The Mythic Journey

The Wandering Bishops are performing artists involved in designing theme environments. The themes are as varied as the occasions.

We have staged a medicine show for the Wild West Film Fest, recreated the 'fifties Beat scene for the Caffe Sumatra and turned Carmela's Italian restaurant into a speakeasy.

We have advocated literacy in public schools, developed community integration programs for the disabled and have worked with other civic and charitable organizations on carnivals, fairs and fundraisers.

But underneath all the fun, ancient principals are at work.

The notion of creating environments to achieve desired results is as old as the Elysian mysteries and as simple as putting out chips for a party. As anyone who has been uplifted by a joke or moved by a strain of music knows, the senses can be manipulated to perceive that which lay beyond their reach.  

We all bring meaning and purpose to our lives by constructing symbolic arenas upon which we act out scripts, what has been called "the story of our lives." By orchestrating experience, we can affect these "meta-sets" or "stories."

Connection to self and neighbor rests on our ability to provide relevant myths and the rituals that accompany them. Environmental storytelling acts as an agent for personal transformation and the transmission of culture.

The Tuolumne Temple of the Wandering Bishops was formed as a living memorial to performance art pioneer Lord Buckley. It is part of a network of performing and media artists who try to "build community" using the Arts. Founder David Allen Simerley studied Storytelling at the Prometheus Psychodrama Theater in Palo Alto under Guerney Norman, one of the original Merry Pranksters. Located in the Sierra foothills in an area known as the Mother Lode, The Wandering Bishops travel throughout Northern California exploring the worlds of possibility.

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