An inter-generational, moving exploration of American, male-centered rites of initiation.

Invoking the Wild Man seeks to bring together, in community, America’s male youth and elders through the development of population specific, communal ritual. The project consists of four parts, including: interviews, explorative group workshops, an informal community performance, and a formal staged performance developed from stories and experiences excavated from the previous two parts of the project. The aim of Invoking the Wild Man is to provide a vehicle for male elders to find renewed purpose in life and for male youth to consciously develop a sense of self and purpose within a society that denies them support and guidance. Rites of Passage from various world cultures are explored to inform the creation of a framework upon which a uniquely American ritual might be developed to facilitate the transmission of cultural wisdom from elder to youth.

This project will focus primarily on youth and elder males living in the United States of America and the unique sets of issues that shape the construct of manhood in that country. Rites of passage from various world cultures are explored to inform the creation of a framework upon which a uniquely American ritual might be developed to facilitate the transmission of cultural wisdom from elder to youth.

As the process of becoming a man is rooted in ones sense of self and cultural identity, the means by which a rite of manhood is developed must be both culturally and personally relevant. Therefore, the development of such a process must arise from the community being served and not from one that is prescribed. The purpose of Invoking the Wild Man is not to develop a complete “one size fits all” process, but to illuminate how dance and ritual might inform the process for each unique community and individual who might choose to adopt such a model.