ISOLATED. A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK INTO THE SPECTRUM OF LONELINESS
(APRIL 2010, PHOENIX FRINGE FESTIVAL)
Isolated. A Retrospective Look into the Spectrum of Loneliness uses the idea of the Grand Guignol, the French Theatre of Horror, to explore the effects of loneliness on the mind, body, and soul. Isolated follows a man, a drifter, who is thrown into solitary confinement as an experiment, a lab rat. He has no past and no recollection of himself or his life at all. The play juxtaposes reality and fantasy, dream and nightmare, and sanity and derangement. Isolated uses the Horror Film Genre laced with visual imagery, dance and choreographed movement, textiles, and ensemble members to create an enraptured experience of truth, beauty, thrill, and absolute horror.
This play questions how far one is willing to go to confront his demons and a forgotten past, what the true effects of loneliness on the mind are, and if the need to belong and have another is a necessity for survival.
Written and conceived by Philip Sy Zisman
Original Cast: Drift (Andy Chambers), Mary (Sable Williams), Mel (Carrie Fee Rapp), Cali (Michal Paris Davis), Clio/Girl (Austin Bree Fox), and Man's Voice (Philip Sy Zisman)
SHAME PHOTO: PAST, PRESENT, PROGRESSIVE
(DECEMBER 2009, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY)
Shame Photo: Past, Present, Progressive looks deep into the innate human quality of voyeurism. This piece draws inspiration from historical events of gruesome African American culture and correlates them to modern societal standpoints.
Shame Photo asks what we, as humans, are capable of without remorse or guilt. It is one thing to kill (righteous or unrighteous), but what is it to celebrate--to bask in the glory of your “catch”? We are all capable of experiencing a moment in time, but how do we capture that moment? How do we exploit it or do we? Shame Photo invites each of its viewers to experience a moment in time where intrusion meets sincerity, step into the photograph.
Directed by Philip sy Zisman
Written and performed by Tascheena Kimberly Umanah
BEAUTIFICATION. A TRANSCULTURAL EXPLORATION OF THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN
(MARCH 2009, PHOENIX FRINGE FESTIVAL)
Beautification: A Transcultural Exploration of the Oppression of Women is a piece that scrutinizes the rituals and processes women undergo to conform to societal norms including foot binding in China, female circumcision in Africa, and the covering of one’s body through the wearing of burqas in The Middle East. This piece draws inspiration from these cultures and juxtaposes them with the plight of women of the Americas today. Beautification uses the body as a universal language unravelling its tale through ethnic dance, poetic movement, visceral media, geometry, and textiles. Through this exploration, cultures collide and in turn, question the effects that these rituals have over women on a global scale.
This work-in-progress, Beautification, traverses global borders and probes the inception of oppressive rituals and more importantly, their continuity in today’s time and societies which lingers on the sense of archaic praxes. The purpose of this piece is not to delineate right from wrong or to condemn societal norms. Rather, its purpose asks why and how these adopted practices continue to afflict women. Beautification explores the idea of transnationalism through the investigation of transcultural beautification rituals, and as a result, the world of the female gender role is called into question and the attempt to deteriorate the female stereotype arises through a sense of collision and hybridity.
Written and conceived by Philip Sy Zisman
Orginal cast: Women (Shea Noel Brockway, Bailey Oliver, Zoe Robinson, Jamie Sandomire, and Kristina Serna), Man (Kyle Wills)
FRACTURED
(DECEMBER 2008, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY)
Fractured is an autobiographical piece written and performed by Hybrid associate artist, Shea Noel Brockway. This piece journeys into a time of Shea’s life that shattered her dreams and changed her world forever. Through this piece, Shea was forced to confront her past, a past that had left her broken, scarred, and fractured.
Fractured is Shea’s recollection on the devastating event that ended her dreams of becoming a dancer. In 2000, Shea fractured her spine after a terrible mishap and was told that her dream of becoming a professional dancer would never come true. She underwent spinal surgery and was forced to learn to rehabilitate her injury and her self. This traumatic event caused her to deal with depression, suicide, and a new way of learning to pick up the pieces of her shattered world.
This piece forced Shea to confront all the demons of her past including her fear of dancing again. This confrontation included media images of her spinal x-ray, poetic text, and video feed of the last occurrence of Shea’s dancing prior to her mishap. Through this confrontation, Shea was able to realize her strength, overcome her fears, and share with viewers how important the will to move forward is when all hope seems lost.
Directed by Philip Sy Zisman
Written and performed by Shea Noel Brockway
