Travels in Hyper-Reality (2002)

These are excerpts from a multi-media one-man-show I created during the summer of 2002 for Exploration Summer Programs in Wellesley, MA. The piece was designed specifically for audiences ages 12-16. The piece uses video, electronic music, acting, guitar, saxophone, interactive computer music and audience participation. The work deals with issues of understanding propaganda and messages that we receive in daily life through mass media, pop culture, government and authorities. With the piece I wanted to address the sense that I got working over time with middle school age kids that there are many more artists focusing on young children and adults than on teenagers. And by default teenagers become the targets of a glut of commercialized artists. I wanted to make a piece that really speaks to teenagers but is in no way dumbed down or commercialized. I used familiar formats like commercials, music videos, and electronic music to deliver the content of the piece. Travels in Hyper-Reality challenges young people to actively experience art and engage the messages that are constantly bombarding them in American society.