Volkmar Klien

There are no spectators, only performers. 

`Are the Birds Happy?´ is a performance in the form of a public workshop, exploring the instruments of control that mediate our lives. Members of the public co-create the piece, combining spoken word, song and movement. Smartphones, FM radios and a live Master of Ceremonies direct the proceedings.

In `Are the Birds Happy?´ participants are initially guided by a newly developed phone app called SADISS, a directing + conducting tool that facilitates unrehearsed dialogues, ad hoc choirs of human singers, phone symphonies and choreographed movement.

By individually `channeling´ to each participant, SADISS communicates different roles within the group. `Channeling´ means each person speaks a specific dialogue or carries out specific actions as instructed through an earbud.

Six local performers collaborate on the preparation of the workshops. Indistinguishable from the public they provide guidance, leading by example.

`Are the Birds Happy?` plays with the central paradox inherent in our smartphone tethered lives: isolation vs. community. Tied individually to their phones the public forms a cohesive group and carries out a performance as one.

Simon Lee

Simon Lee works in photography, video, performance and installation. His work has been described as “a powerful metaphor for the random flow of history and a low tech formal tour de force” (New York Times). His fascination with watching dailyness, shooting cinéma vérité, collecting tens of thousands of found photographs and working with actors feed into his work. Lee’s projects include live multi-screen theatrical events, ad-hoc performances in public space, single and dual channel films and sculptural installations.

Eve Sussman

Playing with the tactics through which narrative is conveyed Eve Sussman works in expanded cinema, video installation and live performance. Experimenting with the power of implication she uses improvised scripting, channelled dialogue and choreography, and live and algorithmic editing as a means of generating stories in which meaning is slippery. Collaborations with Simon Lee and Volkmar Klien have used cell phones as devices for performance, faciliting narrative interventions via the public’s phones.

Volkmar Klien

Growing up in Vienna (Austria), Volkmar Klien spent his childhood engulfed in the city’s rich musical life with all its glorious traditions and engrained rituals. Working from this background he today strives to extend traditional practices of composing, producing and listening far beyond the established settings of concert music. In his practice he navigates the manifold links in-between the different modes of human perception, the spheres of presentation and the roles these play in the communal generation of meaning.

Documents

Production one pager & tech specs as .pdf

Brochure handed out to the participants at the end of the Gray Area performances (June 2024) .pdf

Production overview / tech requirements:

Venue type: min. 2000sf/200sm
black box, gallery, theatre, warehouse, gymnasium.
Acoustics are important, participants need to be able to hear each other.

Duration: 60 minutes

Participants: 42 people

Our software system is capable of running multi-lingual performances.

Props:
10 cafe tables
40 chairs

Lighting grid: Simple grid, truss or C-stands for 15 - 20 focusable lights.
Lighting technician to run the light board.
Small PA-system.

Footage from a workshop in NY:

With funding by:

Synchronized by: