No rehearsal is necessary: The man who flew into space from his apartment

Pinchbeck, Michael (2016) No rehearsal is necessary: The man who flew into space from his apartment. Repertorio: Teatro & Danca, 27. pp. 59-68. ISSN 2175-8131

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Abstract

: The man who flew into space from his apartment is inspired by an installation of the same name by the Russian artist Ilya Kabakov. The performance draws on notions of escape and makes a journey, like Kabakov, between east and west, flying and falling, attempt and failure. Using found slides and an old slide projector, I present a slideshow for an empty gallery space to be performed by a guest performer in front of an audience of 10 people. The audience becomes the Ten Characters in Kabakov?s work. The guest performer follows prerecorded instructions on headphones that take him or her on a journey into the unknown like the man who flew into outer space. For this article, I consider the curatorial role of the dramaturg and the dramaturgical potential of the guest performer, exploring what it means to curate the unrehearsed and the different and complex politics implicit in sending someone on a journey into the unknown.