 I first heard of Hundredth Monkey and the Animal Lovers' Project a few years back, after some of my friends had seen the troupe perform at a conference in Chicago; I happened to be out of town at the time so I missed it. Now, as a bit of background, I was a painting major in college, and since then have been a little wary of anything that resembles performance art. I wasted a lot of Saturday nights during my college years being dragged to inscrutable, silly and unapologetically self-indulgent performances, so much so that I think I reached my fill of odes to distant fathers and obvious, clunky metaphors in the early-90s sometime. Still, friends of mine whose opinions I respected were raving about the show, performed with music and dance interwoven with filmed segments, so it was always in the back of my mind that maybe I should check them out one day.
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| The metaphor of the hundredth monkey is that when enough people come to a heightened awareness, this awareness spreads to the rest of us. - Jesse Richards |
My turn came up a little while back when Jesse Richards, the founder of The Hundredth Monkey, sent me a tape of their performance to review for Vegan Street, to coincide with their return visit to Chicago in November. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like it, that it would bring forth flashbacks of wan Sylvia Plath-wannabes in black, hiding in boxes to symbolize their isolation. I was afraid I'd have to search for a million different words that express the particular meaning of interesting, like not quite good, but, you know, interesting.
I couldn't have been more wrong. In fact, I've run dry on adjectives to describe how truly mesmerizing The Hundredth Monkey and the Animal Lovers' Project really is.
The name, The Hundredth Monkey, comes from a true story about monkeys living on separate islands outside of Japan, who were air-dropped sweet potatoes by scientists in 1952. The monkeys enjoyed the sweet potatoes, but they didn't like the sand and grit that were on them. One day, a young female monkey picked up a sweet potato and rinsed it off in a stream, and was finally able to really savor it. After that event, the other 99 monkeys on the islands were observed doing the same thing, rinsing off their sweet potatoes, something they hadn't done until that female monkey took the first step. The other monkeys dwelling on different islands had no way of knowing what she had done, so it was as though this seemingly ordinary action, done by the hundredth monkey, pushed the collective consciousness past its previous limitations, and allowing all to move forward. This is what Jesse is hoping to accomplish with her creation: push the human consciousness past its perceived parameters, so that we are able to live in compassionate harmony with the other beings with whom we share the planet.
Jesse and her troupe of wonderfully gifted performers are based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has been a recording artist, writing and performing songs since she was in her early 20s, and she has been creating multimedia musical and dance productions for the past decade. Having always had a great affinity for other beings, Jesse began The Hundredth Monkey and the Animal Lovers' Project as a way of honoring the spirit of her beloved canine companion, Lusha, after she had passed away. The story, framed by the travels of a woman haunted by vivid animal dreams who sets out to find the metaphoric hundredth monkey, is broken into individual segments that explore the human-animal connection through interpretive, expressive and gorgeously primal song, dance and performance. Interspersed through the show are interviews Jesse has taped with the marvelous and charismatic individuals who have dedicated their lives to fostering a deeper connection to other sentient beings.
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| I'm a total believer in the power of entertainment to reach people who wouldn't ordinarily be exposed to a concept. - Jesse Richards |
From a piece that perfectly captures the ecstatic abandon with which animals play, to a beautifully poignant depiction of a performing elephant, Jesse and her troupe never lay it on too thick or mire themselves in bathos; they are simply too talented for that. The performance, ultimately, gives one hope, as we see an eagle, his wing destroyed by a hunter's bullet, nursed back to health, and we watch footage of him being taken for a ride in a hang glider, or as the song refers to it, a "mechanical bird," soaring high above the clouds with his human ambassador. As his snowy feathers ruffle in the wind, his amber eyes darting about, drinking it all in, he is transformed, and our race is given hope for redemption.
There is also footage of the Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson speaking with passionate eloquence about his crew's attempt to wedge their small raft between a giant whaling boat's harpoon, and its target, a squad of sperm whales. He speaks movingly of his moment of true connection with a huge male who was hit, and the ability of this majestic being to crush them in their little inflatable raft but to choose not to do so. The Hundredth Monkey's interpretation of what Captain Watson describes is nothing short of life-altering in its grace and power.
Throughout the performance, we are shown many examples of people who have been transformed by the love of and for animals, and who are vivified by these beings who touch their lives: Harold, an elderly man withering away in a retirement home until he was given a renewed passion for life by hugging and loving the beagle therapy dog who so clearly adores him. The couple who runs a wolf refuge in the southwest, scraping by on meager funds so they can afford to feed the animals in their care, telling Jesse, "You just don't understand what the animals have given us." Lake Jacobson, who runs an animal rescue, speaking gently on the empathy of the pigs at her sanctuary, including one who will cry out and wail on behalf of the other pigs when the veterinarian makes the annual rounds, vaccinating them.
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| This whole project is led by spirit. - Jesse Richards |
Jesse's songs tie together the pieces, and her amazingly supple voice, capable of evoking the most delicate tenderness and the most guttural pain, is staggering in its range. The dancers are athletic and powerful, graceful as cheetahs; the choreography is dynamic, fresh and bold. Throughout it all, Jesse's distinct sensibility infuses every artistic choice with her warmth, intelligence and compassion, and you see the power of collaboration as the show comes to life on stage. The Animal Lovers' Project is truly a labor of love, and this shines through at every moment of the performance, giving those in attendance the chance to break down some of the walls that disconnect us from one another, the natural world, and the rest of the animal kingdom. We remember that grey kitty we loved so passionately when we were children. We find ourselves looking up to the sky, quietly marveling at the sight of geese flying in perfect formation. We allow ourselves to feel inspired by the dedication and love of others, and we feel the core of indomitable compassion that resides in all of us. What a gift that Jesse Richards and her Animal Lovers' Project have given us.
If you live in the Chicago area, by all means, please support this wonderful troupe by seeing a Hundredth Monkey performance with friends and family at the Theater Building, 1225 W. Belmont. They will be performing November 14 - 17, 21 - 24, 29 - 30 and December 1. Tickets can be purchased at the Theater Building box office, 773-327-5252, or at Ticket Master, 312-902-1500.
Please also consider trying to bring a Hundredth Monkey performance to your town. You won't regret it. For more information about Jesse Richards and the Hundredth Monkey ensemble, please visit their website at animalloversproject.com or call 734-995-2972.
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