This production will be performed on June 9 at DUP 39 in Prague as a part of the Prague Quadrennial.
| Brilliant Being is an exploration of the human condition of adaptation. It is about a world that is constantly changing around us in ways that are, more often than not, terrifying. We use our resiliency and the bonds between ourselves to adapt.
The dramatic circumstances are abstract. They follow strong themes of climate change, racism, and tribalism. This production mixes theatre with modern dance. It includes an original musical composition.. |
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We start with calamity. Comforts and technology are incorporated into a pre-show design. We begin with the failure of our systems. We hear glass breaking. The audio and projections systems visibly and violently shut down. |
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Darkness. Water is dripping. A performer has collapsed on stage. The performance begins with genesis. |
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The world is primal forces. The Brilliant Being struggles through a series of fantasyscapes. She falls through the sky, plunges into water, and is assaulted by elemental forces. |
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She encounters The Voice Being in a forest. The Voice Being is heard before she is seen. She controls the light on stage directly with her voice. She attempts to teach The Brilliant Beinghow to vocalize, but The Brilliant Beingis only able croak in a raspy voice. They bond, and become family. |
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The sky becomes violent. A vortex rips them painfully from their rest. They disappear. The scene shifts to a gossamer grid. Thin lines cover everything. This is the alien realm of The Other. |
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The Other moves like a spider along the grid lines. The Other is all black. She stalks across her grid. The grid bulges and splits abruptly. The Brilliant Beingand The Voice Being are dumped into the space. |
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The Other and the newcomers fear each other. They fight and maneuver around each other. The grid responds to The Voice Being. Her presence bends and distorts it. The Other is repelled by this effect. Slowly, the three of them overcome their fear of each other’s essence. They come together as yet another family. The grid closes gently over them. |
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We transition to a world of water. The three of them play like children as water flows down around them. The water interacts with them. As they play, the water becomes increasingly shallow. |
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They continue to play and revel in the water, even as it becomes a small puddle in the bottom corner of the space. Red drought replaces the receding water. |
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The Brilliant Being awakens. Lightning and fire fill the sky. They panic. |
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By working together they create a shelter. The lightning destroys their shelter as they build it. Together, the three complete it, but The Voice Beingis pulled away from them and lost. |
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The Other and The Brilliant Beinggrieve as the world dissolves around them. Their grief strengthens their bond They are in a foggy limbo. |
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In the distance, they hear The Voice, as the sky lights up. They do not know where she is, but the light in the sky shows them a new way, and they continue on |
Installation Requirements
The original production used the set shown here, with three projectors, three lighting instruments, and a set of computers connected through a local network. However, it was also presented successfully in an outdoor venue using a single projector with one laptop with only slight modifications.
All projectors and computers can be brought from the U.S. Lighting instruments could also be brought along; they are mostly used to provide deep blue ambient light. Two small LED units will suffice for this show.
The set itself could be eliminated by placing the performance in the corner of a large room, preferably with white walls and a modest ceiling height. The platforms could be eliminated or replaced with something smaller and simpler.
If we were provided with basic information on a space, it would be reasonable to plan this performance for many found spaces that might be provided.
The nature of this production is adaptation and reaction in the pursuit of a narrative. It is inherently flexible.
