Wild Actions

Wild Actions is currently figuring out how to present interactive, multidisciplinary performance art in the aftermath of live art essentially being self-banned from public spaces. Since way before all that, WA was generating work by wrestling with and exposing obstacles: the impossible, everyday, behavioral, and momentary. 

Fueled by the active recognition of agency, WA wants to attend to and access intuition, the act of witnessing, and personal sensory experiences. The gooey center of that is how participants, viewers, and performers (whoever is in the space) choose to interact and cooperate - or not. Prioritizing conversations and curiosity makes room for deep listening and opportunities for action, so discussion and critical feedback are always welcome.

We are a movement-based investigative project - starting around 2016 Ginger Wagg began seeking out dancers, musicians, writers, actors, designers, and visual artists to collaborate. We’ve performed in all sorts of public & private spaces and venues, presenting independent installations; intimate, small-scale shows; evening-length performances; and public interventions. Our work typically shows up with non-linear narratives, noise and experimental sound scores, visual installations, and improvised choreography.

Just as we want to stand in our own agency as individuals and artists, Wild Actions wants audiences to not only have, but access and attend to their agency, identity, intuition, curiosity, physical body, and sensory experience. Sharing space, having responsibility to oneself and one’s surroundings, co-creating with others, and being attentive to the physical body’s needs are values WA strives to cultivate. These are essential – for performances and really, just for everyday living. We ask those who come to our shows join us in not trying to avoid disorientation, confusion, or conflict, but instead embrace the natural state of complexity and contradiction we all inhabit by simply being alive.

Despite the experimental nature of our work, WA is not exclusive. On the contrary, we believe that everyone deserves to experience art both in and out of dedicated art spaces. We purposefully create and participate in free and low cost events.

Most recent NC collaborators include Daniel Levin, cellist/music teacher; Mike Geary, visual artist/musician; Crowmeat Bob, horn shaman/composer; CJ Suitt, poet; Mike Dimpfl, geographer/writer/costume designer/performer; Patience, actor/devised theater creator; Carley McCready, landscaper/mover; Amanda Barr, visual artist; Jaclyn Bowie, filmmaker/visual artist; Charles Chace, visual artist/musician; Jil Christensen, sound engineer/composer/pianist.

WA has performed across North Carolina in art & music spaces and festivals including 21c Museum Hotel, All Data Lost, Attic 506, Block2 Video Series at Market Plaza, Carrack Modern Art, Carrboro Music Fest, Cat’s Cradle Back Room, The Cave, Haw River Ballroom, Lump projects, Monstercade, Moogfest, Neptune’s Parlour, Nightlight Bar & Club, REVOLVE, River Room, Ruby Deluxe, Sanctuary Series, Savage Weekend, SEEK Raleigh, The Shed, The Torus Building, Uproar, VAE (Visual Arts Exchange), and the Wicked Witch.

"As a movement-based improviser and collaborator, I am always intrigued and nourished when I find those moments of attractive yet unfamiliar places, especially when they resonate deeply with some sort of yes. Perhaps it’s an agreement with myself or one other person or many people at once, but that yes is what I strive for. Nothing can be repeated exactly the same way twice but a similar feeling can be found over and over, and that can happen in endless ways. I’m not looking for comfort in knowing what’s coming next - discovery can be odd, messy or uneasy at times. But finding some sort of mutual understanding, even fleeting, makes it worth the risk. Risk is a thing that’s often avoided, especially right now. But what happens and what’s gained if we remove barriers to get to what’s available right in front of us, even if it’s a dangerous move?”

-Ginger Wagg, Artistic & Managing Director