On the Cusp

(click on the image to watch the video)

September 24-25, 2021 • SITE/less, 1250 Augusta Blvd

IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION AND ATTESTATION BEFORE ATTENDING

WORDS : MUSIC : ACTION

Historically, Western culture has identified persons who are not members of the privileged class as “others” or “outsiders” and seeks to conceal their existence by casting men to play women’s parts, whites to perform in blackface, redface, and yellowface, and non-disabled actors to portray disabled characters. Where are the boundaries between sound, speech, act, silence, metaphor, and the real? Who determines who is “in”, who is “out,” and who is “other”?

On the Cusp investigates these and other boundaries. Poised between theatre, music, and movement; between story, song, and act; between mundane, alien, and ecstatic, the four works that are On the Cusp open onto dark worlds of difference and reveal who is “outside” and “in,” where power and agency lie, and how art can further resistance.

Performed by artists with and without disabilities and part of a thematic exploration of the junction of “Otherness” and Power, On the Cusp features Playing God, a new work by Enama based on the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, with additional classic works of the past century including Tongues by Sam Shepard, Cascando by Samuel Beckett, and Tristan Tzara’s The Gas Heart.

a ladder beckons … a narrative fractures … a voice is silenced …

On the Cusp is an in-person | live-streamed hybrid event on the cusp of technology and immersion. For the full immersive experience, please bring your WiFi-enabled device capable of playing YouTube video (e.g. smartphone, iPad, etc.) and headphones or earbuds.

PROGRAM

• Enama, Playing God based on poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks Enama, Performer • • Sam Shepard, Tongues Arlene Malinowski, Speaker Steve Butters, Percussion Theo Economides, Video • • • Samuel Beckett, Cascando Kao Ra Zen, Opener Michael Herzovi, Voice Christophe Preissing, Music

• • • • Tristan Tzara, The Gas Heart EYE, Kao Ra Zen MOUTH, Arlene Malinowski NOSE, Andy Slater EAR, Deirdre Harrison NECK, Kyle Price EYEBROW, Enama THE GAS HEART/GENTLEMAN DANCER, Molly Choreography, Michelle Kranicke Original Score, Christophe Preissing Madeleine, Madeleine, Kyle Price Musicians Violin, Owen Ruff Cello, Oli Harris Clarinet, Jennifer Woodrum Trombone, Chris Misch Percussion, Steve Butters

ACCESSIBILITY : On the Cusp and SITE/less are wheelchair accessible. Captioning and complete texts will be provided online and in print both evenings. Audio interpretation will be provided at the Saturday, September 25 show. A wheelchair accessible/gender-neutral restroom will be available. Please refrain from wearing scented products. For other accommodation requests, please contact Christophe Preissing at non@nonopera.org

This program is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency
and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.