Imagine... performers walk in and stand on the platform at the back of the stage. Each dresses up (or down?!) and helps someone to do it, too. There is no music, the performers chat quietly, as if they were still behind the scenes. They they take their positions, very cerimoniously. A performer is on the 'cage' upside down, and another walks nervously, in front of it. Four performers sit on four chairs in the middle of the stage and wear spectacles. The music starts and all the actions begin, the boxer, the hysterical 'presenter,' performers with spectacle stare intensely at the audience. The scene slowly 'decades' while a new one seems to be prepared onstage, a spotlight on each side of the stage, and two performers, one wearing black leather clothes and sunglasses, and the other wearing a wig, blowing flour into the coolored light. Spotlights alternate. Lights comes up and a new scene takes place: three performers around a table, mouths bounded, upstage, right, while the recording almost covers the music, while on the left a scene from 'sailor boy' takes place, also involving a lot of petals. Suddenly, someone on a bike crosses the stage and disappears again. The scene then moves to a burial of a performer who is not 'dead' and holds a big jar of water and a glass. Around him, two performers are trying to bury him, while three other performers drink water with him, at the same rhythm. The water drinking is excessive, the performers almost feel sick. The scene than changes again, and while another performer is trying to get on the cage, four performers sit around a floor-level round table (like the ones you find in Chinese restaurants, on top of the big table, that you can turn around and grab any plate). On the table there are different cakes, and while the table turn around, the performers smash their heads and faces into the cakes. At the same time, there will be a performer eating carrots and walki9ng around the stege, while other performers are presenting various objects.
During the piece, whoever is not busy with the 'main scene', is either planting and watering legs into the sand on the floor, or is eating carrots hysterically, or presenting objects cerimoniously, or getting changed on the top of the platform, or hysterically and obsessively cleaning the floor. Constantly, during the piece, there will be objects falling from the ceiling (rails), such as petals, glitter, flour, small pieces of paper... The music will change during the piece, but it will always be somehow 'inappropriate' to what is being presented (classical music in an hysteric scene, hard rock during the burial, and so on...)
The piece ends with all performers somehow 'physically changed by the piece' (either dirty, or wet, or with a certain outfit...), joining together on the top of the platform, singing a Christmas song.
Sorry if I went over the 200 words, hope you like it!
See you all soon,
Elena
xxx
Sunday, 16 November 2008
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'The scene then moves to a burial of a performer who is not 'dead' and holds a big jar of water and a glass. Around him, two performers are trying to bury him, while three other performers drink water with him, at the same rhythm. The water drinking is excessive, the performers almost feel sick.'
ReplyDelete- I think something like this would look good&interesting, both ritualistic elements (drinking) and (violent) act of burying a living person -- a weird combination.
I also like the idea of objects falling from the ceiling (from the rails or whatever we come up with) -- it would be good to use also the vertical axis of the studio space
joonas