It’s important to me that I continue to discover and clarify themes in this work. My current opinion of rabbit hole cycles is that it inspects a performer’s role in a new space and in changing environments, and the roles of the individuals in a group, in a quirky performative sense. The space(s)/worlds in the piece are far from real, and yet they are indicative of real life; a crowded street carnival or parade, the rehearsal space, a unpopulated outdoor space. The performers’ actions and impulses on stage are far from how people act in real life, and yet they’re representative of the human condition. The piece explores behavior in space, a closed experiment of sorts, while exploring artificiality in performance and day to day life. The dancers’ over the top faces and gestures are artificial moments usually confined to theatrical settings, but artificiality is similarly prevalent in the normal everyday life we experience. How often do respond “I’m ok” instead of speaking our minds when asked the question “how are you”?
More questions for the piece to explore: How do we act in a variety of new spaces, how do we act to each other, when do we perform, when are we the most artificial, how does being part of a group affect our actions, what happens when the dynamic of a group changes, is it possible to escape a cycle? References I’ve been exploring and utilizing throughout the process include the sound that I previously mentioned (Rabbit Rabbit’s Hush, Hush, Timber Timbre’s Run From Me), Dr. Seuss’ Star-bellied Sneetches, The Truman Show (yes, the 90s Jim Carrey movie), the work of M.C. Escher, Lewis Carroll and more.