My Unfinished Thoughts on Solastalgia

This word may be new to you, as it was to me, and that's because it actually is a relatively new word. So, what does "Solastagia" mean anyway? Is it the sense of solace you feel whenever you find yourself nostalgic for a certain bygone era? Is it nostalgia for anything having to do with the solar system? The fall season is upon us (well, it should be anyway), does it have anything to do with a solstice? Actually, no, that wouldn't be the case, because the next solstice isn't until December 21st; must be the equinox I'm thinking of. Okay, so just what does this relatively new word mean exactly? Thankfully, an outdoor theater production, coincidentally entitled SOLASTAGIA, was helpful enough to include the very definition of the word on their poster; so let's take a look. . . .

Solastalgia (noun): A state of homesickness we feel when the places that matter most to us-- our homes, our lands, and our communities-- are disrupted, changed, or threatened.

Ohhh, so that's what this sense of despair and depression is that I feel myself suffering from with increasing regularity over the past decade as I witness our beautiful seasons of fall and winter continually diminish to prolonged summers and earlier springs due to Climate Change year after year. I thought it was just my SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) kicking into overdrive, but it's far more complicated than that! Actually, it's really not that complicated at all; it's really quite simple. I do find myself homesick for the way my home environment used to be, when September through November was a transitional period of the weather gradually cooling off and ushering in the forthcoming winter season, which used to last through the entirety of December through February . . . but for nearly a decade, that has been becoming less and less the case, as we see summer heat continue to linger through almost all of September, sometimes even into October, while spring will begin teasing us throughout January and February before arriving in full force as soon as the calendar turns the page to March. I can even count a number of holiday seasons where it certainly didn't feel like Christmas or Valentine's Day while wearing short sleeves.

But, I digress. This isn't about my annual ranting about Climate Change; this is about an incredible outdoor performance I played spectator to last weekend at Knoxville's World's Fair Park (the same World's Fair Park where in 1982, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL dismissed us as a, "Scruffy little river city," but a title we have worn with pride ever since). The title of the performance? As I said: SOLASTALGIA.

A joint-venture of Cattywumpus Puppet Council and One World Circus, SOLASTALGIA was presented as a three-act outdoor theater program that featured performances by puppets, live actors, musicians, and acrobatic circus performers who could dance on the side of a tall building. Well, you know me; they had me at puppets.

This was an incredibly artistic, eclectic, Avant garde show with heavy undertones regarding climate and environmental changes, social injustices, the adverse effects of governmental neglect, and of course, the future of humanity . . . in short, this is exactly the sort of show that those who lean way over into the right would unironically dismiss as a woke Satanic ritual, and those involved with or attending the show as groomers (particularly this one old man I saw in the audience dressed in a hot pink tank top with a cape that looked like rainbow butterfly wings). Clearly, the people who put this show together had a message to tell, and they were not afraid to deliver their message through vignettes that were rich in biting sarcasm and stinging satire, but also generous in humor and especially heart. A lot of the comments I've read on social media from others who attended the show described it as being extremely cathartic, and that it refreshed and rejuvenated their spirit and soul. I can attest to that - SOLASTALGIA was also something of a veritable lovefest, where concepts and ideals such as peace, love, harmony, unity, and togetherness were also encouraged . . . so, again, in other words, a woke Satanic ritual as others might unironically call it.

That's just the gist of it anyway. As I said, SOLASTALGIA was presented as a three-act program, all three of which involved audience participation - how fun! As a matter of fact, one of the first things we were asked to do upon arrival was fill out a brief little questionnaire that was going to be included in the show; so brief was this questionnaire that there were only two questions: 1) What would you miss the most if the climate continues to change; 2) What is something that needs to be composted in our world today. (For what it's worth, my answers to both were beautiful fall and winter seasons, and hate and division). It wouldn't be until Act II that we would see how our answers would be incorporated into the show.

And now, a rundown of said show. . . .

Act I: The Unraveling Circus
This portion of the show is pretty self-explanatory: it was a circus that was unraveling before our very eyes - and not just because of the performances in the act consisting of acrobats raveling and unraveling themselves above the stage in long strands of silky fabric. This was a circus that just fell apart before our very eyes. Why was that? Well, let's see: Food? Check. Shelter? Check. War? Check. Inflation? Check. Taxes? Check. Police Brutality? Check. Climate Change? Check. Low Wage Jobs? Double check! Yep, all of that, and more, were part of the act! During one of their skits, volunteers were brought down from the audience to juggle all of the above-mentioned issues . . . how is that even possible? Simple: all of the issues were scribbled onto different colored dodgeballs, and the volunteers had to juggle them to the best of their ability. Okay, I've gotten a little ahead of myself, but this goes to show you how brave and fearless this show was to take on such hard-hitting issues that impact us so greatly in our modern world, and how much it resonated with the audience who was there (except for those who would probably call this a Satanic ritual). 

And it wasn't just those topics they tackled; we were also treated to Capitalism. Yes, Capitalism herself usurped the scraggly ringmaster (who ate noodles out of his hat) and hijacked the circus, promising us in the audience that she would, "Make Circuses Great Again!" (Hmm . . . I wonder where we've heard that before. . . .) As she proceeded to taunt the animal acts with promises of french fries, but they had to work harder for the fries, and even as she put them through such balancing acts, she belittled, insulted, mocked, and ridiculed them, because, hey, animals are expendable, dispensable, and replaceable. Yeah, she really made the circus great again - so much so that the animals and (former) ringmaster came together to subdue her and reclaim their circus. Now that's overturning of power I can get behind!

Frog soup, anyone?

Of course this circus had animal acts! Not actual animals, of course; there is no way a frog could take a dip and nearly die in a boiling tub while a couple of other frogs perform more feats of acrobatic stunts above without PETA burning this whole show to the ground. No, these, obviously, were puppeteers and suit performers who provided us with not just animal acts, but other vignettes as well. One of the most prominent animals featured not just in this act, but throughout the entire show was Grandmother Spider. For those of you who aren't familiar with this figure of Native American mythology (particularly among the Choctaw tribe of Mississippi and Tennessee), Grandmother Spider is a symbol of unity among humanity, that we are all connected to one another by the magical threads of her silk. Once again, I am not so sure that everybody believes in such an ideal, considering there are certain people who seem to believe our society is in need of a "purification process" (you know what I mean; I really don't want to have to actually say it), but those of us who were there definitely sensed the connection - not just the connection the performers made with us as an audience who were engaged by their acts, but all of us collectively as people, we as an audience felt that sense of connection permeate throughout the amphitheater.

Grandmother Spider connects us all with her magical thread

We may be of different generations. . . .

For all the laughs this show provided with its satirical sociopolitical commentary, it could not only hit hard, it could also hit deep. Not all of the skits and vignettes in this show entertained us, they also compelled us to think long and hard about the shape our world is in, and what could possibly happen to it if we don't act accordingly - a message that was spoken in another particularly captivating vignette that dealt with the struggles of trying to adapt and survive in a future where the world as we know it is being ravaged by Climate Change and other politically-charged disasters, as discussed among three generations of women: a teen, an adult, and an elder. There certainly seems to be something of a cultural divide within our society as well, and I'm sure you've seen all of the grief that's arisen amongst the generation gaps: "Okay, Boomer," "Lazy Millennials," "Snowflake Generation," and the like . . . I know a lot of it stems from witnessing different cultural and historical events, and different experiences that one generation may not necessarily understand as well as another, but one thing transcends all generations is that we all share this world, and we all have a responsibility to see to it that the world is a safe place where future generations can live, thrive and prosper . . . but how is that even possible when the world itself in on such a downward spiral? Even our current generations have no clue how to cope with such, and the advice we may receive from previous generations may not seem to offer up much hope. Different generations are not as different as they seem.

. . . . But we're really not so different.

Act II: Funeral for Humanity
Remember when I said earlier that audience members were asked to fill out that brief little questionnaire about what we would miss the most if Climate Change continues to ravage our world, and what sort of trash we wish we could compost within our world? Well, that is where we as the audience got to participate in the show once again, as the second act of SOLASTALGIA was a one big funeral march for humanity. Yes, we paid our last respects to humanity as we know it. The frogs and other animals carried with them a coffin, and as the band played appropriately somber and melancholic New Orleans-style funeral music, we were all rounded up, marched out of the amphitheater, and around the World's Fair Park's Viaduct, where we watched as the animals took our questionnaires from a pair of wicker baskets, and laid them to rest within the coffin that was laid to rest upon the water . . . and then set on fire.

But of course, a funeral is not just exclusive to acknowledgement of death, but it also can be a celebration of life, and that was exactly what we celebrated as we made our way out of the World's Fair grounds and over to the nearby Tennessean Building; the impromptu little dance party served as something of a segue into the third and final act. . . .

Act III: Vertical Dancing
The third and final act may have been among SOLASTALGIA's greatest visual spectacles.
After our procession over to The Tennessean building, we were treated to members of the Dragonfly Aerial & Circus Arts Studio descending from the roof to display some amazing, death-defying acrobatics as they slowly danced their way down the side of the building - all the while also accompanied by a shadow puppet show that, once again, sent out loud and clear messages about the sort of social injustices that humanity has the power to defy and overcome. The word "awesome" seems to have lost its true meaning as our vocabulary has evolved (or in some cases, de-evolved) over the generations, but this particular spectacle was truly awesome, and awe-inspiring, in the truest sense of the word.

As the Dragonfly Dancers continued their descent down the side of The Tennessean, a pair of giant light-up puppets arrived on the scene to provide us with the capper for our evening: we followed them out into the grassy area of the World's Fair Park, where we all eventually joined together for a Kumbaya-esque sing-along, which further brought all of us together and connected us as one.

The folks of Cattywampus Puppet Council, One World Circus, and Dragonfly Aerial & Circus Arts Studio managed to put together an incredible show that was full of artistic vision, and unmatched talent to share that artistic vision with us. Those who graced the stage of the amphitheater were an absolute delight to watch, with particular emphasis on the likes of Andreas Bastias (whom I actually recognized from working at a local co-op market), who charmed us with his animal magnetism as a meek cockroach and the nurturing Grandmother Spider; Jake Weinstein, who was a hoot as our sketchy and seedy but ever-so-trustworthy ringmaster; and Rachel Milford, who was a bundle of effervescent energy, and crushed it in each of her numerous roles (even if one those roles was the personification of Capitalism).

I honestly have to say, I feel like I have only scratched the surface in my review of this show, and that's because I pretty much have. There were still many more skits and vignettes than what I've mentioned in this review . . . it's extremely difficult to describe the experience of seeing this show in words or text (it took me several days just to try to write this very review), because it was just that: this wasn't a show, this wasn't an act, this wasn't a performance, this was an experience; you really had to be there and see it for yourself to really understand the impact SOLASTALGIA had on those of us in attendance. And even saying that SOLASTALGIA left an impact on us would be a gross understatement. Remember those books CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL? That's exactly what this show was. Not the books, that is; I mean watching this show was very much like chicken soup for the soul. That's how impactful, cathartic, and refreshing it was. Through it all, there was a sense of unity, connection, togetherness, acceptance, and love among everyone - on and off stage. Even as the show was breaking up, people were hugging and holding onto each other - some were even going up to the performers to hug and hold onto them as well. In a world where there is so much hate and division, SOLASTALGIA was more than a breath of fresh air. As an artist and Content Creator myself, I will never agree with anyone who says art shouldn't be used to make a statement, because this amazing, outstanding, and incredible showcase of visual performance art made statements that everybody should hear out, listen to, take into consideration, ponder and wonder.

So please, take a moment as we did throughout this show, turn to and look at the person next to you, sense the connection you may share with this person, realize that we are all the same, that we need each other, and that we have the power to change the world and make it a better place for not only ourselves, but our descendants as well. Love trumps hate.