PERFORMANCE AS EXPERIENCE

When performance becomes an experience, the nature of spectatorship is in question. The stage is no longer a spatial area in the room;
it resides within the consciousness of the audience.

 

 

State of being (2007) was a performance for one spectator at a time. The dramaturgy was constructed as an experiential path of the spectator; much like a theatre play, but using the mind and the body of the spectator as its stage. The performance was composed of two acts; the first took place outdoors in the urban environment, where the spectator-experiencer perceived the city and their own existence in it guided by an audio tape. The second act took place in a private apartment, where the spectator-experiencer was blindfolded and guided through a journey of bodily impulses by dancers.

 

 

Politics of silence (2007) was a series of performances directed to create experiences of silence. It was a live installation composed of simultaneous situations, in which the members of the audience could share silent experiences with another person. The performers were trained to awaken experiences of silence in audience members through the quality of their bodily presence, touch and movement.

 

 

 

State of Being photos: Johanna Tirronen

Politics of Silence photos: Jan Ahlstedt