Performa/Dance Presents THE MAD SCENE in June

Performa/Dance has been known for its impressive contemporary dance credentials and its insightful storytelling. Ready to expand its artistic reach, Artistic Director Jennifer Hart has teamed up with acclaimed local physical theater artist Kelsey Oliver to create Performa/Dance's newest work, The Mad Scene.

The Mad Scene, an 80-minute, darkly absurdist dance-drama, dives into the human longing for fame.Skipping through time periods and rollicking in anachronisms, it begins in the 17th century court, makes a pit stop mid-20th century, comes to a screeching halt at our current internet-fueled celebrity culture, and in the process, skewers the veneer of performance, propaganda, and artificiality.

The Mad Scene, layered in references and multi-disciplinary in its approach, looks at the many ways that celebrity culture dominates our collective imagination and influences our life choices, for good and bad. Kelsey Oliver plays the time-traveling jester and emcee, pointing fingers at our desires and obsessions, and ushering us through the many ways fame permeates our psyche. She says, "my character is a verbal guide (or guïd so we call her) that's a little bit menacing, very nonlinear, and most definitely a jokester of interactivity. She forces you to chew on the obtuse concept of celebrity throughout the show, and the ways we participate in this raucous game of fame and favor."

Jennifer Hart muses on her interest in this subject, saying, "Fame: who doesn't want it? It means being adored, envied, desired, even feared. With the democratization and ubiquity of social media, the collapse of a private world, and the rise of the 'influencer,' we all have the opportunity-or misfortune!- to realize our '15 minutes of fame.' And yet, the longing for fame is timeless."

Performa/Dance is an award-winning 501c3 non-profit founded by Artistic Director and choreographer Jennifer Hart and Ballet Austin dancer Edward Carr. For more information, please visit www.performadance.org.

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