Hello!
I am helping my friend Kristina Wong with her upcoming solo show which will be showcased at La Pena Cultural Center in the Bay Area in December. "Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" will look at the ways in which mental illness is presented and intersects within a physical context. Please pass this info on to anyone that you know that might be interested in participating by donating unfinished knits or crocheted pieces. Also, feel free to pass this info on to people about the piece in general as we are booking dates soon for more performances!
Irina Contreras
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Dear Knitters,
Got an old knitting project that you don’t plan to ever finish?
Half done socks?
Five inches of a scarf?
Now they can be part of a touring theater piece!
Help performer Kristina Wong demystify the knitting circle and unravel the deep psyche of the master crafter in her new solo show “Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Your donations of unfinished knitting pieces from around the world will be included as part of the set for a live serio-comic exploration of maintaining sanity in times that seem almost fictitious.
All contributors will receive “set construction” program credit for the life of the show. (Please forward this notice to all the knitters you know)
Your friends in crafting,
The Cuckoo’s Nest
WHY UNFINISHED KNITTING?
“Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” originally set out to explore the sky-high rates of mental illness and suicide among Asian Pacific Islander Women. Asian Pacific Islander American women have the highest rates of suicide in the country in a statistic that seems to be widely unpublicized and often disregarded. The unfinished knitting collected represent incomplete intentions, women’s work, “spinning a yarn,” and loneliness. During the show, Kristina uses the knitting pieces to represent “unravelling” women and even unravels some of the pieces during the show. These knit pieces may also be displayed as part of an art installation later in the run.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING:
Please include the skein of yarn (if there is one) attached to your unfinished knitting. Include the knitting needle it’s sitting on, or if you want to keep you needles, pull some waste yarn through the loops so that your piece doesn’t unravel in the mail.
On a sheet of paper please include the following information. This information is all optional as it may be displayed as part of a public installation of this work.
Name (or alias)
Gender
Age
Ethnic identification
Where do you live/ Where are you from?
What was the original intention when you cast on this piece?
What reasons do you have for not finishing it?
Any information about this piece that is pertinent to its history or to your history.
If you are interested in knowing where “Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is touring to, please include your email address.
Note: Your name and hometown must be included if you want to be credited for “set construction.”
DO SEND:
Unfinished knitting, all different shapes and colors that can be unraveled if pulled at the string. This could be the sleeve of a sweater you never finished, the first scarf you started, or any other piece of knitting that for some reason or another you have not managed to finish nor do you anticipate will ever be finished. Knitting that is full of mistakes are as welcome as are perfectly stitched pieces. Unfinished knitting attached to tangled skeins are welcome.
DO NOT SEND:
Finished knitting or store bought knitwear, finished knits that are damaged, anything with more square footage than a baby blanket (3 by 3 feet) or tangled yarn. I am interested only unfinished knitting that has been pulled off the needle and that has the capability of unravelling.
YOUR KNITTING WILL NOT BE RETURNED!
At the end of the run of “Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the remaining pieces will be stitched together to create blankets for charity. Any attached skeins of yarn will be cut and also given to charity.
TIMELINE:
* Knitting received by December 1, 2006 will appear in the Berkeley premiere of WFOTCN on December 9 and the run at MACLA in San Jose December 15-16.
* Knitting received by March 15, 2006 will appear in the East Coast premiere of WFOTCN March 23-24 at the Painted Bride in Philadelphia, PA.
* Knitting may also appear in other national performances of this show.
MAIL YOUR KNITTING TO:
KRISTINA WONG
WONG FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
PO BOX 251664
LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 USA
Please do not send anything COD.
QUESTIONS/ PRESS INQUIRIES?
Http://www.kristinawong.com k@kristinasherylwong.com