Concept, choreography, artistic direction & set design: Ligia Lewis / Performance (Film): Ligia Lewis, Jasper Marsalis, Jasmine Orpilla, Austyn Rich / Sound dramaturgy, design, film score: Slauson Malone, mit Auszügen von S. McKenna / Costume design: Marta Martino / Lighting design & sound: Joseph Wegmann / Texts: Ligia Lewis, Ian Randolph, Shakespeare, und Ian McKellen auf Shakespeare / Songs: Guillaume de Machaut, “Complainte: Tels rit au main qui au soir pleure (Le remède de Fortune),” ca. 1340 / Wigs: Gabrielle Curebal / Film production: Reza Monahan Studio, Jim Fetterley / Direction photography / A-camera operation: Sean Morris / Lighting: Eric S. Foster / B-camera operation: Steven Wetrich / C-camera operation: Alex Zarth / Key grip: Gilbert Charles Butler / Production sound recording: Christopher Trueman / Digital imaging technician: Dillon Novak / Production assistant: Yusuke Ito / COVID compliance officer: Jennifer Doyle / Postproduction supervising: Reza Monahan Studio / Postproduction coordination: Sean Morris / Postproduction editing: Ligia Lewis, Steven Wetrich / Postproduction Sound design, sound mix: Christina Nguyen
Ligia Lewis
deader than dead
Part of “Complaint, A Lyric. A Retrospective by Ligia Lewis”
18:00–22:00
- Film
- Installation
The video work “deader than dead” is based on an investigation into the irony and distance induced by the deadpan, a comically deployed impassive attitude. From this form of immobility, Lewis first developed a choreography for 10 dancers who remained expressively flat or dead, resisting any narrative or figurative hold.
Conceived, choreographed and directed by Ligia Lewis for the exhibition“Made in L.A.” 2020, “deader than dead” was originally a performance planned for the Hammer Museum galleries that had to be postponed due to the pandemic. The piece eventually became a film, which has since been shown in various museums and galleries. Following the pandemic, the cast was reduced to four performers and the performance moved towards a more traditionally theatrical presentation.
For this filmed version, the dancers are inspired by the final monologue of the tragedy “Macbeth” and deploy a modular form in which each chapter illustrates death, stasis or emptiness. The performance is also a reflection on play, on familiarity with tragedy in black communities, on time and its loops, on touch as both an act of care and violence. Nevertheless, Ligia Lewis infuses her proposal with a good dose of humour and comedic springs, taking up the concept of ‘corpsing’ – a theatrical term for involuntary laughter at a non-comical moment. The film does not so much document the interpretation of a play as the potential of a performance.
Cast
Dates
Past
Credits
Commissioned and produced by: Made in L.A. 2020 / Hammer Museum. In collaboration with The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. Supported by: Human Resources Los Angeles.
Location
HAU2
Hallesches Ufer 34, 10963 BerlinThere are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available. Four relaxed seats are available in the first row of HAU2. Tickets for wheelchair users and accompanying persons can also be booked via the ticketing system. If you need help, please contact our Ticketing & Service team at +49 (0)30 259004-27 or send us an email to
tickets@hebbel-am-ufer.de.
