ital.
Delle miss et dei misteri
una coreografia radiofonica
Freely inspired by The Girl Chewing Gum by John Smith (1976), Swan Lake by Marius Petitpa (1895) and Canaille by Valeska Gert (1919)
„You think you see what you are listening to.“ – Gertrude Ferrant
Delle miss et dei misteri is at once a choreography, a Nouvelle Vague Drag Show, and a radio play. The process of audio description for visually impaired audiences is employed in order to verbally relate an imaginary performance. A speaker speaks a text, the musician Andrea Neumann accompanies her live on the inside piano. On stage, the performer William Wheeler, except for when he is somewhere else. Or someone else. One can see and hear words, actions, dances, childhoods where everything comes into play, where everything is contingent on play, where everything is play: drag, star-crossed love, cannibalism, fetishism, animism . . .
“Already as a child, I was ‘doing it’ everywhere: in my room, in my parents’ living room, alone or in public. I did it with relish and above all out of pure lust.” – Valérie Castan.
„Be attentive. An object, a gesture, a scenery, a posture, the slightest detail bears its own meaning. (. . .) You yourself shall be the fabricator of the story, which you shall derive from the images you see, according to your sensibility, your character, your mood, experiences from your own life story. It is up to you whether this or that image represents truth or lies, whether this image is real or imaginary, whether that image shows the present or the past. You shall be furnished with all the given elements. Whatever conclusions you draw from these is for you to decide.”
– from the trailer for Last Year at Marienbad by Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillet
engl.
Misses and Mysteries
A choreographic radio play
Freely inspired by The Girl Chewing Gum by John Smith (1976), Swan Lake by Marius Petitpa (1895) and Canaille by Valeska Gert (1919)
„You think you see what you are listening to.“ – Gertrude Ferrant
Misses and Mysteries is at once a choreography, a Nouvelle Vague Drag Show, and a radio play. The process of audio description for visually impaired audiences is employed in order to verbally relate an imaginary performance. A speaker speaks a text, the musician Andrea Neumann accompanies her live on the inside piano. On stage, the performer William Wheeler, except for when he is somewhere else. Or someone else. One can see and hear words, actions, dances, childhoods where everything comes into play, where everything is contingent on play, where everything is play: drag, star-crossed love, cannibalism, fetishism, animism . . . “Already as a child, I was ‘doing it’ everywhere: in my room, in my parents’ living room, alone or in public. I did it with relish and above all out of pure lust.” – Valérie Castan.
fr.
Des miss et des mystères
une chorégraphie radiophonique
librement inspiré de The Girl Chewing Gum de John Smith (1976), du Lac des cygnes de Marius Petitpa (1895), et de Canaille de Valeska Gert (1919)
Des miss et des mystères est à la fois un spectacle chorégraphique, du cabaret « nouvelle vague » et une fiction radiophonique. La pièce utilise la méthode de l’audiodescription pour le public déficient visuel afin de décrire un spectacle imaginaire. Un texte lu par une lectrice est accompagné en direct par la musique d’Andrea Neumann au cadre de piano. Sur scène, le performeur William Wheeler sera là, ou bien ailleurs – à moins qu’il ne soit une autre. Sont donnés à voir et à entendre des mots, des actions, des danses, des enfances, où tout se joue, où tout est jeu : travestissement, amour impossible, cannibalisme, fétichisme, animisme… « Enfant déjà, je le faisais partout, dans ma chambre, dans le salon de mes parents, seule ou en public, je le faisais avec plaisir, d’abord pour le plaisir. » – Valérie Castan
de.
Misses und Mysterien
Ein choreografisches Hörspiel
frei inspiriert von The Girl Chewing Gum von John Smith (1976), Schwanensee von Marius Petitpa (1895) und Canaille von Valeska Gert (1919)
Misses und Mysterien ist Choreografie, Nouvelle Vague Drag Show und Hörspiel zugleich. Das Verfahren der Audiodeskription für sehbehindertes Publikum kommt hier zum Einsatz, um eine imaginäre Aufführung zu beschreiben. Eine Sprecherin liest einen Text, die Musikerin Andrea Neumann begleitet sie live auf dem Innenklavier. Auf der Bühne: Der Performer William Wheeler. Wenn er nicht doch woanders ist. Oder eine andere. Zu sehen und zu hören sind Worte, Handlungen, Tänze, Kindheiten, bei denen alles ins Spiel kommt, alles auf dem Spiel steht, alles Spiel ist: Drag, unmögliche Liebe, Kannibalismus, Fetischismus, Animismus … „Schon als Kind tat ich es überall, in meinem Zimmer, bei meinen Eltern im Wohnzimmer, allein oder in der Öffentlichkeit, ich tat es mit großem Vergnügen und vor allem aus purer Lust.“ – Valérie Castan.
Photo: Antonia Baehr
Concept: Antonia Baehr, Valérie Castan
Reader: Chiara Gallerani
Performance, costume and choreography: William Wheeler
Music (inside piano, mixing board) : Andrea Neumann
Text, choreography : Antonia Baehr, Valérie Castan,
Scenography, lighting design: Antonia Baehr
Italian translation: Chiara Gallerani
Technical direction and lighting design: Rima Ben Brahim
Sound: Ian Douglas-Moore
Internship: Lois Bartel, Guy Marsan
Production: Alexandra Wellensiek / make up productions
Coproduction: Kampnagel (Hamburg), Buda Kunstencentrum (Kortrijk), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Theater Freiburg (Freiburg), Festival Uzès Danse (Uzes), NATIONALES PERFORMANCE NETZ (NPN) Coproduction Fund and International Guest Performance Fund for Dance which is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag.
Supported by: Berliner Senatskanzlei für kulturelle Angelegenheiten, ausland / berlin in the frame of the residence program, Artists in Residence program at fabrik Potsdam.
Thank you to: Chantal Akerman, Antoine Doinel, Sabine Macher, Delphine Seyrig, Christophe Wavelet