A collectively created production.
Director, Sound Design, Media Design, Co-Lighting, Co-Scenic
Director’s Note
This process started from nothing—an intentional mission to create a theatre piece from the unknown. What emerged between the creative team of performers and designers is this production of ALL MACHINES OF LOVING GRACE.
Conversations among the collective often orbited around the content we consume in our technological lives and its effects on us, the creators of it. The collective spirit kept being pulled towards investigating how the images we consume and create strive toward sensationalism. Something that starts as mundane is only made viral by its ability to distract, divide, or addict us to its entertaining character.
In some ways, this piece is simple: it explores what grabs our attention and what doesn’t. In its abstract, this piece is about the repercussions of a world where our actions become designed for reactions and the internal struggles that goal places on the connections between a community of people.
The poem the piece’s name derives from paints a technological utopia where the digital and organic reach harmony. Humanity rejoined with its ecology because of its technology becoming more like us. Using the content we produce of ourselves in these technological spaces as a mirror of our progress, ALL MACHINES OF LOVING GRACE explores what happens when people disagree on the direction our technological ecology is heading.
Actor Quotes
About the show:
“What are we, as consumers of media, asking of content creators?”
ABOUT THE PROCESS:
“I thought it was a really cool-ball-of-feelings-and-ideas from so many different life perspectives. We had no idea what we were making, but slowly, a message came through in a series of stage images. There was a great emphasis on in-the-moment-feeling vs performative feeling, both in rehearsals and in the show itself. It was really invigorating to discover the “message” each of us wanted to say, all of which were different but alluded to an overarching theme. After all of this, a story was made, and it was beautiful to see.”
ABOUT SØREN
“Søren still provided notes and tweaks for the production throughout, but overall he felt more as a mentor. As time progressed, he felt less like a separate entity and more as a piece of a puzzle. I cannot ignore his priority on community. Checking in, sharing hugs, and encouraging safety every day was appreciated, especially in the show we created with such personal attachment.”
ALL WATCHED OVER BY MACHINES OF LOVING GRACE
I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.
I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.
I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.
– Richard Brautigan
CREATIVE TEAM
| TITLE | NAME |
|---|---|
| Director/Co-Lighting/Scenic, Media + Sound Designer | Søren Olsen |
| Fight Choreographer | Josh Turner |
| Dramaturg | Margaret Smith |
| Stage Manager | Nat Payan* |
| Co- Scenic Designer/Props | CJ Johnson |
| Costume Designer | Abby Garraty |
| Costume Support | I.M Fortunato |
| Co-Lighting Designer | Nicole Blodig* |
| Movement Coach | Mikey Rioux |
| Sound + Media Technician | Tyler Salow |
SØREN OLSEN 