Thursday, September 3, 2009

HEAR THE SIREN'S SONG!

A description and promotional materials for Ulysses' Crewmen

A militant dissenter abuses her hostage from the US delegation while faintly aware of the audience surrounding her. This claustrophobic scene creates a space for radical introspection, defiant theatre and tactical conversations. With only a few props, two actors, one of who is bound and gagged, and a serious commitment to DIY politics, Insurgent Theatre refutes ancient dogmas found in Homer's Odyssey and examines the psychosexual underpinnings of empire and rebellion.





PREVIEW VIDEO


We are all Ulysses’ crewmen. We’ve got wax in our ears and a madman lashed to the mast.

The Situation:
Ulysses' Crewmen have mutinied. The captain has been captured and the moral of Homer's tale has been reversed. All the mutineers perished but one, who is now left alone with the hero of all western civilization struggling against obsolete morality and the impossibility of ethical action.

Unplug your ears, release the madness, hear the siren’s song and let yourself be dashed against the rocks!”

The Exposition, in the form of a fictional news report:
A member of the US delegation has been kidnapped. Police are currently out in force searching for the missing delegate and his abductors. The delegate was captured at the airport en route to the new global trade negotiations. Similar actions were attempted around the world. This appears to be a decentralized global effort by a network of highly sophisticated terrorist groups. Sources say that the organizations are domestic anti-globalization groups, hoping to shut down the negotiations by kidnapping the negotiators. The possibility that they are operating- perhaps unwittingly, under command or in coordination with Islamic terrorist groups like Al Queda has not be ruled out. Only the attack on the US delegation was successful. A replacement delegate is already en route to the talks, which will commence on schedule.

The Presentation:
A 60 minute two-person play, to be performed surrounded in close quarters by an intimate audience on the same floor level. A chair. A gun. A radio. Two actors.

The Response:

“Insurgent’s project is noble and high minded... it takes guts to do work like this.”
-
Kurt Hartwig, SnapMilwaukee.com

“A drama animated by dark brutality [that]... creates a fascinating dynamic.” “This is theatre that strives to become more real that reality.”
-Russ Bickerstaff, Shepherd Express Online Milwaukee, WI

"One of the most inpiring DIY tours I have ever encountered. Its execution is intensly captivating and provocative. What other play features an hour of harsh interrogation and pistol-whipping followed by remarkably constructive conversation with its audience?"
-Robert Inhuman, Realicide


2 comments:

  1. just saw your show in portland.
    exellent. i had to leave before the discution was over, but just wanted to thank you for sharing such a challenging experience.
    if you ever plan on touring through Rochester NY please contact me.

    joel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Joel, thanks for the comment. We just may be coming through Rochester not too far off in the future as it's pretty close to where we live. What's your contact info?

    -kate
    katepleuss@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete