Zonal Interspersions Next Steps 1995

08 May 1995 : The Performance Space, 199 Cleveland Street, Redfern, Sydney, Australia

For Next Steps, curated by Leisa Shelton for The Performance Space, I devised a series of solo performance vignettes interspersed site-specifically around the venue and in-between the other presentations in the program. Part of this work was repeated for 20th Anniversary of Performance Space, (still at the Cleveland Street venue) an occasion when my performance on the entry caused a police visit. (See Zonal Interspersions 2004).

For NEXT STEPS I devised a series of interventions to exist between the familiar zones and territories identifying the fabric and architecture of The Performance Space.
The images I created were interspersed through the space and between the acts which comprised the evening’s programme. The intention was to refer historically to other works, both those I had made for the same building over the past three years (at that time). These were notably for the Eventspace series and for the Open Season series, both laudable innovations on The Performance Space’s programme. I also referred spatially to other performances I had witnessed in the building.
The notion of History was also applied to a history of occupation of the building, particularly by other performances, which have usually accepted the challenge to continually explore and reinvent the space. Echoes, or memories, of those works were spliced with the mesh of fictional narratives.

For Next Steps I performed in several locations: 1/ on a ledge above the front entry door as a homeless vagabond with a radio and throwing bread onto the audience 2/ from a trapdoor in the theatre ceiling, wearing a pink dress and allowing popcorn to fall down from an electric popcorn-maker onto the audience below 3/ as a ghostly aparition from an access doorway under the small proscenium stage 4/ from the double loading doors that access the rear laneway I appeared holding a lifesize dummy image of myself; as I stood a black ball fell into a barrel of flaming liquid, splashing flames around.



Project Details
Dates 08 May 1995 to 11 May 1995
Duration 1 hour
Producer The Performance Space
Category solo
Credits Curator : Leisa Shelton ; Photos: Heidrun Löhr ; Video: peter Oldham