The upcoming theatrical production “Death of the Ego” is a unique play that blurs the line between “performance” art and “performing” art.
The play, written and directed by University of Idaho MFA theater directing student Lindsay Mammone, will open at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 in the Forge Theatre.
Mammone graduated with a separate MFA in studio art in May and will fuse her expertise from both fields to create a powerful narrative.
The play involves a girl named Lina (Gail Harder), who goes through a spiritual transformation after the death of her father to find strength and peace.
Mammone said she initially wrote the piece as a poem upon her arrival in Moscow three years ago. She wrote it to heal from her own father’s passing a year earlier.
“We did not have a relationship. Growing up without a father, all the baggage that came with it … and when he died, I kind of had to deal with all the baggage that I had been carrying around, so I wrote a poem and constructed a video,” Mammone said.
The production takes audiences through what Mammone called “five planes of existence” — reality or the 3-D world, dreams or nightmares, hallucinations, spirit world and the high spirit world.
Mammone said this piece will feature an all-female cast that includes Lina, the Guide, the Angel and seven ritual mothers who reside in the spirit world. She said it was important for her to have an all-female cast as it provides a space for women and helps them find their voice in a world where women are underrepresented.
Danielle Capelli, a fourth-year secondary education art major with a minor in music and musical theater, plays Lina’s subconscious and also one of the ritual mothers. She said playing the role of a subconscious was challenging for her.
“I am just this thing. It’s not necessarily a physical person that I have to play. It’s more like I’m a thought process,” Capelli said. “Her state of being is really interesting to try to play.”
Capelli said the ritual mothers help Lina throughout her spiritual journey. When Lina breaks down, they help Lina get through it and move on.
“Death of the Ego” is funded and produced by the Cornerstone Theatre Troupe, a student-run organization that produces theatrical student work. Money collected from shows helps fund future productions. They also help with advertising for productions.
“People will come to us and say ‘this is the show I want to do.’ They kind of pitch it to us and then we as an organization decide if we want to invest in their show,” Cornerstone Theatre Co-chair Taylor Caldwell said.
Caldwell said Mammone’s caliber of work is “incredible” and she blew them away when she pitched “Death of the Ego” to Cornerstone Theatre. The board gave a unanimous yes to take on the project.
“This story, I feel is important to share because I know that there is so many people carrying around emotional baggage that they are afraid to confront and when you give yourself the opportunity to go through it, what you find is so much greater than what you thought possible,” Mammone said.
Mammone made the distinction between performance art and performing art as one requiring a narrative while the other doesn’t. Theater is a form of performing art that requires a narrative and an audience. Performers tell stories, utilizing various skills and tools that include voice, posture, movement, set and costume in order to tell a complete story.
In performance art, the body is the art. Everything encompassing the body – from breath to movement – becomes part of the work.
Mammone said performance art does not need a narrative or an audience for it to be considered a completed piece. Performance art can be carefully orchestrated or completely spontaneous, she said.
“When I decided to add on a second MFA in theater, I knew that this piece had to become a play, so that I could really round out the investigation of what is the difference between performance art and theater art and how can they feed off of each other,” Mammone said.
The full-length show will open May 5, 2018 at the Hartung Theatre.
Caldwell, who is also the stage manager for “Death of the Ego,” said the duration of the play has not been finalized. During rehearsals, the preview took anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes.
“Trailers come out for movies and video games and stuff like that, but never for plays, so I think this is a really interesting opportunity and it really aides to the idea of ‘this is what’s coming’ and if this really catches your eye, then it makes it worthwhile to come in May,” Capelli said.
Capelli said the show contains a myriad of musical elements, expression and symbolisms. She said the show will be unlike anything people have seen before.
May Ng can be reached at [email protected]