Preview: Invertigo Dance Theatre's INTERIOR DESIGN at The Kirk Douglas Theater

When you think about it, moving into a new home isn’t all that different than starting any other relationship: 

You make your choice. 

You unpack. 

You settle in. 

It's this journey — both the literal and the figurative — that's at the heart of Interior Design, an Invertigo Dance Theatre production playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City April 20-21.  
 
“It’s such a relatable subject. We’ve all moved,” said the show’s artistic director and choreographer Laura Karlin. “But the heartbeat of the piece is, “How do we find home with one another? How do we design our spaces — our internal spaces?” 

The story follows a couple, Anna and Carlos (played by longtime Invertigo dancer Hyosun Choi and Cuban newcomer Marco Palomino), as they navigate the ups and downs that come with moving into a new home. Their process is both whimsical and sobering, from the physical exhaustion of navigating mountains of moving boxes and assembling furniture — to the emotional weight of the things they bring with them, including the immense grief of losing a pregnancy. 

It’s a deeply personal journey for Karlin, who founded Invertigo in 2007 when she first premiered INTERIOR DESIGN as a 15-minute experimental piece. It became even more personal after she suffered her own miscarriage. 

"Even as someone who is very open about many things, I felt so alone during that time,” said Karlin, who also works as a reproductive justice activist. “I made this a part of the work because I wanted it to be a story that is afforded space in our culture.”

That said, Karlin is adamant that, “This is not ‘The Miscarriage Show.’”  

“It’s a thread of an experience which is true to our lives,” she said. “We are able to see this couple mourning — and also fighting over where the houseplants go. We see them throwing a house party. We see them laughing. I think the show is, in many ways, a form of trying to allow the nuances of these experiences to come through along with the joy and the healing.” 

What sets “Interior Design” apart from many traditional dance performances is that it is also a play — with dialogue and a distinct narrative framework (“There is a beginning, middle, and end,” Karlin says). It’s a distinction that will make the 65-minute piece more easily digestible to audience members who may otherwise pass on the idea of watching an hour-long continuum of dance. 

“It’s a complete interweaving of dance and theatre,” said Karlin, who has revisited the piece several times in the past three decades, first in 2007, then again in 2017 when it played as a 30-minute performance. “We do go to a lot of places throughout the narrative of the piece.” 

As for the set, nearly the only items you’ll see on stage are a wooden table and a heap of cardboard boxes. But it is those empty props that become everything else: A table becomes a boat, a shower, a bed. Boxes become pointe shoes, an ocean, an empty belly. 

Meanwhile, the music, composed by Diana Lynn Wallace and Eric Mason, meanders with the story — from highly percussive beats to cello-based ballads. 

“There’s so much to witness, so much to experience,” said Wallace, a Los Angeles-based singer and composer. “It’s an emotional ride, and the authenticity between Hyosun and Marco is so incredible. It’s a roller coaster of excitement even in the most quiet, soft, and tender moments of emotion.”

And while Choi and Palomino are the only performers in the show, the audience plays a role, too. They become the neighbors, the friends, the community. And, don’t be surprised if you’re handed a makeshift drum in the show’s final scenes, when audience members become an impromptu live orchestra. 

“We want the audience to feel like they really are part of the story,” said Choi, who has been playing the role of Anna since the show debuted in its shorter form in 2017, “like they are looking through an open window."

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