A Dream/Meditation On the Passing of Time

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 1a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 2a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 3a_adj_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 4a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 5a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 6a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 7a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

On Passing of Time 1982 photo by Paul Miller 8a_crp_300_2048

A Dream/Meditation Performance On the Passing of Time 1982
photo by Paul M. Miller

A dream-like performance designed to allow an audience to reflect on the nature of time.

venue:
Overland Theater
location:
Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA, USA
sponsor:
Mobius, Inc.
date:
April 1982

Project Notes:

On the Passing of Time was designed to be a contemplative experience for the audience.  The audience sat in the center of the space on a comfortable mat, surrounded by sheer black curtains, while a series of images on the nature of time appeared and disappeared around them.  It was a quiet, reflective piece, that evoked the viewer’s own thoughts on the nature of time passing.

In creating a meditative experience, I was concerned with choosing images that would resonate for an audience.  Working containers of water, I developed images with the performers, that had universal or archetypal meanings, that were less private in nature.  While each performer had a very personal understanding of what they were doing, this was not made explicit within the performance.  This allowed audiences to project their own understandings and concerns onto the imagery.

The structure of the performance was intended to recreate the experience of being in a dream.  Images appeared and disappeared around the audience, so that often they were seen peripherally, or the beginnings or endings were missed.  We were also working with the idea of the ‘dream voice,’ the voice in the back of your head, the voice that answers from behind you.

The performance style of this piece was unusual.  The performers basically performed their images as an act of meditation.  They were very concentrated, slower than normal, and their focus was on the act of doing, not demonstrating.  The images, which were generally repetitive in nature, were performed until the performer came to a sense of completeness, when they had reached an internal sense of wholeness.

The language in the piece was minimal, and also selected to create resonance.  It was heard almost subliminally.  The words were not directed at the audience.  The performers spoke quietly and reflectively, almost to themselves.  And they listened to what they were saying as they spoke.

 

This piece was an example of my work in creating alternative performance  experiences for audiences.  It moved away from the action/narrative form which requires an audience to engage in following a story, and instead created an atmosphere in which an audience could turn inward and reflect on their own lives.

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