UNKNOWN ORIGIN. ... What do you recall of the places where you passed through, stopped by, slept... a production by Theater ASOU.

Transcription

1 n existential perigrination with stunning strong imagery leine Zeitung An existential perigrination with stunning strong imagery leine Zeitung An existential perigrination with stunning strong imagery Kleine Zeitung UNKNOWN ORIGIN a production by Theater ASOU... What do you recall of the places where you passed through, stopped by, slept...

2 ... I do not know the places where you sleep, but I dream of them about UNKNOWN ORIGIN Unknown Origin is a new piece of physical theatre made by an international team from Austria, I reland and the UK. I n a world on the move as never before Unk nown Origin takes travels - planned, forced or accidental as both its theme and its material. How do we get there, the performance asks, and how will we know when we have arrived? Tired, but hopeful, a group of people is on their way. All they have with them are their battered suitcases filled with memories and fragments of a life lived elsewhere. Unknown Origin prises open these cases as they cross roads, gates and borders, through turnstiles and check points, under fences and over white lines, from day into dark, and from dark into brightness Unk nown Origin is the latest stage in a collaboration between K laus S eewald (Austria) and Mar tin Welton (UK ) which explores the movements, memories and dreams of arrivals and depar tures. With an original score and sound design by the I rish composer M ar y Ronayne Keane and atmospheric lighting by the designer Eugen S chöberl the per formance conjures up the delights and difficulties of getting to, through and around a dream called Europe. Since the beginning of the process t wo versions of the play have been developed: one involving t wo per formers and the other five. As a result both versions are available to theatre venues and festivals.

3 ... it s not just sope and clothes in these suitcases... it s a live in miniature as a philospher said... review UNKNOWN ORIGIN Kleine Zeitung, 8th of November 2008 About travelling and taking farewell Graz. Five ac tors and ten suitcases: At the TTZ Theatre ASOU goes under the direction of Klaus Seewald and the British Martin Welton on a journey, creating out of movement and space images of life to the delicately tied sound pattern composed by the I rish musician M ar y Ronayne -Keane. Notions of tak ing farewell and death belong to the thrilling non-verbal moments of Unk nown Origin. An existential perigrination with stunning strong imager y but to some ex tent lengthy moments. EWS

4 I am unproved history... I am alive, but there is nobody who can witness that I am... Is there nobody who calls my name? the project UNKNOWN ORIGIN Das andere Theater, Graz, A May Januar 2007 Queen Mary University, London, GB March, April 2007 research Chisenhale Dance Space, London, GB May, June 2007 research / Artists Grant Public Sharing of Feeling Spaces 17 June 2007 The Body Navigation Festival, St.Petersburg, Russia 15 July 2007 Premiere of Unknown Origin (2 person version) National Theatre, Tirana, Albania 12 April 2008 Unknown Origin (2 pers. vers.) Festival: Teatrul del Nord, Satu Mare, Romania 17 May 2008 Unknown Origin (2 pers. vers.) Festival: WerkStatt 2.8., Oberzeiring, A 03 October 2008 Premiere of Ursprung Unbekannt (5 pers. vers.) Int. Skampafestival, Elbasan, Albania 06 October 2008 Ursprung Unbekannt (5 pers. vers.) TTZ, Graz, A 06-09, Nov Ursprung Unbekannt (5 pers. vers.) Pinter Studio, Queen Mary University, London, GB 22 November 2008 Unknown Origin (2 pers. vers.) Phoenix, Exeter, GB 25 November 2008 Unknown Origin (2 pers. vers)

5 ... dreams of abandoned customs houses, of soldiers in depopulated, rain soaked settings, of women in kerchiefs, carrying string bags... about THEATER ASOU (Austria) Theater ASOU is based in Graz, Austria. The company s work began with the former ar tistic direc tor and founder of the theatre company Abel S olares ( Teatro Vivo, Guatemala) as a response to Eugenio Barba s Theatre Anthropology. In the company s ensuing attempts to realize their own theatre, they had invited a variety of teachers/direc tors/writers from various backgrounds to teach and collaborate with them in workshops and/or through creating performances and theatre projects: Catherine Coray (NYU, USA), Sharon Fogar t y (Mabou M ines, USA), M itsuk ata Ishii ( Tok yo, Japan), Augusto Omulu (ISTA, Brasil), K aite O Reilly (UK ), Walter Pfaff (Parate Labor, Swiss), Stephen Wangh (NYU, USA), Moe Yamamoto (Kanazawa Butoh Kan, Japan), Yumiko Yoshioka (Germany, Japan), Phillip Zarrilli (Univ. of Exeter, UK/USA). Since 1994, Theater ASOU successfully presented its work in Austria as well as abroad in Venezuela, Columbia, Costa R ica, USA, Canada, Germany, Albania, Hungar y, Romania, Poland, Russia, the UK and Japan.

6 ... How many kilometres? Somehow it surprises you that there is no end to it... What do you recall of the places where you passed through, stopped by, slept? TEAM direction, concept Klaus Seewald (Theater ASOU, A), Martin Welton (UK) performer (5 person version) Uschi Litschauer (A), Monika Zöhrer (A), Gernot Rieger (A), K laus Seewald (A), Mar tin Welton (UK) performer (2 person version) Klaus Seewald (A), Martin Welton (UK) dramaturgy, translation Bernadette Cronin (Ireland) lighting design Eugen Schöberl (A) sound design Mary Ronayne-Keane (Ireland) costumes Barbara Häusl (A) text Naomi Lazard, Amin Maalouf, Ene, Klaus Seewald, Andrzej Tichy, Martin Welton production Theater ASOU

7 ... but I have always dreamt of getting to do that... you might even say that it is the sole purpose of my existence, getting there... CREDITS & SUPPORT foundation and base of this piece Phillip B. Zarrilli The creative processes of Unknown Origin have their basis in the teaching and practice of Phillip B. Zarrilli, with whom both Klaus Seewald and Martin Welton have undergone intensive training over the last ten years. Zarrilli s ex tensive research and prac tice is grounded in the application of Asian mar tial and meditation ar ts to contemporar y per formance across a range of styles and dramaturgies. More information about his work can be found at: Support Feeling Spaces, Unknown Origin Research and development for the produc tion has par tly been made possible by an Ar tists Grant from Chisenhale Dance Space (London, UK) and Queen Mary University of London as well as by Das andere Theater (Graz, A). Suppor ted by : Land Steiermark Kulturabteilung, Stadt Graz Kultur, theaterland steiermark, Austrian Cultural Forum London, Austrian Embassy Tirana, British Council Albania, Austrian Airlines, Raiffeisen Bank

8 Photos by Marina Goulyaeva

9 Photos by Marina Goulyaeva

10 Photos by Eugen Schöberl

11 Photos by Michael Traussnig

12 Photos by Arian Andiel

13 Photos by Arian Andiel

14 contact THEATER ASOU Theater ASOU PF 932, 8011 Graz Austria / EUROPE phone: fax: internet: office@theaterasou.at for bookings please contact: Lissa Gartler mobile: / theater office@theaterasou.at for artistic questions about the play please contact: Klaus Seewald mobile: seewald@theaterasou.at