Wilma Theater HotHouse Company Members Release New Music Video 'The Rot'

The Wilma Theater has announced the release of a unique short musical film created by members of the theater's HotHouse Acting Company. THE ROT, a collaboration between lead artist/composer/lyricist/performer Sarah Gliko, HotHouse Company members Justin Jain, Anthony Martinez-Briggs, and Campbell O'Hare, and composer and sound editor Michael Kiley, is a meeting of perspectives and a transformation into something unknown. This on-demand performance is available to the public starting Thursday, June 17.

Inspired by a video of David Bowie performing with the Canadian dance troupe La La La Human Steps, Gliko knew that she wanted to make a music/dance piece with HotHouse Company collaborators. She was further inspired by the summer 2020 uprisings following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.

"The image of rotten, festering roots took hold," notes Gliko. "A childlike melody (white comfort, complacency) in a minor key (our foundation's rotten) emerged. It was beyond humbling to witness my friends and collaborators interacting with these themes from their perspectives in honest and artistically surprising ways."

Filming THE ROT posed challenges, as the work was created in the height of the COVID pandemic. Originally, Gliko wanted to make the piece with all of the performers on stage together, but it soon became clear that was not possible. Therefore, the creatives found new ways to use spaces that were available to them. The footage of Jain and O'Hare was filmed from the Wilma's quarantine "bubble" in Effort, PA where the company captured their production of HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING. Martinez-Briggs' footage was captured on location in Virginia where the Wilma's show FAT HAM was being filmed, while Gliko was filmed in her South Philly basement.

"Each element in THE ROT is in response to an offering," said Gliko. "It began with a melody that inspired poetry, that inspired movement, that inspired lyrics, that inspired sound, and round and round in no particular order. Whatever the piece inspires you to feel, hopefully you befriend that initial twinge, agree to be led by it, and see where it takes you. I would love it if folks came out of this experience with a newfound courage to question how we move through a world that has been hacked through and divvied up to serve a never-ending lust for power."

THE ROT is available at wilmatheater.org starting June 17. Part of the Wilma HotHouse Shorts Series, the show is free with registration. However, the theater asks audiences to consider making a donation to the Wilma to support the HotHouse company and future free programming. This production is recorded and can be viewed on demand. For more information, visit wilmatheater.org/the-rot.