Ambos lados: deconstructing identity, performing memory

Abstract

Project Barca’s central research question – how can embodied personal and collective memories be shaped into new architectures of identity and belonging in the form of innovative performance works that speak to wider sections of society? – has so far generated a number of mixed-media performance outcomes in its two research locations; Barcelona, Catalonia, and Vancouver, Canada. Some major works are the video essay Encounters 3; Barca-El otro lado – a performance work that utilizes dancers, actors, musicians and media designers resident in Barcelona, Spain; Here be dragons – a work staged exclusively with performers in Vancouver, Canada; and Here be dragons/Non plus ultra (HBD/NPU) - which brings together separate casts from both cities. HBD/NPU was premiered in Vancouver on January 10th 2013 at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. All three stage works draw generously from the performers personal stories to articulate the research objectives. This paper addresses the ‘re-routing’ thematic of the Barcelona 2013 conference by problematizing the phrase ‘going west to find east/going east to find west’, a direct reference to Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage across the Atlantic. It also uses Performance Studies and PaR as navigational constructs in a parallel voyage of exploration and discovery. We present here an abridged version of the mixed-mode paper created for the Performance as Research Working