Theatre
The birth of perspective in fifteenth-century Italian painting is not all disconnected from political considerations. Art history has shown us that the first stage in the construction of perspective is not the definition of the vanishing point but the definition of the frame. Painters give us a “framed” and “orderly” view of the world.
So, what can we say about the view of the world brought to us by an onslaught of digital images which we are confronted with every day? As it was in the day and age of the Renaissance, it is an enormously political thing. The powers-that-be have well understood that, and they have invested massively in the theatre of new technologies to stage some illusion of politics through the politics of illusion.
“THEATRE”, the latest SUPERAMAS project, is about the representation of a world structured by the politics of illusion. In this context, various extended reality techniques, such as 3-D images, avatars and mapping, are used.
The stage will also become a site of improbable encounters. Real persons, fictitious characters and avatars will meet. Important decisions will be taken. A war might be in the offing. The stage might become a theatre of operations.
What SUPERAMAS is interested in here is the interaction between reality and fiction and the way it is at work in reports on current politics. The point is to rediscover the reality of comedy or drama behind the illusion of the political.
When the private life of public figures is in the focus of the politics of illusion, when the Crown Prince’s wedding or the First Lady’s pregnancy become societal issues, fiction has long relegated reality to the background. But then again, did not the Renaissance painters also give their madonnas the traits of the prostitutes who were their models?
SUPERAMAS will play true and false stories, navigate between reality and virtuality, always seeking to keep politics and the image of politics apart. Or mix it even more. The audience will, however, be given an opportunity to see clearly: the toolbox will be opened before their very eyes. And we hope that this time, their attention will be directed at the frame as much as at the vanishing point.
Credits
Written and Directed by: Superamas
Performed by: Lucie Eidenbenz, Karen Lambaek, Lieve de Pourcq, Faris Endris Rahoma, Bahar Temiz and Superamas.
Set / Sound / Video Design: Superamas
Light Design: Henri-Emmanuel Doublier
Motion Capture Concept and Program: Pierre Gufflet
3D Images Design: Superamas in collaboration with TechnocITé Mons/Belgium, CCCP/France and Kevin Mariën.
Real-time 3D Engine and Computed Animations: Pierre Gufflet, Superamas, CCCP/France and Kevin MariënCostumes: Sofie DurnezVoices: Susan Bentley, Dr. Siham Bouhlal, Ass. Prof. Olga Hazan, Nabil Rahoma, Prof. Jeffrey Ruda.
Technical Supervisor: Pierre Gufflet
Stage Manager: Martin SchwabProduced by: Superamas
Co-produced by: Art Center Vooruit/Belgium, Maribor European Cultural Capital 2012/Slovenia, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm (in the frame of Frankfurter Positionen 2013 – eine Initiative der BHF-BANK-Stiftung)/Germany, Maison de la Culture d’Amiens – Centre de création et de production/France, Szene Salzburg/Austria, Tanzquartier Wien/Austria, CECN Manège Mons/Belgium, EN-KNAP, Ljubljana/Slovenia, Stereolux, Nantes/France, Impulstanz, Vienna/Austria
In collaboration with: Buda Art Center, Kortrijk/Belgium, La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris/France, TechnocITé Mons/Belgium, Howest Kortrijk/Belgium, Mokum/Belgium, l’Avant Seine, Théâtre de Colombes/France, Agglomération Maubeuge-Val de Sambre, Gare Numérique de Jeumont/France, Internationales Figurentheater-Festival Erlangen/Germany.
Supported by: The City of Vienna/Austria, Ministry of Education, Art and Culture/Austria, Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles d’Ile-de-France, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication/France, DICRéAM, Centre National du cinéma et de l’image animée/France, l’Institut Français, Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes in the frame of the „Theatre export“ program/France, apap -performing europe!/EU, Austrian Cultural Forum in Brussels and Ljubljana, Pôle Images Nord-Pas de Calais (avec le soutien du Conseil Régional Nord-Pas de Calais, de Lille Métropole Communauté Urbaine et du Centre Régional de Ressources Audiovisuelles Nord-Pas de Calais)/France.
No intermission.