On the Death of Post-Modernism
Anne Bogart returns to the Wex
By Lia Eastep |
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Change . . . it's an inevitable fact of life, but in this post-Bush era, it feels like we've all been chomping at the bit for a long while. It's only natural that the state of our art would begin to reflect those changes.
"We have come to the end of Post-Modernism," said Anne Bogart, playwright and avant-theatre pioneer in a public conversation with choreographer Bill T. Jones. "There is relief and curiosity as to where we are headed . . . Now it is time to talk substantively."
This is no small statement considering post-modernism has been the prevailing 'new' art form since the assassination of JFK. And Bogart is ready to lead the way.
The third time I saw Anne Bogart's SITI theatrical ensemble at the Wexner Center, I thought I knew what to expect. A few years earlier, I'd experienced the company's premiere of Bob, a one-man show described in the program by what it was not - as in, "not meant to be a realistic portrait of avant-garde director Robert Wilson, but rather a dip into an engaging perspective about family, art, and American culture." And just the year before, I'd returned to witness the company's re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland. Clearly, this was a troupe of great courage, capable of extraordinary displays of deconstructionist unpredictability.
Still, when I arrived to the 1999 production of Cabin Pressure only to discover the performance had already begun, I was instantly jostled and confused. I fumbled for my ticket - 8:00. I checked my watch - 7:35. What in the hell . . .
Then it hit me: the show was purportedly designed as "an investigation of the relationship between performers and their audiences." What better way to examine this than to actually screw with your very own audience? So I settled into my seat and relished in the parade of confused-to-delighted audience members as they filed in behind me.
I was hooked.
All in all, SITI Company, founded by Bogart in 1992 as a way to "redefine and revitalize contemporary theater in the United States through an emphasis on international cultural exchange and collaboration," has been to Columbus eight times (six of those for world premieres). Unlike the troupes that merely come to town to present a show, groups like SITI have the opportunity to be in residence at the Wexner Center, which includes open rehearsals and master classes with OSU students. September 30 - October 4, they return with a brand new production called Who Do You Think You Are. The show is billed as "a smartly conceived theatrical exploration of the principles of brain science, transposed into dramatic action."
"How does the vast labyrinth, the systems and the layers of chemical, muscular, and neuronal activity, inform our tiniest interaction?" This is the hook that beckons from the Wexner website.
"When we begin to examine the chemistry of emotion, thought, and action, does our own scrutiny alter the emotion, the thought, or the action? When studying the mind, does the mind study you?" queries Bogart. "These questions prompted the creation of Who Do You Think You Are. Our task is to construct a play that simultaneously suggests the complexity of human experience and celebrates its elegance and simplicity."
It seems no accident that The Wexner Center, conceived as a "research laboratory for all the arts," would appeal to such an experimental group. In an interview with Bogart, I asked her to comment on her experience in Columbus.
"The Wexner Center, for SITI Company and for me has become an artistic home," she said. "The relationship has become a highly significant fact in our existence. An artistic home is like a garden that has been planted and tended over time. The result: a context. There is a context for our work in Columbus," she concluded.
The Wexner Center's Director of Performing Arts, Charles Helm, agrees.
"The feeling is certainly mutual," he said in response to Bogart's comment. "There is no other artist with whom we've shared this level of collaboration."
Maintaining a sustained level of support is clearly an important to both entities.
Bogart confirmed this: "The fact that we have developed relationships with audiences over time cannot be fabricated without the duration, mutual interest, curiosity, and extended conversation that we find at Wexner with Ohio audiences. There are very few places where we enjoy this special partnership."
Originally Published: October 1, 2009
