Dear Hikers, Bikers, Runners, Hunters, Boaters, Anglers, AtV Riders, Rock Climbers, Dirt Bikers, Wild Crafters, Birders, RV WANDERERS, DAISY CHAIN MAKERS, MUSHROOM HUNTERS, PLEIN AIR PAINTERs, PICNIC TAKERS, RIVER WADERS, SITE SEERS,
This Outdoor Dance Film Is For You.
“Wild public places can offer us meaningful metaphors that shed light on entangled and sometimes unspeakable truths about who we are in light of what we want and can be.”
About The Film
This project utilizes creative expression as an advocate for public lands. The letter, written by Artistic Director, Deborah Colley, and filmed by Jeremiah Hutchens, is intimate and personal. The letter pulls on the words of Wallace Stegner, utilizes research, and references statistics pulled from the Department of Interior's website. However, the vision goes beyond her personal relationship to the outdoors, facts and figures, and her passion for creative writing. This project is for any American who goes to our BLM, National Forests, Monuments, Parks, and designated Wilderness Areas for sport, vacation, and respite. This film is a direct address to our lawmakers about access to your national public lands and to what these places mean to you. It advocates for your mental health over industry and development. This film is as much for you and any American who finds oneself a better citizen--whole, alive, and sane--after spending time on our public lands.
Letter To Congress: a WILD Sanity is an outdoor dance and music film inspired by Wallace Stegner’s 1960 Wilderness Letter to Congress which supported the preservation of wilderness not just for ecological purposes, but for the sake of our human sanity and spirit. In 2017, We have seen industry and development take priority over protection and accessibility of popular recreation areas found on national public lands. It's during these times when Stegner’s message has never felt more relevant; but it also feels forgotten.
With the collaborative efforts of seven dance artists, three musicians, and one filmmaker, we have created a similar letter advocating for the protection of wild public places for sanity’s sake. However, we are trying a different tactic to get our message through to our lawmakers: to utilize the power of the performing arts to communicate things that cannot always be said with politics, science, facts, marketing, etc. This letter will be danced, spoken, and sung in some of the most inspiring public lands found in the Rocky Mountains. And since many lawmakers do not have time to get outside, we are bringing that experience to them through film.
