Concept, build and performance art by Meryl Carson. 5-minute performance with 6 performers (including the artist)
My junior year of college was a year of recovery. Events of the previous two years had left me with unhealthy thought structures that I was still processing, but I was finally in a place where I could flourish, partially thanks to my friends and technical theatre.
The imagery of this piece–descending a staircase as my friends take it apart behind me–represents a moment of catharsis, of taking apart the past so I have space to rebuild myself, space to grow. The controlled destruction continues for awhile after I am fully off the stairs, both for safety reasons and to give me time to establish distance from them and recognize them more for what they are.
One of my challenges for myself was to utilize movement in this performance art piece without letting it become “dance.” I have choreographed and performed dance pieces for over a decade, and dramatic arm gestures are second nature. Since the crux of this piece was about moving forward, I decided I needed to keep the movement away from the easy comfort zone of choreography.
Another challenge I gave myself was to not approach this piece from the perspective of a designer. The fact that I built a dynamic set for my directing class may make that seem counterintuitive, but it was actually part of the reason for that limitation. If I allowed myself to think about the stairs too artistically, it would be very easy to get lost in the details of color and texture. Instead, I thought about them from the perspective of a technical director: how do I need to build these stairs to allow the performance to fulfill my directorial vision? The time I spent on the set was entirely focused on making sure it was both structurally sound for me to climb on and easy to take apart within the time constraints of the piece.
Special thanks to performers Flora Aubin, Oscar Brautigam, Liz Risley, Abby Simmons, and Delaney Stewart.
