Honey (INVENTORY-2)
Honey - INVENTORY List:
cat objects
brown battery dogs
headshots
foamcore panels
plexi swivel chair
sunglasses
vintage LV weekend bag
vintage LV scarf
fake Hermes Togo Birkin bag in turquoise
destroyer
witness
hanging out
isolation
confrontation
entrances and exits
walk, stop, turn, pause, look
walking with a limitation -
mirroring
ripping up, tearing down
picking up the pieces
arranging
display, presentation gestures -
shoot photos -
self-care hands
facelift gestures
air smoking
ta da!
showbiz smile
serving offerings
pose
Michelangelo dying slave
kouros with horizontal arm
Kent State grief pose
unintelligible conversation
forced laughter -
an abrupt run, turn, outburst -
a fall, followed by unenthusiastic applause
internal dance
head bobbing to music
resting
floor play
cat stuffing
scarf styling
Honey (INVENTORY-2)
August 7th - 10th, 2025. Continuous live performance during opening hours, 2PM - 6PM. John Little Barn, The Arts Center at Duck Creek, East Hampton, NY.
A running list of objects, materials, structures, gestures, poses and actions that I have previously worked with, formed the script for Honey (INVENTORY-2). This second iteration of the INVENTORY series, picked up from where the first left off, with new vocabulary added in response to a very different time, context, location, site and cast.
A warm breeze blew in through open barn doors, the pastoral landscape visible from inside. A soundtrack of birdsong, seagulls squawking, foghorns, and brief instrumental passages - the first few seconds of Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive" and 30 seconds from the Rolling Stones "Gonna Miss You" - played on an hour loop.
The project prioritized liveness, making visible incremental shifts that take place over time through accumulation and aggressive repetition. A wide range of performance activity and approaches were evident, as structured sequences occurred simultaneously along with task-based actions, choreographed movements and play.
I actively directed throughout, making responsive decisions through a system of cues, as well as direct interaction with the actors. In real-time, actions and gestures were both assigned and eliminated, presence and affect modulated, spatial structures determined, and sequences ordered and timed.
Emerging from this process over the accumulated sixteen hours of performance was an installation of scattered shards, scraps, cat and dog-objects and luxury handbags, long passages of abstract actions, along with moments of narrative and psychological drama. Many Inventory items were quoted, re-staged, worn, played with or ruptured - and a whole new inventory emerged.
Cast: Jerett Benjamin, Ephraim Birney, Christen Clifford, Matt Davis, Meg Gibson, Brianna Hernandez, Lola Lama, Anna Schiavoni
Curator: Jess Frost
Production Coordinator: Brit Falcon
Production Assistant: Frankie Bademci
Videography: Bill Delano
Photography: Michelle LoBianco, Alix Pearlstein
Soundtrack, Video Compilations: Christine McDonald, Alix Pearlstein