Jemma Kepner
she/her - Jewitch
i feel safe. i don't feel judged in coven space, i feel welcomed, no matter if i was late or had a sour face. i notice how coven made me feel when i left the zoom meeting. i oftentimes felt full, like after eating a warm bowl of soup. whereas in other zooms, i felt hunger after leaving the call. do i need to find an artistic or poetic way to just say i felt 'good' in every sense of the word in coven space? I FELT GOOD IN COVEN SPACE! GOOD GOOD GOOD
coven gave me the greatest and most forgiving community in the most isolating and unforgiving of times. coven was much needed medicine.
Percival Hornak
he/they - Puppet Witch
Many theatre spaces demand vulnerability from the getgo without providing a safe place to do so nor any room for that vulnerability to come out when it's ready - coven isn't like that. We let it build and made mistakes and learned from them and I think our processes were the better for it, in part because having a space that feels like an artistic home and a place where you can authentically be yourself without performing being okay or feeling like you need to hide what's really going on is a space that's really rich for creating something.
I've become a better leader by living within coven space, where leadership means listening and watching for opportunities for others to use their strength. I've learned how to abandon the structures and power dynamics that make so many academic spaces really fraught and while I don't know how successful I was at really meaningfully making those feel like they weren't present in that space, I at least am more aware of what that power looks like and how to wield it responsibly.
Micki Kleinman
she/her - Inquisitorial Witch
Unlike previous theatrical experiences, I literally felt like I was valued and respected and treated as a human being. coven did a great job at trusting each of us to be honest with each other and with other selves, it taught me how to recognize my needs and their validity, voice my needs, and to not feel bad about having them.
I am taking the idea that things will come together in the end, calm down and enjoy the process. beauty is created. trust people. I have learned to be more mindful and have learned about witchcraft.
Nicole Bates
she/her - Music and Cinema Witch
The coven space was unlike any other Zoom space I have been apart of over this past year. In no other Zoom spaces have I been able to cultivate genuine relationships like I have with coven. Because of the nature of Zoom, it is usually that you sign on, you listen to the lecture or the presentation or whatever it may be and then you sign off, but in coven, everyone was allowed to take up as much or as little space as they wanted. I think that is also something that made coven unique from other theater spaces. It felt truly collaborative and it felt that everyone's contributions were celebrated and appreciated.
Coven space was a space where I could set down my usual depressive cynicisms and actually just enjoy. I never felt rushed in coven and I never felt like I had to put on a front if I was having an off day. I felt I moved through coven space with hesitation at first, but then with compassion and genuine love for everyone a part of the special space we cultivated.
Tory Vazquez
they/them - Astro Witch
With coven, there has been plenty of room to grow and experiment and double-back on things. Lots of other collaborative projects/orgs try and fail to be living spaces that are fluid and change depending on the needs of the people participating. Coven has set a new standard for future spaces I engage with. Coven is truly open to feedback and criticism AND actively incorporates and builds upon that criticism. There is a tangible and genuine desire from coven members to adapt to the changing needs and concerns of each other. Additionally, coven goes beyond merely talking about wanting to disrupt hegemony and oppressive structures. There is oodles of space made for the actual disruption of colonial notions of time and gender and progress, among other things.
Coven is one of very few spaces where I feel comfy being my totally human self. I can share incomplete half-thoughts, lay on the floor, eat tons of teeny peelable oranges, and wear blanket cloaks without feeling weird about showing an "unpolished" version of myself. It's nice.
coven is so queer...if i had to take one thing from coven, it would be that i only ever interact with queer spaces in the future. also, helen's memes.
Helen Rahman
she/her - Poetic Justice Witch
fucking hell there's no ego battles and if there are they're very small. this is the most collaborative artist space I've ever been in. every other place has weird competitive energy it's gross. coven represented unconditional acceptance to me.
what i'm taking from coven: love, acceptance, beauty, collaboration, and of course lifelong friends fingers crossed
top row: Tory Vazquez, Percival Hornak, Helen Rahman
middle row: Matthew Gover, Maegan Clearwood, Parker Traphagan
bottom row: Nicole Bates, Jemma Kepner, Micki Kleinman
Comments