Josiah Cuneo: The Screen Above

About

Employing narration as a theatrical device and trope, The Screen Above subverts conventions of spectatorship and performance as a means of exploring ideas of authority, conformity, rebellion, and improvisation. Here, each scene proposes centuries of obedience in relationship to an ancient screen that hovers above the stage and transmits views of the performance that would otherwise remain obscured or out of reach, transposing its omnipotence to the audience. Woven between simultaneous spatial, temporal and perspectival shifts of performances on stage and on screen, a narrator and four dancers reveal underlying themes through a complex system of verbal and non-verbal cues in tandem with original musical scores interpreted by Jessica Pavone on viola, Meagan Burke on cello, Nick Dunston on double bass.

Engaging the audience in a spatiotemporal dynamic that exposes fissures between image and reality, The Screen Above pushes the boundaries of representation through the interaction of filmed sequences, flat projected images, and performers. Citing inspiration from multidisciplinary artists Laurie Anderson, Charles Atlas, Miranda July and William Kentridge, Cuneo’s use of image sequencing through an amalgamation of theatre, video, dance and live music performance is equally informed by the work of composers such as Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Meredith Monk, and Giacinto Scelsi.