Multiple Organism is a genre and gender-bending surrealist comedy for adults (18+) about having a body and how our body is seen by others. Expect bizarre and hilarious nudity using the body as a projection surface, plus colourful shadow puppetry projections, and an original musical soundtrack.
Multiple Organism March 19th-30th in the Vancity Culture Lab at the Cultch
1895 Venables Street Vancouver, BC V5L 2H6
get tickets here: https://thecultch.com/events/multiple-organism/
“Daring … raunchy … ingenious” — VueWeekly Edmonton
Showtimes:
Mar 19, 8PM: Preview
Mar 20, 8PM: Opening
Mar 21 – 23, 26 – 30, 8PM
Mar 23 – 24,30, 2PM
Post-show Artist Talkback: Mar 24, 26
Running time:
60 minutes, no intermission
Credits:
Created & Performed by Mind of a Snail: Jessica Gabriel & Chloe Ziner
The Moustache: Chloe Ziner
The Model: Jessica Gabriel
Buddy (The Body): Jessica Gabriel (torso) & Chloe Ziner (live video mouth)
Projection & Puppetry Design: Jessica Gabriel & Chloe Ziner
Sound Design: Chloe Ziner
Mouth Masks by Necesseteeth (Janessa Johnsrude)
Mind of a Snail CREATOR’S NOTES:
We often describe our shows as visual poems with narrative elements. We love metaphor, image-based puns and absurdity. At the core of our process is exploration and discovery. We spend lots of time in the studio following the “tingly” feelings: we’re looking for ideas that make us gasp, or laugh, or cry out!
We were playing around with live video projections on different surfaces when we discovered that we could use the human body as a projection surface—and we could make it talk! With this seed of an idea, around the same time we were having conversations about our relationships with gender, and our own bodies; how the weirdness and practicalness of our body in private can be so different from the body that is presented in public. We also did a lot of exploration with everyday objects that relate to the body. When we tried these objects on the overhead projector, we were both surprised by how easy it was to “project” gender onto the shapes of the items kept in our bathroom drawer. This, of course, is part of the magic trick of puppetry: puppetry doesn’t just take place on the stage, it happens inside our own minds. When an object moves a certain way, we fill in the blanks with thoughts and feelings that we imagine them having. It’s all interpreted by our own neurological patterns: through the empathy and prejudices we hold inside us. We don’t just do this with puppetry either—we do this all the time, with other human beings. We’re all just projections, man.
This is essentially a show about seeing and being seen. Multiple Organism needs an audience. It’s not just about what we are doing on stage, it’s about what’s going on in your head. As audience, what makes you more uncomfortable: Absurdity and ambiguity? Bodily functions? Pubic hair? Overt stereotypes and sexist harassment? A sudden violent death? What is hilarious? What is disgusting? Where do you draw that line?
We debuted this show the summer right before the #metoo movement took off. There’s a new conversation happening about sex and power right now. This show is our queer little contribution. We hope you see the humanity inside the objects we all are.
— Chloé & Jessica
