Bedroom w TV and a Woman Lays w Aide: Yemenwed
Saturday - November 7, 2009 - 9:00pm

 

In this latest work from Yemenwed, the audience is drawn into a dance and music performance set on a stage resembling a bedroom in the Laguardia Houses, a public housing project in the Lower East Side. In Bedroom w TV and a Woman Lays w Aide, two women perform a dance on top of, and next to a bed within a semi-enclosed bedroom. The movement is set to live instrumentation including vocal, piano, and drum, and is accompanied by three backup dancers: one human, one sculpture, and one combination of the two. In addition to the live performers, the stage set comprises several domestic objects including a Radiator Bong, a Headboard, a Vocalist Object, and a Make-Shift Bench, which complete the scene.

Yemenwed is a collaborative project series which brings together a rotating cast of artists of varied disciplines. Bedroom w TVis written by painter Gloria Maximo, and examines portraits of several characters within an abstract domestic interior. Several formal themes including relief, flat and faceted shading, tubular formations, frontal posturing, and the peripheral gaze are explored in a live capacity.

The performance features choreography by Megha Barnabas. The stage set is designed by Shawn Maximo, and includes a sculpture by Paul Kopkau. Costuming is by David Toro, Solomon Chase, and includes a work by Jason Farrer. Stage makeup is by Melissa Ip. Vocals are by Shannon Funchess (Light Asylum, A Rose Parade), keyboards are by Fatima Al Qadiri (Children), and drums are by Tim Dewit (Gang Gang Dance). Performers also include Gerlan Marcel, Busy Gangnes, and Telfar Clemens.