On the creation and designation of leadership roles in the preparation and voyage of The Unseen ghost Brigade-

Proposal 1.

Dear friends,
We hope this email finds you well. Walken, Chad, and Woods had a meeting today and created a proposal for coordinating the various
areas of activity to try and take the raft organization to the next
level. These 'activities' are the different element of the project
that, as coordinators, each of us will be responsible for managing.
This is only an initial proposal and of course we need to deliberate
democratically on these issues. We consider this an effort to increase our level of organization and efficiency. As of right now, the
performers on the raft are Muskrat, Chad, Olli, Taiga and Walken
(Jada, do you want to perform also? Because you can!) Jada, a wonderful person Walken and Woods met recently in Arcata, CA, who was one of the cooks for Swimming Cities, has joined our crew as our cook. Woods
and Katie are providing support while we work in Minneapolis, but will
not be coming with us down the river.

What we propose is this: Given that we function as a non-hierarchial,
consensus based ensemble, we also need to delegate roles, so that all
areas of focus are covered. First, however, we would like to submit
our ideas of what each position entails:

a). Cook
-Plans our meals, and coordinates all acquisition and preparation and
food. Makes all final decisions related to food.

b). Director of Raft Construction
- Coordinates acquisition of tools, materials, and finds construction
location. Makes final decisions on all raft related choices.

c). Music Director
- Coordinates music rehearsals, and solidifies musical style. Makes
final decisions on all musical choices.

d). Tour Manager
- Compiles a list of towns and cities to stop in and possible
performance locations therein. Researches state and local laws on
docking and on street performing.
-Networking, publicity, and PR.

e). Raft Medic
- Ensures no one gets a booboo and cares for those who do.
-Compiles a first aid kit for the raft.

f). Dramaturg
- Researches theatrical choices, including history, aesthetic, etc.
-A fact checker
-Compiles required readings for the ensemble

g). Financial Coordinator
-Is in charge of fundraising
-Creates a budget for supplies
-Keeps track of expenses and acquired finances

h). Props and Costumes Coordinator
-Is in charge of acquiring/designing all props and costumes

i). Artistic Director
- Coodinates the logistics of divising performance in ensemble
-scheduling and structuring rehersals
-making final decisions about staging and performance structure.

j). Documentarian
-Documents process, preparation and execution of voyage with still and
moving pictures, interviews, etc.

We propose that Jada is the cook, since she already offered and has
experience doing it. We propose that Muskrat be the Director of Raft
Construction and be Co-Musical Director with Walken. We propose that
Taiga be the Tour Manager, and that Chad be Raft Medic. We propose
that Woods be Dramaturg, and that Walken coordinates finances with
another person (?). And finally, we propose that Olli be Props and
Costumes Coordinator, and that Chad and Walken are Co-Artistic
Directors.

As we said, this is just a proposal. Role descriptions and our
nominations for positions above are a jumping point for discussion.
But hopefully we can come to a consensus on these questions ASAP on
the roles that we all feel we fit and are inspired by. Each of these
areas has a lot of important work to be done before we meet in March.
We will ALL build the raft, generate material for the performance, and
help raise money, but we think it is important to have someone
personally responsible for each area.

We eagerly await your comments, questions, counter-proposals,
additions, etc. to this proposal.

Sincerely and Abundantly Yours,

Chad, Walken and Woods

Dear friends,
We hope this email finds you well. Walken, Chad, and Woods had a meeting today and created a proposal for coordinating the various areas of activity to try and take the raft organization to the next
level. These 'activities' are the different element of the project
that, as coordinators, each of us will be responsible for managing.
This is only an initial proposal and of course we need to deliberate democratically on these issues. We consider this an effort to increase our level of organization and efficiency. As of right now, the performers on the raft are Muskrat, Chad, Olli, Taiga and Walken (Jada, do you want to perform also? Because you can!) Jada, a
wonderful person Walken and Woods met recently in Arcata, CA, who was the cook for Swimming Cities, has joined our crew as our cook. Woods
and Katie are providing support while we work in Minneapolis, but will not be coming with us down the river.

What we propose is this: Given that we function as a non-hierarchial, consensus based ensemble, we also need to delegate roles, so that all
areas of focus are covered. First, however, we would like to submit our ideas of what each position entails:

a). Cook
-Plans our meals, and coordinates all acquisition and preparation and food. Makes all final decisions related to food.

b). Director of Raft Construction
- Coordinates acquisition of tools, materials, and finds construction location. Makes final decisions on all raft related choices.

c). Music Director
- Coordinates music rehearsals, and solidifies musical style. Makes final decisions on all musical choices.

d). Tour Manager
- Compiles a list of towns and cities to stop in and possible
performance locations therein. Researches state and local laws on docking and on street performing.
-Networking, publicity, and PR.

e). Raft Medic
- Ensures no one gets a booboo and cares for those who do.
-Compiles a first aid kit for the raft.

f). Dramaturg
- Researches theatrical choices, including history, aesthetic, etc.
-A fact checker
-Compiles required readings for the ensemble

g). Financial Coordinator
-Is in charge of fundraising
-Creates a budget for supplies
-Keeps track of expenses and acquired finances

h). Props and Costumes Coordinator
-Is in charge of acquiring/designing all props and costumes

i). Artistic Director
- Coodinates the logistics of divising performance in ensemble
-scheduling and structuring rehersals
-making final decisions about staging and performance structure.

j). Documentarian
-Documents process, preparation and execution of voyage with still and moving pictures, interviews, etc.

We propose that Jada is the cook, since she already offered and has experience doing it. We propose that Muskrat be the Director of Raft Construction and be Co-Musical Director with Walken. We propose that Taiga be the Tour Manager, and that Chad be Raft Medic. We propose that Woods be Dramaturg, and that Walken coordinates finances with
another person (?). And finally, we propose that Olli be Props and Costumes Coordinator, and that Chad and Walken are Co-Artistic Directors.

As we said, this is just a proposal. Role descriptions and our nominations for positions above are a jumping point for discussion. But hopefully we can come to a consensus on these questions ASAP on
the roles that we all feel we fit and are inspired by. Each of these areas has a lot of important work to be done before we meet in March.
We will ALL build the raft, generate material for the performance, and help raise money, but we think it is important to have someone
personally responsible for each area.

We eagerly await your comments, questions, counter-proposals, additions, etc. to this proposal.

Sincerely and Abundantly Yours,

Chad, Walken and Woods

Individual work proposal

dear friends,
we hope this email finds you well. this is a basic proposal for the inidividual artistic work that each of us can be doing while we are apart, and then bring back to jump start the development of Renegade Phantasms. We (walken, muskrat and lock) have proposed that we all meet back in Minneapolis in the first week of March 2010 to build the raft and create the performance, and be here until we set off down the river in the last week of may 2010.

We propose that in the next 6 months, each of the 6 of us create individually at least 2 characters that interest us and are in the realm of the performance. In addition to the creation of the characters (along with such details as name, age, gender, place of origin, the era in which they lived, etc), each character when presented to the group in march should have a written story/ account of how they died on the mississippi. this can be however historical, absurd, surreal, narrative, as you choose/ see fit. then, after the sharing of these characters in march, the next step will be to deliberate on how to bring all these characters and their stories into the theatre we wish to create.

what do y'all think of this proposals? can we committ to this?

thanks,

walken, muskrat, and lock

p.s. soon to follow is a discussion of different theatrical processes we can use to create this performance. notes from that meeting will follow shortly.

Proposal Draft 2

Renegade Phantasms or The Shadow Cast Along the Banks of the Mississippi

Themes
• the interest of industry vs. the interest of living things
• transient ghosts
• danger/change/unknown vs. stability/permanence/stasis
• the relationship between natural forces of the river
and the people
that inhabit it.

Premise

A force that possesses an intrinsic current, like the Mississippi
itself, resists mightily all attempts to stabilize it. Great suffering
has come, and will come, from such attempts.

Synopsis

This show is comprised of a band of ghosts who all died in someway on
or in the Mississippi River. They had been relegated to the lower
dregs of society because they gave outlets to forces that society
tends to control, and are therefore representative of ideals
manifested inside a controlling society. Within each ghost is a
current that drives them and it is this current that society tried to
crush. Some characters that we have discussed are two lovers, one who
is trying to say goodbye, and one who is trying to bring them both
back to life by building a strange machine. Other characters we’ve
discussed are gamblers, river rats, prostitutes, businessmen who tried
to control the river and died in the process, shanty boat caravans,
etc. The audience is traveling down the river (figuratively speaking),
experiencing the ghosts as they are experience the river; the audience
is traveling down the river whose banks are littered with ghosts. The
ghosts tell their stories (through surrealist representations of their
death), have conflict with each other, and comment on the present as
well as reveal the past.


Stylistic Influences

• surrealist clown, (movement through the world is the
driving force
that tells the story)
• absurdism
• circus arts (stilts, acrobatics, juggling, etc.)
• Robert ParkeHarrison (The Architecht’s Brother)
• Faulkner Rock
• old time, social music

Purpose for Telling These Stories

We wish to make connections unbiasedly from the performers to the
audience, and within the audience as well, in contrast to the
controlling effects of a society that maintains us in stasis and
static hierarchies. We seek to connect people through a dialogue that
will open a way to find a commonness within them. We aim to do this
without being didactic, only to propose that we have more choices than
are often presented to us and therefore we each need to decide for
ourselves (collectively and individually) what is important. We will
propose this by asking questions, not in an attempt to find any one
answer, but to encourage the act of questioning. We are creating this
theatre as a way of seeking a kind of justice for the injustices that
have been done and are continuing to be done; however, we choose the
way of theatre because it can affect not only the mind, but the
emotions and the soul through music, humor, movement, and play

Advice from Shawn Grady

Hi, I am going to answer these questions to the best of my ability. Sorry if i tell you anything you already know. I am not the best at computoring these days (it gives me a headache and an ADD) hope this is coherent and helpful.

1) Are you aware of any advantages or disadvantages to the barrel
> flotation design vs. the wooden pontoon design?
PRO- barrels can be easier to find than foam, not as messy/toxic.
CON- barrels can sink if punctured or worn down, they have more drag than a good pontoon design.
>
2) Can you recommend a weatherproofing/waterproofing scheme for
> structural elements or cabins? this is kind of a design by design thing but make sure you have drainage on any roofs (ie a lowest point and a place for the water to go.) you can pitch a roof even just six inches and it helps a lot. still easy to walk on. a coat or two of paint seals wood pretty well. silicone seals seams or gaps. or a good water proof tarp stretched tightly on a solid frame can work if you want an open deck.
>
3) Do you have any advice for maximizing maneuverability? you must be going faster than the water is moving in order to have full maneuverability. no junk raft is ever going to be all that hydrodynamic but a point or a rake (upward slant like on a barge) on the bow will really help cut down resistance. if you are steering with an outboard or a rudder it must extend below the bottom of the raft. the less draft (depth the boat goes under water) the better.

> 4) Do certain designs handle turbulence better than others?
If you are going down the mississippi there will not be any waves or white water. you will have back currents and even whirlpools. i have never seen any big cartoon-like whirlpools, though we did get spun 360 in the Vilma B, a flat bottomed pontoon raft (the design for that should be on the floating neutrinos website). back eddies can mess with your steering but the dangerous things are barges and dams. barges are moving fast and they can not stop quickly. they can suck a small boat right under their hulls and crush it up with their propellers (or something just as bad, see " S.S. Circle of Death") and Dams are waterfalls and the current gets really strong around them. easy fix with these dangers is stay well away. there are a lot of forces at play with a raft. the strongest is often the upward thrust of the flotation (I built a raft once and didn't screw the deck down well enough and all the foam popped out in a storm!) which is equal to the weight of the vessel above the water. the Vilma B and the Miss Rockaway were both catamaran style rafts and we did have to give some consideration to holding the hulls together. make sure you have a lot of pieces (2x4, 2x6, plywood, logs, ...) going all the way across both hulls. or a single hull design is solid. we used catamarans for max space minimum drag.
>
5) What kind of motor do you suggest? Gas outboards are quick and easy. 2 cycles are cheaper and easier to work on 4 strokes are more expensive and basically a car engine, stronger, more efficient. we have always had crappy outboards on their last legs. constant fun.

> 6) What structural elements are most vulnerable long-term, and how
> would you plan for the decay/wear of those elements? that depends entirely on your design. we have always built with scrap plywood and just replaced anything that gets broken or rotten. your talking years before plywood is going to rot. the general idea is build it so that you couldn't tear it apart if you tried with all your might and a bunch of power tools.

> 7) What do you think the viability of poling, rowing or sailing the
> raft would be? poling is NOT viable. current is too strong, the river can be very deep. rowing could work if you have a very small raft or a LOT of rowing stations. sailing is not realistic because the river is very winding, the wind will always be at a different angle. also very inconsistent wind. maybe if you had a very small very light sail boat that could sail very efficiently upwind. but really unless the point of your project is to demonstrate an unusual form of propulsion, i say go with a motor.

> 8) What sort of food storage or cooking equipment would you recommend?
Rubbermaid tubs and a propane stove. there are plenty of towns and stores along the river but i like to have back up food for at least a week. also water. 5 gallon jugs.

> 9) What do you wish you had known before leaving that you learned along
> the way? It is not going to be perfect right away. Things are going to break or just not work like you thought they would, you'll redesign and get going again. It's good to prepare but don't be too precious.

> 10) What other advice would you give? Take your time. the only accident ive ever been in was when we were trying to get somewhere by a certain day and not paying attention to the weather and energy of the crew. (we got hit by a barge in heavy fog) There is really a lot to all this and I am very excited that you guys are getting into rafting. being on a boat with a group of people brings up dynamics that don't come up anywhere else. Make agreements now about who is responsible for what. Is there a captain? are there specific values that everyone agrees to uphold? How are decisions made? Who is ultimately responsible for the vessel? (whos name is on the registration?) these things seem like side notes but they can really ruin a good time if each person has a different answer to each of these questions. it is much better to hash it out on land than in mid river.
Anyway, rafting saved my life and it is the freest thing going today. I hope to hear more about your project and please feel free to get hold of me if you have any more questions. I would love to be of help to you in any way possible. Do you have any design in mind?
BEST,
Shawn Grady

John McPhee on Human Control of the Lower Mississippi

This links to an article from John McPhee's book "The Control of Nature" on the Army Corps of Engineers' attempts to control the lower Mississippi. The river has apparently been trying to change course back to an old course it followed at some point in its history, which is now the course of the smaller Atchafalaya river. This would flood communities (made by people trying to establish "permanent" societies) in its way, and divert the river away from Baton Rouge and New Orleans (probably affecting tourism and other industry). The Army Corps' solution is "The Old River Control System," built in 1963 a not-very-stable concrete floodgate system to stop the river from breaking its current banks and flooding out into the new ones. It prevents the river from following the force of gravity and flowing downhill into the Atchafalaya, and instead makes it continue its above-ground-level course towards New Orleans

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1987/02/23/1987_02_23_039_TNY_CARDS_000347146

Dr. Muskrats Remedy Shack

this is the first design for a possible shelter to be used onboard the
raft. it has already been pointed out by a friend of mine that the
design of the roof is in need of alteration (a flat roof made from a
tarp has a fair possibility to collapse when it rains. maybe a sort of
a-frame design could suit us better?). as we've said before everything
is subject to change so of course any and all feedback will be
helpful.

it should be noted that these drawings are in no way to scale and are
not plans for building but merely a way to conceptualize what this
structure could possibly look like.

that said, i hope you are all doing well.

VIVA LA RAFT!

muskrat