Taxidermy- a sound installation for two audience members sitting in a taxi and staring at a deer
TheatrePosted by Claire Mon, August 24, 2015 00:01:43
Taxidermy
is an interactive audio installation for two audience members at a
time. It features a pre-recorded soundtrack and a stuffed deer and
encourages several moments of performance and interactivity.
Throughout the day audience members can put their names on a list and
will be given a time slot and a location at which to appear in order
to experience the piece.
The piece
When you get to the allocated place, a mysterious tour guide hands you two different MP3 players. You are kindly asked to wear the headphones throughout the experience. From the moment you switch on the device, you will be guided solely by the audio track. You will immediately be immersed into an unknown universe of Lynchian reminiscences. Oblivious to the aftermath you are becoming a part of an unusual detective story, a scavenger hunt for lost souls.
A voice gently instructs you to get
into a car parked nearby. From now on it's only you and your partner
and the voice in your heads. There is a sign saying “Taxi” on the
car. The journey begins. When you sit down in the cab, you are
encouraged to put your dream destination into the GPS. You will now
let the story unfold itself.
The piece takes you on an
imaginative journey through fictional landscapes and along endless
highways, right into the nucleus of your wildest dreams or a version
of what your dreams could be like if only... Characters appear and
disappear, swishing by and leaving faint reflections in the side view
mirror. And throughout the performance you get this eerie sensation
that maybe you have become one of the protagonists of your very own
road movie, a movie that has been especially written for you and your
travel buddy. But the movie develops in your own imagination. Only
the soundtrack is provided and a few clues emerge from time to time
as indicators for mood and plot development. The rest is up to you
and your mind. You make the links between what you hear, feel and
sense.
In that way the piece intertwines different scenarios that depend on the MP3 player you have chosen and on your own experience of it. Different questions arise and even though you might be provided with a series of clues, it is really up to you and your imagination what you make of it. To which extent can you really influence the course of the story? Maybe you have just signed up to become an insignificant pawn on the chess board of life. And why is there a deer staring at you through the windscreen?
(photo by Gregory Crewdson)
Taxidermy
is an immersive transmedia storytelling project that combines
literature, performance, new technologies, sound, street art with
elements of puppetry. In its simple layout it can be performed
anywhere in the world in a parked car. The piece was written by
Claire Thill and has been devised in collaboration with various
artists. The fact that it is an audio track means that you are
encouraged to let your imagination run wild. The
track is written and recorded in a careful, engaging way. It creates an intriguing audio
simulation, oscillating from the realistic to the absurd. You will embark on an
extraordinarily personal journey that takes you beyond the boundaries
of traditional theatrical experiences and softly sweeps you away.
The first work-in-progress performance of this piece is going to be performed at the Theaterfest in Luxembourg on the 20th September
Concept & performance: Claire Thill
Design: Elisa Rosso-Gallo
Sound design: Emre Sevendik
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