Erlaube, Fremdling, dass ich dich berühre II (2004)
for 1 mime, 1 actress, 2 ensembles, tapes
(FP: Berlin, 2005) duration: 50 min

Für Franco Evangelisti

für 2 actors, 2 ensembles and tapes
left ensemble: vln, vc, prep. piano/sampler,
right ensemble: string quartet, e-guitar

sponsored by "Hauptstadtkulturfonds" 2004

World-Premiere: 5. 1. 2005, Kesselhaus der Kulturbrauerei, Berlin, 2005

Anika Mauer-actor 1, Christian Kesten – actor 2, Gordon MacKay-vln,
Anton Lukoszevieze – vc, Christoph Grund – prep. piano/samplekeyboard,
Ensemble 01: Andreas Winkler, Ruth Petrovitsch: vln, Ulla Bruder: vla,
Enrico Schüler: vc, Daniel Göritz: e-guitar
director: Peter Staatsmann
stage/costumes: Norma Mack
light: Tina Wolf

Synopsis:
In Erlaube, Fremdling, dass ich dich berühre II (Grant me, stranger, that I touch you II), Iris ter Schiphorst combines instrumental and sampled sounds, movements and scenic elements to form a composition about the tensions and conflicts underlying the processes of globalised, networked communication. Our perception of space and time are fundamentally and irreversibly changed by this new form of communication. To take part or be excluded from this communication can be critical for the future of our societies and our world. This musical and theatrical suite is a take on the predominance of technology in our present, recalling Franco Evangelisti’s and Franco Nonni’s work Die Schachtel (The Box) of 1963.

Two independent ensembles on the stage communicate with each other: a trio, consisting of a piano/sampler, violin and cello on the left, and a traditional string quartet with an electric guitar on the right. This communicational process, as reflected in the music, forms the centre of the performance. The two actors/singers mark the social framework of the piece, acting as ‘subjects’ within ter Schiphorst’s soundscape. They are the ‘networked self’ and its relation to an unknown ‘stranger’, who acts as a reflective and treacherous screen for the networked society – a screen which indeed might not show anything but society’s own wishes, obsessions and fears.

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