Beneath the Concrete

This is a rough cut of a 40-minute performance I directed and performed at the Contemporary Art Institute Detroit (CAID) in December, 2010.

'Beneath the Concrete' was an interdisciplinary theater project that combined elements of tragedy, satire and the grotesque to transport audience members directly into the atmosphere of a post-earthquake village in Indonesia. Contrasting the world of an old woman and her granddaughter who have just lost their home and family members to a devastating earthquake with the world of an American newscaster who travels to Indonesia to help, this four-part performance piece explored the clashing of perspectives in the face of natural disaster: examining the conflicts of East and West, of heroes and victims, of developed and developing nations. 'Beneath the Concrete' incorporated elements of mask, puppetry, physical theater, dance and music to depict a visually rich world that oscillates between the realistic and the imaginary.

Written and Directed by Emilia Javanica
Sound Composition by Alvin Hill
Prop Design by Julia Klein and Emilia Javanica
Performances by Patrick Elkins, Brian Rosenthal, Carisa Bledsoe, Kelsey Lappa and Emilia Javanica
Costumes by Reed Esslinger
and Lighting by Joey Ostrander

**All ticket proceeds were donated directly to Posko Tutungan, an independent organization in Yogyakarta, Indonesia working to help victims of the 2010 Mt. Merapi volcanic eruptions.

For more info, please visit: www.emiliajavanica.com

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• beneath the concrete
• interdisciplinary theater
• experimental
• visual theater
• masks
• puppetry
• stop motion animation
• indonesia
• earthquake
• natural disaster
• media
• television
• dark humor
• grotesque
• gamelan