Newsletter #1

Finally committing to a bit.

I. An Introduction

Thank you for being here.

I decided to start a newsletter to cut through the noise with a bit more precision (also because I hate writing Instagram captions). As more and more folks (brilliantly and bravely) scale back their internet presence, I wanted to intentionally and directly connect with folks beyond the grid. So here it is, right in your inbox - a newsletter.

I have never written a newsletter before, but I have read many, and I like the ones that are colorful, long-winded, a little rough around the edges, humorous, personal, and informative, so that is what I want to try to do here. It will be a learning process, but I am game if you are game and it will only hurt my feelings a little bit when you unsubscribe.

In the event that we are meeting here for the first time -

hello!

My name is Laila J. Franklin. I live in Boston, MA, and was born and raised in Maryland and Washington, DC. I make dances about people. I am interested in the intimate intricacies of the human experience and the ways that the marked (and unmarked) identities we hold inform the ways we navigate the world and negotiate one another. I make dances that are virtuosic and silly and a little bit devastating because that’s what life feels like to me. When I am not making dances, I am making coffee. When I am not making coffee, I am hanging out with my 6-year-old cat, Roberta Blondell. When I am not hanging out with Roberta, I am sleeping on my couch in the sun.

II. An Explanation: or, Is This Newsletter a Sign of a Crisis

This past year, my career has shifted and grown in ways that I never imagined for myself. My work has been uplifted on a national platform, people and institutions have taken chances on me and my ideas, and I’ve found a clarity and direction in my work that has often evaded me.

I quit my full-time job to commit to the ultimate bit of becoming a freelance arts worker and, oh boy, it’s been a time. I am learning how to budget, I have a high-interest savings account, I am applying for an LLC, and (finally) have a business email address.

In this moment of career puberty (if you will), I find myself questioning the efficacy of “realness” as a commodity. I am a brand now - I have a press kit and a rates sheet and nice auto reply that says I will get back to your email in 2-3 days. How much of that is me selling myself? My image? My oeuvre? The idea of me? My Instagram is no longer packed with golden hour selfies and silly little videos of Roberta yelling at the apartment ghosts, but selfless pleas for project funding, and carefully drafted copy promoting upcoming performances. I am a choreographer in more ways than one now and I feel … a little empty tbh.

So I’m starting a newsletter.

But, Laila

You say,

Is this not choreography too? Is this not also scored for your branding? Your image? Is this not a staged intervention of self?

And then you wring your hands and wait anxiously for my reply.

My reply is yes, and.

This is a performance of text and of self that helps shape my public image. It is also a space, or rather and opportunity, to add context to the succinct bites that are built to quickly capture your attention, your support, and (ultimately) your money too. Think of this as coffee with a friend, or the transcript of a voice memo that is far too long.

I hope to share not just about my work, but also my relationship with the present moment and the world around me, as well as the work of others that is coloring my practice too.

Thank you, again, for being here. I hope that you stay for a while.

III. A Calendar

WIP XXIV - WORKS IN PROGRESS- Improvisation and Performance

Sharing a new solo in-process, “Loose”

Friday, May 10, 7:00pm

33 Hawley St, Northampton, MA

Workroom Theater at School of Contemporary Dance and Thought

BABYBABYBABY, Boston Dancemakers Residency Showcase

Thurs, May 16, 7:30pm

Fri, May 17, 8:00pm | Post-Show Artist Talk

Sat, May 18, 8:00pm | Post-Show Reception

Sun, May 19, 2:00pm

527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

Calderwood Pavillion at Boston Center for the Arts

This showcase is supported by a Boston Dancemakers Residency from the Boston Center for the Arts and Boston Dance Alliance. This project has received additional support from the New England Dance Fund of the New England Foundation for the Arts.

If a ticket is cost-prohibitive, please contact me about our free invited dress rehearsal.

I hope to see you there xx

And also here xx

---

All photos by Cameron Kincheloe

IDs: (1) Laila moves in a blur, grinning wide with her arms tossed across her face. She wears a colorful bandana and a white t-shirt; (2) Laila stands in the middle of a dark stage bathed in pink light, holding a sparkly cocktail dress in front of it. She smiles down at it; (3) Seven dancers stand in a studio around a table. Two are laying on the floor, two are crouching down, and three are standing. They make funny faces and some have their arms outstretched in front of them.