RIGHT IN THE EYE to Make Central Florida Premiere at VI FIAE

Open Scene will present the Central Florida premiere of Right in the Eye, the live cinema concert by French company Alcoléa & Cie, on Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Maitland Art Center as part of the sixth edition of FIAE, Open Scene's International Performing Arts Festival.

Created by French composer and multidisciplinary artist Jean-François Alcoléa, Right in the Eye reimagines 12 films by Georges Méliès, one of cinema's earliest visionaries and a pioneer of special effects.

Three musicians perform an original score live alongside Méliès' images, moving among more than 50 traditional, unusual and handmade instruments and sound objects. Keyboard, drums and guitar share the stage with theremin, aquaphone, melodica, string structure, percussion and unexpected everyday objects transformed into instruments.

The result is neither a conventional film screening nor a traditional concert. Music, sound effects, lighting, projected images and live performance combine into a theatrical experience that creates a new encounter with films made more than a century ago.

Méliès built cinematic worlds of fantasy, illusion, science fiction and visual invention at a moment when the language of film itself was still being created. In Right in the Eye, Alcoléa's contemporary compositions respond directly to that visual imagination, allowing the films and the musicians onstage to operate as equal parts of the performance.

The program includes 12 works by Méliès, whose experiments with illusion, transformation, editing and visual effects helped define the possibilities of early cinema.

Alcoléa & Cie has brought its work to audiences internationally, and Open Scene now brings Right in the Eye to Central Florida for the first time.

The performance will take place at the historic Maitland Art Center as part of Open Scene's newly established three-year residency with Art & History Museums of Maitland.

Open Scene is a Latin-led nonprofit cultural organization based in Central Florida that connects Orlando audiences with contemporary artists and performing arts experiences from around the world.

MORE THAN 50 INSTRUMENTS ONSTAGE

Part of the experience of Right in the Eye comes from watching the musicians construct the soundtrack in real time.

The trio shifts constantly among familiar instruments and less expected sources of sound, creating musical textures, effects and rhythms that respond directly to the action on screen.

The score draws on keyboard, drums, guitar, theremin, aquaphone, melodica, string structure, percussion and a wide variety of sound objects, turning the musicians themselves into an essential visual part of the performance.

The show is driven by image, music and sound, allowing audiences to experience Méliès' work through a contemporary live-performance language.

THE ARTISTS

Right in the Eye was conceived by Jean-François Alcoléa, who created the musical compositions and sound design.

Jean-François Alcoléa - Concept, musical compositions and sound creation; keyboard, string structure, melodica, objects

Fabrice Favriou - Drums, guitar

Thomas Desmartis - Sound, keyboard, percussion, objects

Mathieu Lucas - Sound, light & video manager

PART OF VI FIAE

Right in the Eye is one of the headline performances of VI FIAE, Open Scene's International Performing Arts Festival, which runs October 12-18 at the Maitland Art Center.

The week brings together contemporary theater, live cinema, immersive art, workshops, visual art and new play development connected with France, Puerto Rico, Panama, Colombia, Spain, Iran and Central Florida.

Alcoléa & Cie will also offer two participatory programs during the festival.

Cinema Magic Lab - Thursday, October 15 at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

A hands-on introduction to Georges Méliès, early cinematic effects and the relationship between image, music and sound.

Inside Live Cinema - Friday, October 16 at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

A closer look at the instruments, objects, visual effects and performance techniques used to create Right in the Eye.