Paradise Interrupted Performa

Paradise Interrupted is an opera in development that presents a world activated by a lone voice in search of an unattainable ideal. For Performa this opera was presented as a workshop in which Jennifer Wen Ma created a large-scale three-dimensional wall garden in paper, had a public workshop of the opera in progress and concluded with a couple of performances by Qian Yi set within the paper garden and interactive projections on the garden.

I mainly explored the interaction between Qian Yi’s voice and some abstract visuals that were rendered as a placeholder for the actual visuals that will be used.

The images were produced by analyzing tone and volume. Volume determined the size of the images, tone determined the complexity of the images and tone change determined the movement (direction and speed) of the images.

I was the Creative Technology Director for this project. The whole team:
Jennifer Wen Ma, concept and visual direction
Qian Yi, Kunqu performer
Huang Ruo, composer
Xiao Lihe, lighting designer
Matthew Hilyard, stage design
Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard, costume design
Melissa Kirgan, costume design
Marianna Peragallo, coordination and production

Paradise Interrupted Workshop is co-presented with Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, and supported by the Asian Cultural Council.