In three acts, “Viral Conversations” is a performance adapted from Iraqi blogs, where two Americans speaking in first person publicly exchange passages about living in war-torn Baghdad. We tactically position ourselves to be overheard in congested areas of New York City, where the 2007 holiday season provides a backdrop of luxury and distraction from the daily atrocities and struggles of the Iraq War. By improvising a conversation based on daily blog readings and internalizing the content in first person, rather than memorizing a script of passages and acting as the “other”, our performance speaks to personal thresholds of empathy and perception. As such, we consciously exemplify the tensions of dichotomous perspectives and experiences.
This project was developed with Erik Burke (http://www.eriktburke.com) from a memorial proposal submitted to Iraqimemorial.org.
Viral Conversations
Trailer
Full Length
In three acts, “Viral Conversations” is a performance adapted from Iraqi blogs, where two Americans speaking in first person publicly exchange passages about living in war-torn Baghdad. We tactically position ourselves to be overheard in congested areas of New York City, where the 2007 holiday season provides a backdrop of luxury and distraction from the daily atrocities and struggles of the Iraq War. By improvising a conversation based on daily blog readings and internalizing the content in first person, rather than memorizing a script of passages and acting as the “other”, our performance speaks to personal thresholds of empathy and perception. As such, we consciously exemplify the tensions of dichotomous perspectives and experiences.
This project was developed with Erik Burke (http://www.eriktburke.com) from a memorial proposal submitted to Iraqimemorial.org.