Memphis Artspace – Linz – www.memphismemphis.is

In between a performance and a workshop, the project puts on stage fight-exercises open to participation to challenge cultural “prohibitions” and “permissions”. Minimum participation involves an observation, maximum would be to play outside the comfort zone. The trainer and the artist give the instructions, set the “safety gestures” and guide the participants. To the physical challenges, we add gradually some verbal improvisations. The roles playing between victims and aggressors, dominant and dominated, powerful and weak loose their frontiers.

This first stage of the project was developed in Linz, Austria, in collaboration to Christine Eder, theatre director. The installation took its form with the help of Jacob Dietrich and the performance came alive with the qualities of Jaskaran Anand, Thomas Butteweg, Thomas Frank, Isabella Knöll, Christoph Rothenbuchner and Pascal Thimotee.