Arts
For Performa 11, Liz Magic Laser will present a new mixed-media performance, I Feel Your Pain, that will restage America’s recent political contests as a romantic drama. Drawing on a variety of agitprop theater tactics, particularly the Russian Constructivist idea of a “living newspaper,” the performance will examine how emotion is used to establish authenticity on America’s political stage. Staged in a movie theater, I Feel Your Pain will take place simultaneously in the midst of the audience and on the cinema’s screen. Eight actors will perform a sequence of scenes that will trace the progression of a romantic relationship in adapted dialogues taken from political interviews and press conferences with Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, amongst others. Borrowing elements from historic “living newspaper” productions, the performance will feature live voice-overs, pantomime fight scenes, and mute commentaries by a clown. As the actors perform, live film from two cinematographers in the audience will be projected onto the screen as a continuous feed, with Laser acting as a real-time editor, choosing camera angles for the audience to see. I Feel Your Pain features actors Lynn Berg, Audrey Crabtree, Ray Field, Annie Fox, Kathryn Grody, Rafael Jordan, Liz Micek, and Ryan Shams. The video will be made with producer David Guinan and cinematographers Matthew Nauser and Collin Kornfeind of Polemic Media; costume stylist Felicia Garcia-Rivera; production assistants Lucia Hinojosa, Jamie Kelly, Boman Modine and Rose Swan. The script includes editorial contributions from Scott Indrisek, Wendy Osserman, Jess Wilcox and Tom Williams.