A Seventh Man
Premiered at festival:festival
July 29, 2017
Base: Experimental Arts + Works
Seattle, WA
Last July, Modern Recollections set out to create a new work that explored the ontology of the body in social organizations contingent upon the devastating effects of labor exploitation. Drawing inspiration from the life and work of Harry Houdini, the American meatpacking industry, as well as John Berger’s perennial literary and visual project “A Seventh Man,” Lawrence and his collaborators explore the relationship between hegemonic power and the dislocated body. Creating a highly systematized theatrical environment involving a series of looming kinetic sculptures, Otheim’s elaborate and commanding electronic compositions, and Eady’s explosive movement, Lawrence insinuates the existence of an invisible but domineering presence onstage around which the mechanics of the performance seem to operate, evoking muted but imploring pleas for recourse for what Berger refers to as the “final act of historical elimination.”
Creative Team:
Concept/Direction/Writing: Carl Lawrence
Music: Aaron Otheim
Choreography: Jenna Eady
Costumes: Hannah Larson
Stage sculptures/Technical Director: John DeShazo
Dramaturgy: Juan Franco
Lighting: Dave Proscia
Performers: Juan Franco, Alyssa Casey, Jorge Robles, Jenna Eady
Photos: Cameron Fletcher