It’s not every night bullies get stomped by spectacle; then again not every night is a Sleepless Night, let alone scene of spectacle such as Intention Intervention. A collaboration between Miami’s ever-keen Camposition and a cadre of equally-inclined fine minds, the mass happening will raise heavenly havoc this weekend. Troupe leader Octavio Campos explains.
Wanna tell us a bit about Intention Intervention? Intention Intervention is the launch event of the Please Don't Hate Me!, a project produced by Camposition Inc., in association with Nufrontier Pictures. It’s a real old school happening with a contemporary realness component, featuring ground-breaking, yoga-influenced hybrid performance art, art film, a seven-story tall WallCast in full HD, a cast of South Florida residents, and original music by Michael Wall. I’ve been describing the piece as ‘a message in a bottle,’ or ‘a live hybrid performance work, film and social experiment.’ The intent of PDHM! is for its resulting artworks to promote unity in South Florida by transforming INTOLERANCE into ACCEPTANCE and to challenge EVERYBODY to find the ACTIONIST within themselves to create a catalyst for social change.
Who are the primary participants? Rick Delgado is the Film Director; Dale Penn is the Film Producer; Natasha Tsakos is the film’s featured character, and Gary Lund is the Production Manager. Then there’s me: Creative Director, Executive Producer and lead performer.
Isn’t there also a rather large cast of supporting characters? Yes, we are also collaborating with Voices United, an intercity youth choir that’s directed by a former student of mine from the New World School of the Arts. Then Katie Christie and we are working together with the yoga community, including Miami Life Center, Prana Yoga, 305 Spiritual Gangstas and the free Yoga in the parks community, in collaboration with the Miccosoukee Indian tribe to bring to the performance 108 yogis. All told, we are looking at close to 200 performers.
Any others we might know? Many, I’m sure, and they’ve all been recruited by Dale Penn, who’s also Executive Director of Camposition.
Does PDHM go elsewhere after Saturday night? Well, we are one of 56 Finalists for the Knight Arts Challenge, so we are waiting hear any day now what will be destiny of Please Don't Hate Me! Regardless, the message of transforming intolerance into acceptance is so huge, I strongly believe the project will have a life of its own.
How long did it all take to put together anyway? The project began to percolate after the surge of teen suicides last winter and the multitude of aggressive anti-hate campaigns that started to emerge. Then, in close collaboration with with Dale Penn, I began to massage the concept until Please Don’t Hate Me! emerged. This project is dedicated to Switchboard of Miami, whose work inspired its creation.
How’d you manage to land such a stellar spot as New World’s Soundscape Park? I didn't land this spot; the project did. What the project stands for is the star. Please Don't Hate Me is a message to everybody: Love is a powerful thing.
Please Don’t Hate Me’s Intention Intervention takes place Saturday night, November 5th, midnight to 12:35AM at New World Center’s SoundScape Park 500 17th Street, Miami Beach. For more information log on here.
