ELISION Ensemble | Justine Cooper | John Rodgers

Introduction | Artist's statements | Song texts | Press | Performances | Trailer [20mb mpeg4 quicktime]

5 minute trailer for TULP

WHAT IS IT?
TULP was an elaborate project at the crossections of experimental theatre, documentary, and new media. Imagine an hour long live performance that toured people’s experiences with medicine, bodies and death. Simultaneously brutal and humorous, TULP collided home surgery with Baroque opera.

DETAILS:
The collaboration began with the idea to use Rembrandt’s 1632 painting “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp” as a starting point for a contemporary work.

The 4 major elements in TULP: the body public (full show running tme 65:00)

– Live musicians, including an early music band and soprano Deborah Kayser singing Italian Baroque songs contemporary with the painting.

– Three channels of video. The center channel was created from interviews to form the narrative backbone of the work and reflect individual experiences with bodies and medicine.

– The animation and video on the two vertical side screens uses historical anatomical illustration and modern medical imaging technologies, along with the lyrics of the songs in both Italian and English.

– The soprano is equipped with a wireless video camera, used to scan the musicians, instruments, herself and audince members during the performance. This live output is mixed with the center channel of video in real-time.