29000 DUCKS AT SEA
Interdisciplinary collaboration.
Workshop at Scenofest, Prague Quadrennial, 2007
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0nSHcJBjVU
Trapped in a tightly enclosed space feeling the breath of the surrounding bodies. It is dark but for a small flashlight suspended from the ceiling slowly swinging back and forth. Distant metallic sounds are heard through the walls. Meanwhile performers speak at random telling the story of 29000 rubber ducks floating in their grand salty bathtub. With a loud bang the doors open and the performance begins...
Eleven years ago, a container crossing the Pacific Ocean, filled with 29000 rubber ducks, unexpectedly shipwrecked. Suddenly, the ducks [made in China] destined to supermarkets and personal bathtubs, found themselves floating in the vast cosmos of water. We were interested in our reaction to the contrast of extreme confinement inside the container versus the infinite expansion of the ocean. Zealous to reach a highly international audience by drawing from our diverse design backgrounds, our play turned the spoken word into light, shadow, and sound.
The story was conveyed visually creating multiple levels of performance: the actor, the projected image, the shadow. Choreographed to instrumental pieces of music, the actors and their shadows interacted and became one with the manually manipulated projection on the wall. Consequently, the audience’s experience entailed three layers: actual performance in the space, simple manipulation of the projection, and the resulting shadow play on the wall.
