the Christmas season. This is generally of secondary focus for me, but it may be an opportunity for someone else who is into marketing and distribution. We have a few products that could do well with the right support in this regard. Interested parties should write to me and be specific. I'm only looking for Partnerships or Buyers, not Vendors or Service Providers and I will not provide inventory on commission. All sales are based on commission.
• Nunc Licet - I've begun work on this play again, after not having read it for ten years. Surprizingly, it's a very good play. I sort of got burned out working on it, but now I've been refreshed by a few people who have shown interest in it and have been encouraging me to continue working on it. I've begun to reformat the script and revise some of the text, so that I can publish a marketable version of the play. I also seem to be making director's notes on my working script, so I get the feeling that this piece is going to move forward. I hope to have copies of the new script format available within a few months, but that will not stop us from moving forward toward production. I most definitely want to put the show up in Philadelphia and I'm very impressed with the space at Plays & Players for this purpose. It is an intimate theatre that is very well suited for this play. It also seems likely that planning for the film version may begin, as we have an excellent primary shooting location which can be available to us and can use Tamanend Park for other exteriors if need be. In cinematic terms, the main issue is getting our hands on an Aaton and bolestering up our location audio. Costuming will not be a problem. Other than casting, there are no other large issues beyond the normal logistics of a location shoot and housing. Carriages might be available, but we only need a couple of shots with them. So horses & carriages might come into play. As you can see, I'm starting to think in these terms again. AG

Studio Operations

Details regarding  

IMS Studio Operations  

are available on the 

IMS Producing Partners Membership Site

General overview;

IMS was founded in 1977 and has gone thru many changes both up and down. The studio has been set up in nine different locations over the years from Boston to Hollywood. The last scene shop was on a ten acre farm in Solebury just out side of New Hope, Pennsylvania and that was shut down in 2005. The office location in Southampton has been in use since 1985 and has served as a private work space for most of that time.

Expansion of the facilities is quite urgent, because the limited facilities are severely impairing our capabilities. The concept of an animation studio fits in quite well with "The Gnomes of New Hope" project and so the new facilities will be oriented toward implementing the animation objectives of The Gnomes, but any expansion must also accommodate the known requirements for office, studio & design spaces, assorted stage & fabricating spaces, a recycling yard, a vehicle maintenance bay and loading dock and storage space for inventory. Even this set-up will require the potential for expansion.

Numerous buildings have been considered and rejected for various reasons, not the least of which is financing. Because with expansion of facilities comes the expansion of personnel and therefore a whole plethora of other aspects of the operation, aspects which I have consciously tried to avoid.

If Image of the Mind Studios is to become better and more productive than it is, it will need to be completely re-organized and managed under an improved corporate structure. For the most part, it has been a proprietorship and it has been a victim of my own deficiencies, one of which has been trying to avoid becoming a personnel manager.

I have chosen to opt for dedicating my energy to developing new works, writing & designing . I have found that business management takes so much energy that it tends to take control of my creativity, leaving less for conceptualization.

As a result, the organization of Image of the Mind Studios has gradually become more disorganized than I care for it to be.   My focus of concentration has been on the development of these new works and I've found that: completion is itself, a difficult task, and refinement just seems to go on and on.  So because of this continuing process,  I've concluded that production must begin before the core material is fully refined. This will will assure that the material does not spend an eternity in development.

In the instance of "Nunc Licet",  the material is as refined as it can be, although I do expect changes to occur in production. "Grael" can work as an animation, but it needs quite a bit more work for a live action film to be fully implemented, although scenes can be shot and I am intending do do so at Tamanend Park in Southampton.  The core material for "The Gnomes of New Hope" is sufficient to begin production in various ways. You can read about these projects in other posting on the IMS Virtual Studio.

Each of these three projects requires investment and facilities in order to effectively move ahead and these funds need to come from external sources that are not directly tied to the banking system in the form of loans.  Thus, those funds need to be coming from investors who can tolerate a longer term return or from the sale of ancillary rights.

There are many other projects on-the-boards at IMS all of which, not only have, but yet still require substantial investment in time and money.

So it is that: the only practical way for this to happen is for a re-organization of IMS to include a corporate board of directors who are capable of managing the larger financial needs of the studio.  I am doing this by building IMS Producing Partners: wherein the corporate structure of Image of the Mind Studios will be defined and implemented.  

Detailed information regarding those operations will be posted there and not be available on the IMS Virtual Studio.

IMS Producing Partners is a subscription site available only to our partners who contribute financially the the studio's growth and long term success. AG

A Synopsis of "Nunc Licet" the stage play

A portion of the synopsis materials regarding Nunc Licet;
(posted for your review, this information is not yet refined due to the shift to this new site)

The play "Nunc Licet" is essentially about the thinking and experiences of the man Emanuel Swedenborg. It is set in a fictitious social gathering to which the gentleman has bee invited.

By Emanuel Swedenborg's own word's, Jesus Christ appeared to him in his room and essentially instructed him to write the things he would show him. From that day forth, Swedenborg's spiritual sight was opened and he was able to commune with the infernal spirits in Hell and the angels of Heaven.

"Nunc Licet Intellectular in Arcana Fedei"
Now it is permitted to enter intellectually into the secrets of faith. 

These excerpts from Swedenborgs writings are taken from 
The Arcana Coelestia #'s1634-1637 1634. 

CHAPTER 14 CONCERNING THE SPEECH OF SPIRITS AND ANGELS

It is known from the Word of the Lord that many persons formerly spoke with spirits and angels, and that they heard and saw many things that are in the other life; but that afterwards heaven was as it were shut, insomuch that at the present day the existence of spirits and angels is scarcely credited, and still less that anyone can speak with them; for men regard it as impossible to speak with the unseen, and with those whose existence they in their hearts deny. But as of the Lord's Divine mercy I have now for some years been permitted to hold converse with spirits and angels almost continually, and to be in companionship with them as one of themselves, I may now relate what it has been given me to learn concerning their speech with one another. 


1635. The speech of spirits with me has been heard and perceived as distinctly as the speech of man with man; indeed, when I have spoken with them while I have been in company with men, I observed that just in the same way as I heard the men speakings sonerously, so also did I hear the spirits; insomuch that the spirits sometimes wondered that others did not hear what they said to me; for as regards the hearing there was absolutely no difference. But as the influx into the internal organs of hearing is different from that of speech with men, it could be heard only by myself; to whom of the Lord's Divine mercy these organs have been opened. Human speech passes in through the ear, by an external way, by means of the air; but the speech of spirits does not enter through the ear, nor by means of the air; but by an internal way, into the same organs of the head or brain. Consequently the hearing is the same. 


1636. How difficult it is for men to be brought to believe in the existence of spirits and angels, and still more that anyone can speak with them, has been evidenced to me by the following example. There were certain spirits who when they lived in the body had been among the more learned, and had then been known to me (for I have spoken with nearly all with whom I was acquainted during their bodily life, with some for several weeks, with others for a year, exactly as if they had been living in the body). These spirits were once brought into a state of thought similar to that which they had had while they lived inthe world: in the other life this is easily done. The inquiry was then suggested, whether they believed that any man can speak with spirits. They then said, in that state, that it was a fantasy to believe any such thing; and this they asserted very persistently. From this it was given to know with how much difficulty a man can be brought to believe that any speaking with spirits is possible to man, for the reason that men do not believe in the existence of spirits, and still less that they are themselves to come among them after death. And at this these same spirits then wondered greatly; and yet they were among the more learned, and had spoken much in public concerning the other life, and concerning heaven and the angels; so that this might have been thought to be most fully known to them as a matter of memory-knowledge, especially from the Word, where it is frequently met with. Emanuel Swedenborg

History of "Nunc Licet" a stage play

1. The current production script, revision G-VII is printed but awaits binding however, the current CD ROM Edition (Revision H-VIII) contains important changes and will need to be refered to in production. In the revision numbers, letter refers to the text modifications (design, dialogue, story) and the roman numerals refers to changes in the publishing format. The CD will be available on request and will be available thru the New Church Book room at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. A bound edition will be published on demand. Look for information on that elsewhere.

I began writing Nunc Licet in 1985. The play has been work-shopped three times, once in California and twice in Pennsylvania, each time bringing refinements to both the text & the technical structure. Thus far, the play has gone through a total of 14 revisions. Some minor adjustments, some major. It has been presented to people in the fields of Literature, Academia, Theology, and Theatre for their review of the content, structure, and viability. It has been proof-read countless times, always returning with something that needed to be corrected. ( Probably due to one of the Gnomes of New Hope.) The revisions have included: moving from a single act in another play (titled I am Alpha& Omega) to a three act play of a very elemental style- from being enthralled with the word processing possibilities of the Macintosh, to realizing that assorted text styles interferes with the material.

As the play progressed, I was encouraged to expand upon the details of the subject matter. This necessitated the expansion of the character structure, which led to the addition of events and subtext. At one point it became necessary to re-distribute the subject matter amongst the characters, leading therefore to a re-evaluation of the depth of the characters to accommodate their new interests (particularly the women) And so it goes... For the most current production notes refer to the Production Approach Summary (I expect to reformulate this for this new web site)

Discussions; Admittedly, at first glance, "Nunc Licet" appears to be a long play. This is mostly because of the production notes that are included in the script and that the publication has been spread out for ease of use in production. My recent return to work on this script has surprised me with how easy it was to read compared with how I felt about it when I put it down and stopped working on it in 1997.

The script includes technical notes for both the primary & secondary actor's performance, blocking instructions, as well as other pertinent notes for backstage operations as well as design references. It is currently designed as a "realistic" theatre piece, something that I hope to change, by adding abstract elements of space & time to the piece. Because of it's philsophical nature, other aspects less heady of the production need to counter-balance what, in one reviewers opinion, was the didactic nature in the drama. This review is certianly a remnant of earlier versions of the script, but it also is a result of lack of theatrical vision.

It has been my intention to first produce the play in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, the Ecclesiastical seat of The General Church of the New Jerusalem. This fact shaped the form of the play during the rewrites. My goal has been to have this creative effort become a unifying tool, which can go forth to key locations around the world as a means of bringing awareness of Swedenborg in an entertainment environment, as opposed to that of a church environment. The next level required is a developmental production. This involves a staged reading , in black, with an open house for observers. This reading and all the activities leading up to it will be documented for both promotional and analysis purposes. A developmental production is a non-union effort, with the expectation that the show will be going into a union house at some point in the future. The developmental production may lead to a management structure that accommodates moving the production through the academic circles before it moves into any professional arenas.

Cinematic Projects

• You're Not Getting The Point
• The Gnomes of New Hope
• Grael
• Divergence
• Freedom
• The Invisible Police
• Nunc Licet
• The Celestial Manifesto
• numerous documentary shorts & rock videos
  

IMS Films on YouTube

Theatrical Projects

NOTE: Please explore the folders in the BLOG Archive to locate postings which have not yet been linked to the index pages.

• The Shakespeareans of Tamanend Park
• The Gnomes of New Hope
• Nunc Licet
• Heaven & Hell
• The Invisible Police
• I Am Alpha & Omega, Part I
• Opera in the Park
  

Virtual Studio Archive

Virtual Studio Archive

This section will post items within the IMS Virtual Studio that are in the process of being moved over to the IMS Producing Partners.

Items logged here are subjects of importance that have been brought up and were posted in the main page for the Virtual Studio. 
 
3/10  The most recent occurrence regarding the Spiritual Retreat/Theatrical Development Centre is that I accidentally washed my notebook with the designs in it and it has disintegrated into pulp. Therefore I will need to reconstitute the drawings and designs onto more practical medium and I intend, as I always had, to construct a model of the community. 

Wednesday 8/19/8 (edited) ;

I've begun work to re-construct The Virtual Studio.

To do this, I am currently using space provided by ISPs for external operations. At some point we will introduce a server for internal operations. The expectation is that partners in Image of the Mind Studios, both creative and logistical, will have access to that server.

I will need to locate an IT person who can manage that aspect of things and I hope that we might be able to set up the server as an ISP for the creative community associated with Image of the Mind Studios and The Alpha & Omega Society and the Creative Archive. Certainly, I invite (direct) dialogue in this regard, via email.

Clearly if The Virtual Studio is to be manifested as an ISP, expansion of facilities, equipment, and personnel are required.

The studio activities fluctuate according to my resources. This is a situation that I need to stabilize in order bring about a sustained degree of consistency and growth. Growth that is carefully projected at a manageable rate. It is difficult to avoid the sudden increase in overhead when the principle element in this growth is a large increase in the elements defined above, which is exactly what is needed at this point. Some of those issues are discussed under the heading "Facilities".

One advantage of The Virtual Studio, is the theory that operation can be conceptualized, departmentalized and implemented without the immediate need for expanded facilities. To a degree this has proven to be true, but the "concept" needs to move "to form and beyond" at this point.

The material presented in The Virtual Studio has been oriented for application into a number of arenas simultaneously, most particularly The Theatrical Development Centre, which represents a primary component in The Studio Compound. Recent occurrences are beginning to reshape that overall concept and discussions on that subject will be posted at some point.

The thoughts below are an abstract of some of the elements effecting the larger goal, but are not necessarily a part of the immediate objectives which are the recipients of current resources.

It is my expectation to structure a rational operating system that can- (meet the needs of others, have growth potential, and checks & balances inherent in it, and...) be applied to the Theatrical Development Centre concept of an Artist's Community & Spiritual Retreat. Much of this is already sketched out, but as time marches on, circumstances change and previous theory becomes inapplicable. So when The Virtual Studio can be maintained in-house and have secure access to the more sensitive elements, a more active effort will be made to finilaze and present these concepts. At the very least, it will be a presentation that can remain for future generations, because it seems unlikely that the massive amount of resources required for this will be available for me to work with.

There is also a degree of political theory at work here, I recognize the reality of applying political action to the management & control of a living and working environment, which is what the Theatrical Development Centre is intended to be. Such an environment must be designed to allow for a wide assortment of lifestyles and it is so designed. Various elements of the plans for such a compound are drawn up, albeit (mostly) in my handwritten notes and there are a few variations of this. Obviously, one purpose of The Virtual Studio is to put forth these designs as a way of implementing the manifestation of the concept. The simple magnitude of the plan is such that, I expect it to be "all I can do" to package it clearly , possibly publish it and hope for the circumstance to come about which will allow for implementation. In the expectation that I will likely expire before I achieve that goal, I am using the Internet as the forum by which I will transmit as many of those ideas as I can manage to put down. AG

Opinion: 

  America today is or has been taken over , by developers, exploitation mongers, and local governing bodies who inadvertently (I'd like to think) have effectively deleted any lifestyle but those which serve their limited perspective of how people should live, which is predominately, I have to say, a result of greed. This is clear by the out of control capitalism and selfishness that has resulted from the freedom to act as one chooses. Unfortunately, in America today a large contingent of people have chosen to act in ways that do not consider the larger community good unless it serves their own personal gain. Such behavior is destructive to society and serves as a corrosive agent, eating away at the very fabric of social harmony and balance. We are caught in the dichotomy of freedom to act from ignorance, the results of which can be corrected, and the freedom to act from volition, which may come from the destructive nature of selfishness imposing itself into systems that are meant to serve the whole and not the individual or the corporate (as in community not business) citizen. The result of these acts of volition when founded in greed & selfishness are that the freedom to do so also imposes the consequences of this action onto those who truly do act for the good of society and seek harmony & balance, as well as those who are ignorant of their surroundings because of apathy. One would like to think that the balance could be maintained, but this is not the case. The corrosive nature of such behavior is causing the very foundation of the larger society to crumble. We see this in our economic collapse.

This is (in essence) the point of establishing the Artist Community & Spiritual Retreat. To reformulate the social relationships that make-up a functional society, to establish parameters by which a smaller social unit can function and to identify those individuals who choose to live together, in harmony, because they have a like mind and share the same kinds of loves, different as they all are.

It is my hope that I can offer an alternative social design which will serve the artistic mentality as the primary core and other services, talents and crafts as peripheral to that.

The Virtual Studio is the greenhouse for nurturing this concept and the means to that end. AG

Web Pages & Mailing Address

PayPal Web Pages- For some time I've been wanting to set up a retail shopping cart page for the numerous products in the IMS files which could be sold. Recently , a few items have become more viable and having a page where orders can be placed is becoming quite important. So expect to see this page be presented in the near future. In the meantime orders from existing customers can be taken via e-mail or phone and once the new IMS mailing address is set-up, via the PO Box (see below). Those of you who have been given address information for either of my studios may use that. I don't care to publish those addresses on the internet.

AOL Web Pages - AOL is closing AOL Hometown, which is where the bulk of the web pages have been hosted since the inception of The IMS Virtual Studio. For the time being those pages have been downloaded and will be used as attachements when requested. The new pages will be restructured in a studio based design program. Since I am not certian exactly how to go about that, it may take a while to reformat the pages. Hence, I will post summaries here as I develop new pages and determine what server to post them on. Look for the expansion of this site to include some of the elements from the other pages. If I have made reference to another web page, or you find a dead link to that page, I will send you a copy if you need it. Otherwise, have patience as I restructure the Virtual Studio. AG

IMS Mailing Address - Image of the Mind Studios has closed the New Hope mailing address. Urgent mail can be sent to- Image of the Mind Studios c/o General Delivery, Bryn Athyn Post Office 19009. Please do not send advertising or promotional materials there until a box number has been established.

Updates & Postings

Order of the postings- Moving the postings around becomes complex after awhile, so the most recently created project or the one needing the most attention will remain at the top. The method of changing the order seems to be changing the posting date, so the posting date cannot be relied upon to give an accurate status to the activity thereto. The postings on projects that are progressing at a consistent pace will be left where they are and updated periodically. I recommend that you access these pages thru the blog archive.

• I have successfully managed to bookmark a particular subject within this blog. So, that means you can select the subject from the archive files (to the left) and bookmark that page. In that way you can circumvent anything else that is not interesting to you. If you do this and find that I have not updated a subject for awhile, let me know and I will do so. This will help keep things moving forward and upward. I'd be most apprciative of your imput on anything.

Most recent thoughts- This blog is proving to be an effective tool as a living document. My postings here are intended mostly for conveying my thinking process on the work we are doing. I feel that it is not the best place for dialogue, because I rather see this as an archive and a way of letting you into my mind. Other blog forums that I've visited have been used for dialogue between numerous people and I find that to be... although at times, engaging... mostly a distraction from the point at hand. I would prefer that- if you have any comments, please send them to me via email. That way they will remain direct and personal and we can partner on developing our thoughts, without the exposure of them being available for all to view. If you'd like to post here so that others may get in touch with you, because you are working on any of these projects, you are most welcomed to do so... and if you care to post information regarding your progress in that, you are likewise welcome to do that. So long as we don't get into discussion or debate in this blog, I'm happy to have you post. If the postings are over six months old or terribly irrelevant, they may get deleted, especially if the information becomes moot.

General Summary- If you need to become familiar with the subject being addressed, then scroll down to the General Summary. This summary will change as I feel it appropriate to modify what has been said in the light of new information. You may find other subjects addressed in the Summary, because certian subjects are unquestionably linked and therefore an accurate overview would be derived from examining other subjets as well. I will try , as best as I can, to maintain consistency in thought, but realize that events in one arena may have an effect on the subject being addressed. Because this forum is ongoing and does maintain a log of past processes, only the most current thinking can be an accurate reflection of what is happening (as opposed to what was expected to happen). For the most part, I expect to leave the foundational thinking here for you to review. I will only remove or modify it when it becomes unacceptably outdated. Part of my objective is to provide information to those persons who wish to participate or who already are doing so. AG

Creative Retreat

3/10  The most recent occurrence regarding the Spiritual Retreat/Theatrical Development Centre is that I accidentally washed my notebook with the designs in it and it has disintegrated into pulp. Therefore I will need to reconstitute the drawings and designs onto more practical medium and I intend, as I always had, to construct a model of the community. 

The Creative Retreat is a long time and long term project in which I am striving to develop an environment where Creative Persons and Artists can come together to work towards implementing common goals of Creative Expression.

Naturally, the form of expression must be based in freedom, and as much as I'd like my projects to manifest, I am certain that others are seeking to have their projects manifest as well. The point of the retreat is for the "residents" to help each other manifest their dreams of creative expression. Mostly, I am interested in the theatrical experience, but I understand that there are may other forms of expression in need of association and interaction which need to be taken into account.

The interesting thing about such a community is that, although the focus is on creative expression (in the form of artistic implementation in numerous mediums) creative expression is not limited stricktly to the artist's life. All elements within human society require creative expression and so The Creative Retreat, in it's need to service all aspect of human associations, must thereby include all other crafts trades and talents, not just those relative to the Artist's Life. The point of the Creative Retreat is to focus on the artist's life as the primary apex of the community's purpose. All other service oriented functions will exist to serve the artistic expression and manifestation of that expression in countless ways.

Theatre only happens to be my interest. There is Architecture, Landscaping & Botany, Zoology, and Business Management. In fact, there are as many forms of Creative expression as there are people who can express them and all these forms must be honored and given a place for expression within the Creative Retreat.

The retreat aspect of it is a retreat from the greed, dishonesty, corruption & exploitation. A retreat from the abuses we are beset with in modern day society. It is a goal of creating a harmonious sphere in which the point of living is the free expression of creative vision in life, not that of acquiring more stuff or money, or control over other people, for one's own personal engrandizement. So, in short, that is the vision of the Creative Retreat. There is much more to it and I hope to post that information here as much as possible. If I do nothing else before I expire, I want to leave this vision to the world. In the hope that we can encourage harmony and refuse discord. AG