Playing Ensemble
Again And Again
(2008)
“In theatre you never know what is going to happen next. Except that there will always be a bow at the end.”
In Playing Ensemble Again and Again (2008) six performers play a group in theatre. They start where most other groups finish: with a bow! As they slowly move together through time and space, they think about the piece they have just performed. Step by step they (re)construct the lives they live(d) together, on tour, on and off stage.
As the title suggests, time and reality are distorted as past and present merge, and fragments of the performer’s individual lives and characters bleed into each other as their slow-motion movements allow us to examine their underlying thoughts and emotions. Müller’s cerebral approach creates an intimacy between her cast and her audience.
Funny, dramatic and sad, Playing Ensemble Again and Again is a performance about getting together and falling apart.
Concept, choreography and direction: Ivana Müller
Performers: Katja Dreyer, Karen Røise Kielland, Bojana Mladenovic, Pedro Inês, Daniel Almgren-Recén, Rodrigo Sobarzo
Text: Ivana Müller, Bill Aitchison and the performers
Lighting design and technique: Martin Kaffarnik
Sound design: Viljam Nybacka
Artistic advise: Bill Aitchison
Thanks to: De Melkweg/Anita van Dolen, Nils De Coster, Paz Rojo and Sarah van Lamsweerde.
Playing Ensemble Again and Again is produced by LISA (NL) and I’M’COMPANY, in co-production with STUK Kunstencentrum Leuven (BE), Productiehuis Rotterdam (Rotterdamse Schouwburg) (NL) and LIVE ART/Kampnagel Hamburg (DE). The production was made possible with the support of Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Nederlands Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten+, Mondriaan Stichting and the Cultural Programm 2007 – 2013 of the European Union.