Sleep of Reason: A Sculptural Performance
Written and Directed by Rachel Frank

Sleep of Reason uses the allegorical narratives in Francisco Goya’s Los Caprichos and The Disasters of War series to examine the theatrical/performance implications of prisoner torture and abuse depicted in the Abu Ghraib photographs. The performance is set up in a tableau vivant manner: staged still scenes are briefly illuminated with a flash of light cutting through longer periods of darkness. The performance is not an exact reproduction of the images in the photos, but rather, like Goya’s prints, uses fantastical costume and allusion as an allegorical critique. Referencing his works, the costumed performance suggests the recurrent darkness beneath the rational and enlightened society of today.

Starring: Melanie Torres, Ruthie Scarpino, Angelica Pinna-Perez, and Dan Theisen
Stage Lighting Design by Greg Goff
Costumes and Sets by Rachel Frank

Film edited by Boon Fox

 

March 6th, 2010 at The Bushwick Starr, Brooklyn, New York

March 31st, 2010 at Vaudeville Park, Brooklyn, New York