Summer Theater Lab, 2021: VoxLab

The annual summer residency of innovative artists creating daring new works returns for the 9th consecutive year. Led by producers Nicolle Allen '16, Matthew Cohn '08, Emma Orme '15, and Mykel Nairne '16, VoxLab is a live arts laboratory focused on developing projects by Dartmouth alumni. During a week-long Dartmouth residency, alums and other visiting artists develop their works-in-progress in collaboration with current undergraduates. VoxLab creates a space for alumni to experiment, immerses students in the process of creating new work, and builds a more connected community for alumni in the arts.

SUMMER 2021 VOXLAB PROJECTS

July 17-18
Free; tickets required for all events except Palimpsest, via the Hopkins Center Box Office

INTERIOR
an immersive dance theater work
conceived by Veronica Sofia Burt '16 and Shaye Swanson
with collaborator & dance artist Maurice Ivy
Saturday July 17 at 1:00 pm
Darling Courtyard, Hopkins Center for the Arts
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

An old man and a passerby prepare to deliver news after finding the body of their neighbor's daughter floating in the river. Upon seeing the family through the window, they begin to contemplate what they'll say and how, while observing the family's silent movements. Meanwhile, a procession of townsfolk slowly approaches, bearing the body — and therefore the news — that will inevitably reach the home of the deceased. An immersive dance adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck's 19th century play.

Palimpsest
a live-streamed durational performance art installation
created by Grace Carney '17 / GRAD '21 
Saturday July 17
Streaming continuously 3-7 pm via Twitch and on screens around the Hopkins Center

A solo installation performance art piece using an interplay of movement, sound art, and high-concept design. Palimpsest is a series of studies on the Being, and the Being itself is a palimpsest. The Being comes from the Inbetween, an infinite expanse connecting the Herenow to the Thenenthere. It moves through its world unconcerned and unencumbered by pressures of someone or something else's time. The Being's every action emerges out of a deep, practiced relationship with this body and its extensions. It indulges in curious intimacies, methodical sensuality and deliberate play. It is an agent of pleasure liberation. The Being isn't sure if you are watching, but it hopes you are.  It wants to wrap you up in its perversion and whisper "If I am me, it is ok to be you. Now, what do you desire?"

Entanglement 
a multimedia quantum opera
directed by Gabriel Thom Pasculli '05
composed by Ryan Ingebritsen, written by Ruth Margraff 
featuring members of Chicago's Walkabout Theater Company
Saturday July 17 at 8:00 pm
The Bentley Theater
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

Entanglement is a multimedia quantum opera that will utilize auralizations of interstellar data and brainwave sensing technology to tell the story of two time-like separated groups of people whose destinies become entangled through a mutually observable interstellar phenomenon.  

With words that don't exist 
a devised theatrical experience using VR
created by Olivia Powell '17
directed by Liza Couser '17
Sunday July 18 at 1:00 pm
Wheeler Tent
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

A presence stands on a hill by the sea. She tries to sing, tries to speak, but she can only hold her story like a memory in her body and look out at the ocean. Born from a performative writing process developed in VR, With words that don't exist is a devised theatrical experience exploring how we perceive ourselves in stories and relate to the characters and presences who move through them. 

meet you at the Galaxy Diner.
a staged reading of a new play by Gina Femia
directed by Estefanía Fadul
Sunday July 18 at 7:00 pm
Bentley Theater
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

The 2021 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for Playwriting winner. The story of AG and Bill, old high school friends who reconnect by chance over a 1990s-era online messaging service, sparking a wave of memories and old emotions. The play explores technology, outer space, and whether looking back can help people remember who they are.

VoxLab 2021 collage

THE VOXLAB 2021 COMPANY

Producers
Nicolle Allen '16, Matthew Cohn '08, Emma Orme '15, Mykel Marai Nairne '16

Production Coordinator
Kate Budney '21

Visiting Artists
Nkenna Akunna '16, Veronica Burt '16, Grace Carney '17, Sagan Chen '15, Liza Couser '17, Estefanía Fadul, Maurice Ivy, Gina Femia, Ryan Ingebritsen, Lorenzo Landini, Ruth Margraff, Thora Olsen '16, Gabriel Thom Pasculli '05, Olivia Powell '17, Bari Robinson, Ronni Stewart, Rob Strong '04, Shaye Swanson, Akyiaa Wilson

Students and Faculty
Lucy Biberman '23, Isaiah Brown '23, Betty Faul-Welfare '23, Emma Ginsberg '23, Ellie Hackett '23, Piper Hill GR, David Hoffman '23, Jamie Horton, Lila Hovey '23, Alessa Lewis '23, Sam Locke '22, Maggie MacDonald '23, Allison Macleod '23, Chait Mehra '23, Stacia Nugent '23, Zeyris Lizmet Rodoli Contreras '22, Hamed Sinno GR, Lexi Warden '21