This year has rewarded me with many powerful and memorable moments, both creatively and personally.
I started the year continuing the post-production for Strange Factories.
Strange Factories poster designed by Matt Needle
I worked on the edit with Bettina Fung, whilst also planning our official wrap party, a night of music and performance hosted by The Society of Vandals at the wonderful Jamboree Venue.
Photography by Yiannis Katsaris
The first footage from Strange Factories was screened alongside the release of our trailer.
In April, Lucy Harrigan, my wife and FP Producer and Performer gave birth to Ethan-James Harrigan on Sunday 15th at 4:59am in our home.
Ethan is one of the greatest rewards this path has bestowed upon me. As some of you may be aware, Lucy and I met during the thirteen month Dark Nights of the Soul ritual at the Horse Hospital. Ethan would never have been born if it wasn't for the art we created together though this magical working that brought us together.
A week after Ethan's birth, I began writing the script to Virulent Experience, a collaboration with the South Place Ethical Society and Conway Hall with FoolishPeople's share of profits going towards the post production costs of Strange Factories. Rehearsals began in July, 7 weeks before the production opened on the 6th August.
To date, Virulent Experience had the largest cast of performers and actors of any FP project and featured 17 artists, whose work was exhibited throughout Conway Hall as part of the Index of forbidden Novelty.
Virulent Experience was well received and this was due in no small part to Jim, Sid, Zia and the rest of the staff at Conway Hall as well as the hard work of the actors, artists and production staff.
FoolishPeople would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved with the project- we were extremely lucky to work with so many talented actors and artists.
Post production work on Strange Factories has continued throughout the year. Stephen Baysted, our Director of Sound, his team and Rich Aitken at Nimrod Productions have created a truly unique musical score and sonic environment for the film.
On July 23rd we had the first screening of Strange Factories at the Charlotte Street Hotel for the cast, crew and a special invited audience. As I sat with the audience, sensing their response to the film, I vividly remember reflecting on how it was one of the most special moments of my career.
In September I locked the final cut of Strange Factories.
I'm happy to say that we'll be announcing the release date and sharing further news early next year on the next chapter of the Strange Factories ritual and its phantasmagoric theatrical release. Those of you who have supported our film from the very begining via our Indiegogo campaign will be the first to experience the live event and receive a special copy of the final film.
On 1st December FoolishPeople moved into its first non residential office space after many years of creating, writing and planning work in any space that was available to us.
Last week we began the final planning for the Strange Factories release, and I'm currently working on the outline to my next film, whilst editing the Virulent Experience footage shot by Will Wright and Mark Cadwell for release next year.
The work schedule this year has been relentless and has asked more from me than ever before. I will be honest there have been times when I thought I couldn't continue but I've learnt that if you have the patience and fortitude to endure, you will be rewarded. Life and art are a perpetual flux and Magick requires we continue to undergo change, however violent it may be to find the truth beneath the surface. 'Solve et coagula'.
FoolishPeople is very proud to announce that Craig Slee is joining us as a Writer and Creative Content Developer. Craig will be developing and writing the next cycle of the Strange Factories radiograms, which are an important element of the world we are building. In its final form the story will spread out from the film and exist within radiograms, books and of course the FoolishPeople event. All components of the machinery that power this ritual.
And what of you?
You are the most cherished and sacred aspect of our work, the most powerful force: the audience. It's within your mind that every possibility ever imagined takes place.
Thank you once again for sharing the ritual space with us on this long, wondrous journey.
So, here we are on the 21st of December, at the end of the Mayan calendar and the end of one world.
Time ends, every second counts down the possibilities of what once was.
Consider a world beyond the tyranny of time and what is thought and accepted as possible and then perhaps we can manifest a future bright with every possibility.
See you on the other side.
'Art on the inside, blood on the outside.'
John Harrigan
21/12/12
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