TROPICAL AREA
Saturdays June 16 and 23, 8-10 pm
Performances by Trickster Theater
Directed and conceived by Papo Colo
“Tropical Area explores geography, the influence of climate over
behavior, the exotic nature of tourism, the positive and negative
impact of isolation, and the will to reach beyond borders. Tropical
Area is a study by dynamic visual actors that are combining sexuality,
geopolitics, mythology and beach culture into an evening of
effervescence and brainy entertainment, a continuous visual and
physical ponder in your spirit. The artists perform simultaneously as
they assume characters that provoke the constant atmosphere of the
tropics.“ Papo Colo
A video of Tropical Area is available on our podcast page. Go there now to see videos of previous performances and more.
ARTISTS
Rob Andrews, Eun Woo Cho, Saeri Kiritani, Julia Mandle, Oleg
Mavromatti, Jolie Pichardo, Pasha RA, Boryanna Rossa, Rafael Sanchez
and Jesus Sendòn, Aki
Sasamoto
DIRECTOR
Papo Colo
“The Trickster Performance Theater is the individual voice in a
collective arena. The artists develop a specific shared subject, in
this case the topic of island isolation in a tropical area. The group
performs simultaneously provoked by an exhibition of the same subject.
The curve of performance art is the collective theater.”
Papo Colo, Director
PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTIONS
Rob Andrews will perform as the Minotaur, the half man-half bull monster that resided at the center of a labyrinth. The labyrinth evokes the isolation of islands.
Using their thumbs, Eun Woo Cho and 4 models create a ritual
of plugging holes in fish tanks full of water, a metaphor for
possession and objectification of women across cultures.
Saeri Kiritani uses the body to draw a parallel between
Japan, the island of her birthplace, and Cuba. Suspended in a hammock
that becomes a cocoon, she explores notions of physical and mental
separateness.
In Julia Mandle's allegory to the American bargain-attitude,
she presents two sides of our current political psyche. Her performers
wear deconstructed, colonial American dresses embroidered with
anti-American protest chants collected from around the world. They make
gestural drawings on the wall with charcoal taken from the burned
remains of a bombed KFC.
Jolie Pichardo wears a gigantic red skirt that symbolizes
communism. Elevated on a ladder, she cuts pieces off her skirt while
reciting Guillermo Cabrera Infante's Three Trapped Tigers, creating a
metaphor for the deconstruction of the communist regime in Cuba.
In tribute to Manuel Mendive's body art performances influenced from Yoruba religion, Carolina Puente performs as the deity Oshun.
The performer's entire body is painted Mendive style as she dances
Afro-Cuban folklore in front of a mirror, never looking at the audience.
Pasha RA ritualistically cuts each piece of his clothing in
half and pins it to the wall behind him, effectively mapping a new
political identity.
Boryanna Rossa and Oleg Mavromatti reflect on the symbolism of Cuban cigars. They will cut down a cigar and attempt to smoke the shortest cigar possible.
Rafael Sanchez (with Jesus Sendòn) explores the process of
emigration from Cuba by submerging himself in extremely hot water that
over time becomes freezing through the addition of ice to his bath,
immersed in memories that become frozen when one emigrates to a new
country.
Tropical Area takes place in conjunction with Killing Time,
a group exhibition at Exit Art that focuses on the subjects of time,
process and transition in Cuba through different media through July 28..
EXIT ART has a long history of presenting performance art projects. From the seminal exhibition Endurance
(1995), that traced the history of performance work dealing with
physical, spiritual and mental endurance from 1914 to the present, and
traveled for five years around the U.S. and Europe. To Terra Bomba
(1997), an exhibition of young visual and performance artists who
performed every Saturday in their constantly evolving installations.
Since 2005 the Trickster Theater has produced 5 performance events, prayingproject , Water Project , Wild Girls , Serious Games and Construct .
Exit Art is located at 475 Tenth Avenue at 36th Street.
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 10 am – 6 pm; Friday, 10 am – 8 pm;
Saturday, noon – 8 pm Closed Sunday and Monday.
There is a suggested donation of $5.
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