[working titles]: where am i going and how do i get there?

where am i going and how do i get there?

Composed by ben moss
libretto by ben moss

“In October 2023, I began a daily writing practice contributing songs and text to a performance piece for myself titled “where am i going and how did i get here?”

I framed the daily task as *writing into* a piece (as opposed to *writing a* piece), emphasizing the generation of material. With no agenda beyond holding myself accountable to the creative work, I was interested to see if a project that initially had no thread would reveal a story to me and reflect a part of my creative subconscious. I was also interested to see what would happen if nothing greater did arise; if the piece was simply a living journal – would there still be artistic value? Unfortunately, a traumatic vocal injury derailed my writing practice, arresting the work after about 5 weeks.

As life moved on, so did my connection to the project. The eventual healing of my voice a few months later allowed me to begin writing again, but without the same energy, nor the same time available to my practice. This residency would be the opportunity for me to grapple with and synthesize all the material that I’ve already made, and continue to generate more material on the other side of the injury and the time I was forced into stopping.”    

                                                                                                                – Ben Moss