Paradiz’d

2018

Devised performance that was inspired by Grant Hart’s musical exploration of the epic poem Paradise Lost in his album The Argument

co-created with Kent Barrett
presented at the Cubicolo
(Carlisle, PA)

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In this co-devised performance, Kent Barrett and I built a layered, hyper-stimulating space in the Cubiculo Black Box Theater, we invited members of our Carlisle, PA community to perform. The space felt like a familiar but unsettling kaleidoscope apartment+church in sensory overload, which is sort of how we wanted to capture the feeling of the original poem. Performing experience as well as age and professional backgrounds varied among the group, and we asked them to explore a sequence of tasks related to their individual life experiences. The structure of the performance was based on an Anglican church service, and we tried to evoke rituals through improvisational live music, repetition, readings, and procession.

Musicians:
Mike Beavers (guitar)
Anthony Brau (guitar)
David Crowtherd (keys)
Thomas A. Downs (drums)
Sara Markowitz (vocals)
Matt Steiman (bass)

Performers:
Jeff Adams
Sherry Harper-McCombs
Demma Harper-McCombs
Karen Kirkham
Ted Kirkham
Walter Kirkham
Felonica Kirkham
Christabelle Kirkham
Sam Nedrow
Addie Nedrow
Juli Bounds

Technicians:
Sarah Blocher
Kenya Bullock
Noah Fusco
Kristen Kim
Nina Spoelker
Solomon Zisser
Contributers:
Erin Crawley-Woods
Dennis Ealy
Kevin Harper-McCombs
Kelsey Horowitz
Daniel Jackson
Conor Leary
Monica Lopez Soler
Clarissa Messer
Jason Nedrow
Chase Perabo
Jonah Reynolds
Sarah Skaggs